Monday, September 29, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
HOLY NUTCASE!!! This week has been amazing!!!!
The Lord and His tender mercies are in complete abundance!!! He is sooo generous and is always tending to our every need!!
I feel so blessed and so honored to have witnessed the week I have witnessed...
So, the first miracle is the change in the key indicators... We have been asked to no more count lessons that we have on the street!! The only lessons we count now are scheduled lessons and lessons in homes!!! WHICH I LOVE! I think it is genius idea to keep missionaries from being competative, too focused on the numbers, and not focused enough on the people behind the numbers!!!
It is an inspired idea!!!
President Millar said in his letter this week to not let the smaller number of other lessons discouage us! Because the numbers are important, but it's NOT what furthers the work. What furthers the work is the want to become better in those numbers!
"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved!" -Thomas S. Monson Oh, isn't that the truth??
I think sometimes, as missionaries, we become unfocused and let the numbers drive us more than anything else. Which is not the Christ like way in missionary work. Of course, numbers are there to motivate us in becoming better because, once again, our wise wonderful prophet has said, "When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates." So, numbers are there to further it all. But, they aren't the meaning of missionary work. The meaning of missionary work is the people behind those numbers! And helping those wonderful people know that they are very much loved!
Sooo, the week we had was AMAZING!!!
We started teaching the R family, the Napolese family that let us in last week....
We taught the Plan of Salvation! And oh my goodness, how amazing it was!!!!!
At first, the spirit was not there whatsoever! Because they're two five year old twin boys were going NUTS. So, while Sister Y continued teaching, I sat the boys next to me and said, "Boys, if you keep SUPER quiet, I'll give you chocolate." And, lo and behold, I happen to have a chocolate bar in my bag that day! :) I didn't know why, but earlier I had a feeling to bring it with me... There is reason behind everything!!!
So, after that, the boys sat down on either side of me and listened. And then, the miracle of the spirit was witnessed... The spirit came into the room like a wave. You could FEEL it soooo strongly.
As we continued teaching, the ten year old daughter, her name is S... She asked questions. "So, will we be with our families after this life?" "Can we say we are sorry for things we've done?" "When we say we are sorry, does Jesus forget that thing we did?" "Will we ALWAYS be together?"
HOLY FLIP. We were sitting there stunned. So we taught about the temple as well! And the dad, in very broken English, pretty much said, "We want to be married in the temple."
They BEGGED us to come back....
AHHH!!!
So incredible!!!!!
We showed them a picture of the temple and they were in awe!!!!
I looove being a missionary!!!
I have learned that my purpose as a missionary is not to get everyone baptized. My purpose as a missionary is to get people to the temple, and baptism happens to be a VERY important step along the way!
Sooo many more miracles were witnessed but that one was my favorite!!!!!
And I have learned the true meaning of family! Being a missionary, you see A LOT of different family situations... And a lot of those situations are broken families.. I am soooo grateful to be part of a family that is married and sealed in the temple and part of the gospel!! And I also have learned the true meaning of motherhood... I feel like a mother to all of these members and investigators... Because I am!! Heavenly Father trusts parents with one of His spirits as a newborn baby just as He trusts us missionaries with one of His spirits as an investigator...
I have sooo much respect for my mother and all the mother figures in my life....
I am grateful for them!! At the start of my mission, I was kind of grumpy about not being able to talk to them all the time. "If family is number one, why does that not apply to missionaries?!" Well, I think it's to help teach us how important families really are!
I am eternally grateful for these past 5 months and I am eternally grateful for the next 13 months that I have. "You had eternity to prepare, and you'll have eternity to reflect, but you only have EIGHTEEN months to experience." Sari, my sister, sent that to me my first week out.
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
L<3ve, Your Sister Als
I feel so blessed and so honored to have witnessed the week I have witnessed...
So, the first miracle is the change in the key indicators... We have been asked to no more count lessons that we have on the street!! The only lessons we count now are scheduled lessons and lessons in homes!!! WHICH I LOVE! I think it is genius idea to keep missionaries from being competative, too focused on the numbers, and not focused enough on the people behind the numbers!!!
It is an inspired idea!!!
President Millar said in his letter this week to not let the smaller number of other lessons discouage us! Because the numbers are important, but it's NOT what furthers the work. What furthers the work is the want to become better in those numbers!
"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved!" -Thomas S. Monson Oh, isn't that the truth??
I think sometimes, as missionaries, we become unfocused and let the numbers drive us more than anything else. Which is not the Christ like way in missionary work. Of course, numbers are there to motivate us in becoming better because, once again, our wise wonderful prophet has said, "When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates." So, numbers are there to further it all. But, they aren't the meaning of missionary work. The meaning of missionary work is the people behind those numbers! And helping those wonderful people know that they are very much loved!
Sooo, the week we had was AMAZING!!!
We started teaching the R family, the Napolese family that let us in last week....
We taught the Plan of Salvation! And oh my goodness, how amazing it was!!!!!
At first, the spirit was not there whatsoever! Because they're two five year old twin boys were going NUTS. So, while Sister Y continued teaching, I sat the boys next to me and said, "Boys, if you keep SUPER quiet, I'll give you chocolate." And, lo and behold, I happen to have a chocolate bar in my bag that day! :) I didn't know why, but earlier I had a feeling to bring it with me... There is reason behind everything!!!
So, after that, the boys sat down on either side of me and listened. And then, the miracle of the spirit was witnessed... The spirit came into the room like a wave. You could FEEL it soooo strongly.
As we continued teaching, the ten year old daughter, her name is S... She asked questions. "So, will we be with our families after this life?" "Can we say we are sorry for things we've done?" "When we say we are sorry, does Jesus forget that thing we did?" "Will we ALWAYS be together?"
HOLY FLIP. We were sitting there stunned. So we taught about the temple as well! And the dad, in very broken English, pretty much said, "We want to be married in the temple."
They BEGGED us to come back....
AHHH!!!
So incredible!!!!!
We showed them a picture of the temple and they were in awe!!!!
I looove being a missionary!!!
I have learned that my purpose as a missionary is not to get everyone baptized. My purpose as a missionary is to get people to the temple, and baptism happens to be a VERY important step along the way!
Sooo many more miracles were witnessed but that one was my favorite!!!!!
And I have learned the true meaning of family! Being a missionary, you see A LOT of different family situations... And a lot of those situations are broken families.. I am soooo grateful to be part of a family that is married and sealed in the temple and part of the gospel!! And I also have learned the true meaning of motherhood... I feel like a mother to all of these members and investigators... Because I am!! Heavenly Father trusts parents with one of His spirits as a newborn baby just as He trusts us missionaries with one of His spirits as an investigator...
I have sooo much respect for my mother and all the mother figures in my life....
I am grateful for them!! At the start of my mission, I was kind of grumpy about not being able to talk to them all the time. "If family is number one, why does that not apply to missionaries?!" Well, I think it's to help teach us how important families really are!
I am eternally grateful for these past 5 months and I am eternally grateful for the next 13 months that I have. "You had eternity to prepare, and you'll have eternity to reflect, but you only have EIGHTEEN months to experience." Sari, my sister, sent that to me my first week out.
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
L<3ve, Your Sister Als
Monday, September 1, 2014
First week in ALDERSHOT
AHH!!! I thank the Lord soooo so much for sending me to two FANTASTIC areas... IN A ROW!!!!! I looooooved Haywards Heath and I looooove Aldershot!!!! oh, Sister Y.... IS AMAZING!!!!!!! She has such a powerful testimony and she is such an amazing example in the kind of sister I want to be!!!!!
My first Sunday in Aldershot was sooo awesome!!! The members are sooo warm and welcoming!!!!
I was able to meet one of the less actives my second day here!! hahha His name is A..... He is adorable!!! He carries a notepad with him and a bunch of pens everywhere he goes hahah!!!!
So, A hasn't been to church in four years so we are trying to get him back in to the swing of things by reading the Book of Mormon and such!!!! <3 He wrote down: "I promise to read one verse a day in the scriptures" and gave it to us with his signature... hahhahhahahha!!! He's so cute!!!!
And since he couldn't pronounce our last name, he has decided to call me Sister Blond.... HAHAHA!!! And he even wrote me a note!!!! Which says: "To Sister Blond- Welcome to England. I think you are very nice. For Sister Nice." (He switches from Sis. Blond to Sis. Nice every so often... hahahha) The entire lesson he would turn to me and say, "Sister Blond, I like you. You're funny. I love your sense of humor. Thank you for being so funny and nice. You're very nice. And funny too." hahaha.... He's a riot!!!
And then we have another member who is 24 years old.... His name is M... His mother's name is J and dang does she live up to her name!!!!! ahhaha But M calls me Sister Tough Boots hahahha and when he first saw me he said, "CRIKEY SHE'S TALL!!!" hhhahhahha!!!!!!
I have had such an amazing time teaching here!!!!!!! I loooooove it here!!!!!!!!!!
L is INCREDIBLE!!!! And sooo is G!!!! L is soo amazingly prepared to hear the gospel and G is sooo humble and willing to submit!!!
I loooove teaching them!! And Elder P is sooo goood with them!!!!!
Sooo I was blessed enough to be able to meet V and V (progressing investigators!!!) !!! They are from FIJI!!!!!! V and V are AMAZING!!!! The first time we were supposed to meet up, they forgot, so we knocked the flats around theirs! We knocked this one flat with a Napolise family!!!! They are Christian and... wait for it.... INVITED US IN!!!!!! Miiiiirrrraaacccllleee!!!!!!!! They asked us to come back!!!!! Ahhh!!!!! Soo exciting!
Well, the next day, we visited V and V again! We taught them the first part of the Plan of Salvation!!!! We asked Vee what she was thinking and she said, "This is AMAZING!"
OH, my goodness soooo cool!!!
So, since we were in the area, we decided to continue knock the flats around V and V's!! :) As we were knocking, we saw a guy walking his dog! He looked around our age!! :) We approached him and we asked him about his dog... And from there, it was soo natural to talk to him!!! The conversation went from his dog, to when he adopted her, to how he had just gotten married and how he loved her tons, and then the miracle of the teach.... I asked him, "Do you want to be with her forever?" And he said, "If I could, I would."
We told him that we talk more about how this gospel creates a happy marriage in this life and the next!!!
And he BEGGED us to come again!!!!
AHHH!!!!!!!!
So amazing!!
I just want to finish with one scripture! Doctrine and Covenants 50:24 - "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth, brighter and brighter until the perfect day." SO TRUE!!!! may we alllways reflect the light of Christ with all our hearts might, mind and strength!!!! how blessed am I to be here!!!!!
ILOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please let me know if there is anything I can pray for!!!!!!! <3<3<3
Love, your Sister Blond. <3
My first Sunday in Aldershot was sooo awesome!!! The members are sooo warm and welcoming!!!!
I was able to meet one of the less actives my second day here!! hahha His name is A..... He is adorable!!! He carries a notepad with him and a bunch of pens everywhere he goes hahah!!!!
So, A hasn't been to church in four years so we are trying to get him back in to the swing of things by reading the Book of Mormon and such!!!! <3 He wrote down: "I promise to read one verse a day in the scriptures" and gave it to us with his signature... hahhahhahahha!!! He's so cute!!!!
And since he couldn't pronounce our last name, he has decided to call me Sister Blond.... HAHAHA!!! And he even wrote me a note!!!! Which says: "To Sister Blond- Welcome to England. I think you are very nice. For Sister Nice." (He switches from Sis. Blond to Sis. Nice every so often... hahahha) The entire lesson he would turn to me and say, "Sister Blond, I like you. You're funny. I love your sense of humor. Thank you for being so funny and nice. You're very nice. And funny too." hahaha.... He's a riot!!!
And then we have another member who is 24 years old.... His name is M... His mother's name is J and dang does she live up to her name!!!!! ahhaha But M calls me Sister Tough Boots hahahha and when he first saw me he said, "CRIKEY SHE'S TALL!!!" hhhahhahha!!!!!!
I have had such an amazing time teaching here!!!!!!! I loooooove it here!!!!!!!!!!
L is INCREDIBLE!!!! And sooo is G!!!! L is soo amazingly prepared to hear the gospel and G is sooo humble and willing to submit!!!
I loooove teaching them!! And Elder P is sooo goood with them!!!!!
Sooo I was blessed enough to be able to meet V and V (progressing investigators!!!) !!! They are from FIJI!!!!!! V and V are AMAZING!!!! The first time we were supposed to meet up, they forgot, so we knocked the flats around theirs! We knocked this one flat with a Napolise family!!!! They are Christian and... wait for it.... INVITED US IN!!!!!! Miiiiirrrraaacccllleee!!!!!!!! They asked us to come back!!!!! Ahhh!!!!! Soo exciting!
Well, the next day, we visited V and V again! We taught them the first part of the Plan of Salvation!!!! We asked Vee what she was thinking and she said, "This is AMAZING!"
OH, my goodness soooo cool!!!
So, since we were in the area, we decided to continue knock the flats around V and V's!! :) As we were knocking, we saw a guy walking his dog! He looked around our age!! :) We approached him and we asked him about his dog... And from there, it was soo natural to talk to him!!! The conversation went from his dog, to when he adopted her, to how he had just gotten married and how he loved her tons, and then the miracle of the teach.... I asked him, "Do you want to be with her forever?" And he said, "If I could, I would."
We told him that we talk more about how this gospel creates a happy marriage in this life and the next!!!
And he BEGGED us to come again!!!!
AHHH!!!!!!!!
So amazing!!
I just want to finish with one scripture! Doctrine and Covenants 50:24 - "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth, brighter and brighter until the perfect day." SO TRUE!!!! may we alllways reflect the light of Christ with all our hearts might, mind and strength!!!! how blessed am I to be here!!!!!
ILOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please let me know if there is anything I can pray for!!!!!!! <3<3<3
Love, your Sister Blond. <3
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)