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Ok! Sorry everyone... I typed a BEAUTIFUL long email and it was just erased.

NOwhere to start, 5 minutes left. Went to the temple. Have been praying out loud on my knees every day. New investigator Kalisa from Rwanda going to be baptized survived genocide

went to the temple and received more knowledge than EVER

sugar on snow, google it..... no time to write it

 

 

I don't have a camera so no pictures

 

Gahh sorry it's been two weeks I didn't have a pday last week because of the temple.

 

For real I am so bummed!

 

quickly, here is what I've been applying:

 MIGHTY PRAYER:

The purpose of prayer is to understand the will of the Father.

1. find a private place

JSH 1:14

2. KNEEL DOWN

humility comes from kneeling

3. VOCAL prayer

we connect more with our feelings, not just our minds. we speak from the heart and the spirit guides our prayers

4. Gratitude

see white handbook pg 9 (previously I quoted it for y'all)

our language shows gratitude and reverence

the most important aspect of prayer

5. pray for others

Enos 1:9,11

6. Do all we can to follow through

 

 

We've been trying this out and miracles have happened.

 

Gotta go.

 

Love y'all!!!!!

 

TEMPLE

POLICY CHANGE: WE CAN GO TO THE TEMPLE IN BOSTON EVERY 6 MONTHS!!!!!!!!

 

So we're going to the temple on the 22nd of this month. Rob, John, Creed, and JoAnne are coming. It'll be like walking into heaven. They're going to do baptisms while we go through. Sister Korman and Upton are going and we are too! What a blessing to be so close to Boston! Some areas of the mission can't go. Ahg so excited.

 

Here's what happened with JoAnne: we told her no green tea, she threw it out. We told her she could to do baptisms, we came back the next day and she had a LIST of family members to bring. We told her she'd have to pay her tithing, the next day she did just that. She made her way to the bishop to get her recommend right after church. JoAnne is coming back to activity! We get to take her to the temple for the first time!! She's progressing back to the Gospel. Miracles. We got to teach her with Sister Stoker (mission mom) one day too!

 

Tuesday we went to Ben and Jerry's and I had the best ice cream sundae of my life. I also have never felt like such a fatty on my mission. It was delicious.

 

This week I learned how to put in a hardwood floor. We helped some members lay one down! Not as hard as I previously thought.

 

EXCITING NEWS!!! The Elders have called us twice with some AWESOME referrals. We have 4 people to visit that are seriously wanting to learn more. Saturday we went by to try to contact Chantelle, Marco, and Mike. Someone else answered the door and told us they had to go because there was an accident. Don't know much more than that. I do know that the adversary is working hard against these people. Chantelle wants to quit smoking and Mike wants to come closer to the Savior. Can't wait to meet them.

 

Patty is the next referral. She was given a Spanish Book of Mormon by one of her students at school and wants to know more! We got it last night so we are heading there tomorrow!

 

Kalisa. He lives next door to us. He is from Africa and survived a genocide! He speaks mostly French and some English. He was taught by elders before, had a baptismal date, but then went out of town and got really busy. We scheduled a return appointment with him for Thursday to teach the Restoration. We're taking a French speaking youth from our ward with us! I can't wait. Hopefully we'll be able to help him to know who His Father in Heaven is better, and to know more about our purpose in life.

 

We were trying to contact a less active named Glady on Saturday, couldn't find her address. We were drawn to this one apartment door. Knocked on it. Asked for Gladys. A lady pipes up from the back, "she is my daughter!" Gladys is going through cancer and isn't in our ward anymore. Gigi and Peppe are her parents names, they are calling us and setting an appointment up with us. A few a of their family members were baptized years ago and she asked if we could come back. They're such cute people and you can tell they want to know the answers to those basic questions we all have. They need the strength of the Lord!

 

Who are you when nothing stands around you? What you're all that's left, who will you be? Are you allowing Christ to help you? All we can give Him is our will, really, He has everything else. I am trying on a minute by minute basis to do everything I can to hand myself over to Him. I am falling to my knees, I cannot do this without Him. He is the Master of His vineyard. I am a mere servant willing to help and ready to act.

Born & Raised

I'm realizing more and more that I would NOT be who I am without being raised by my parents. They had to let me choose the Gospel on my own. They were caring enough to allow me to choose, they carefully watched over me as I cultivated my own path towards our Father in Heaven. There influence and testimony shaped me because I allowed it to. No one can tell you what to do, or how you're doing to do it. No one can force you to find God, and no one but yourself can find Him. All the power we have comes from an inner decision, a commitment WE make between ourselves and the Lord that we will follow Him. I am a disciple of Christ because I choose to do so. He is beside my. As Alma said, there's more evidence that there IS a living God than not. He cannot inflict any decision on us, He carefully sits back and guides us when we allow Him to.

With that in mind, all I can do as a missionary is INVITE and HELP. my part is to present the doctrine, testify of it, and invite. 

Funny story this week: we took Molly, whose papers are going in in just days, tracting. She opens the Book of Mormon to the painting of Jesus and asks the cop in the car if he's seen "this man" and that we were looking for him. We have a funny conversation and left him with the Book of Mormon. We have almost handed out all of our books. Every time we do it's CRUCIAL that they understand that THIS IS IMPORTANT! We testify, and invite. 

We continue to have luck with JoAnne. We have a Joseph Smith Memorial date scheduled!!!! WAHHOOO!!! Now we just have to find someone to take us, but that's the least of my worries.... haa...

I love this ward. One by one each of them are making places in my heart. It isn't that the quality of the love I feel towards members decreases as the quantity increases, but that they increase together! All love is a gift from Heavenly Father. He has given me the ability to LOVE! 

Below is a little from this weeks LTP telling y'all what we did this week. For the most part we are realizing that we are here to build these relationships and to overlap the differences between us and the members. I'm really REALLY excited for all the things Sister Turley and I have planned.

K I know I've said this before, but Sister Turley and I are like the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We are best friends. I love how the Lord always has a plan, and I feel it so strongly! 

"A ship in a port is safe, but that is not what ships were built for."
- Captain Hopper

That describes what Manchester Ward is. They play it "safe" by doing what has been done for transfers on end. We have such a blessing of having 4 sets of missionaries in one ward, it is time we tap into this potential and coordinate with one another to get some wheels on this bus! I keep thinking about courage, and how we can use it at this point and lost nothing. Satan keeps us back by putting a block on our creativity by telling us "you can't do that, the ward won't do that, the Bishop won't like that... etc." We have been praying for courage and collaboration.

An answer to prayer: Elder Kunz (zone leader) called us this morning telling us that we are getting more miles, and that they don't want to be so distant from us as it has been in the past. He asked for a preview of our ideas and we were able to come up with ideas to gather the missionary forces together and unify! We are meeting as missionaries in Manchester during district lunch to come up with ideas that we can then present to our ward mission leader, but this time as a unified group. This week especially my studies have lead me around that Gathering! How the Lord works in numbers. He uses them because there is strength in them! This was the best phone call we'd had! So I count that as our miracle.

Last night Sister Turley and I sat down and goal planned. We made a vision statement that will require creativity, collaboration, stretching, and of course, the help of the Lord! I feel so strongly as we prayed that these are the Lord's goals, not our own. The Spirit confirmed this to us. It was incredible, we are working with the Lord to set the ground work for the fire that will ignite here. Our goal is that by the end of next transfer, the ward members will be excited to work with us. The requirements to fulfill this goal is that members must come to US and ask when they can teach with us, or, of course, a SME (significant missionary experience)! We will get them EXCITED. We have individual plans in each area to do this. For the ward, ward council, bishopric, district, leadership (you and Sister Reid), Manch Elders, companionship, and individuals, we have set a plan to match our vision, and have a plan of action. We are accountable to the Lord and each other. It was amazing receiving the revelation we have asked for as to HOW to start things in this area MOST EFFECTIVELY. 

Now for the application... We are going to use our weekly plannings to apply these goals.

I feel like I'm praying all the time.

Opened my scriptures during comp study and found this... Each one is tabbed under a missionary scripture she had found during her studies! She's a blast. I don't even know how to describe all the fun we have! She's adorable. Anyone have any creative ideas for serving your companion? I'm pushing the limits on my creativity ha!

SUPER FUN!!! So today we ran three miles to the Elders to pick up the car. She's a rockstar. She's lost over 20 POUNDS since she's been on her mission! She didn't think she could run that far, but I got her out the door and she was 5 steps ahead of me the entire run! So fun to have a companion who likes to go running with me!

JANUARY 27

 Sister Turley and her little acts of kindness... 

 THE MAP...

 four pairs of socks, chubby ankles, anything to keep warm!

Vestige for the Future

Cool. So. This week. 

My companion and I are best friends. It really is like we've known each other all along, we're just picking up where we left off. Grateful for her, we have yet to be discouraged or sad! She's happy like I am, and it's contagious! I LOVE IT. Did I mention she's taught me how to cook? Haha...

We have a lot of little things we're doing to try and boost things here. We made all our visuals, have a HUGE map on the wall labeled with where people are at, and also a poster size list of all the members in our area. We also made copies of our testimonies to place in the copies of the Book of Mormon we hand out with basically a road map through the major points and doctrine taught in it.

This past week I read all the miraculous stories of Alma, Ammon, and the Sons of Mosiah during my studies. They started in chapter 8 with the members. Alma and Amulek do work together! I finished off today by reading Alma 26. It was incredible. I feel the words are mine. I feel myself owning the scriptures and the experiences in them. I am truly being blessed with an outpouring of JOY! In Alma 26:22-23 we read that these experiences do not come from the natural man! They come from God. This missionary joy is a mystery of God being unfolded to us dependent on our actions and intentions! I could just SCREAM to EVERYONE we see THEY MUST READ THE BOOK OF MORMON!!!! We read from it everyday because it has the power to changes us, to allow us to repent, to alter our thoughts, words, and ACTIONS to be in line with the precepts and principles of the Gospel! The Book of Mormon indeed has the power of God, the power to help us to become clean! We repent as we read from it! We receive revelation for ourselves when we read from it daily! PLEASE I urge you, read from it daily! It will belie all that the adversary throws at you, it will protect you. Every time we talk with someone I want them to know this. They have NO idea what they're turning down. Ignorance doesn't get you anywhere. Our Father in Heaven stretches his arms out to us! He wants us to return to Him! 

I feel very peaceful and SO happy, I really cannot even believe it! 

Anyways, something cool happened yesterday! We walked to a less active to see if she still lived there and to try and teach her. She wasn't there, and signs showed that she might've moved. We walk home and CALL HER at the PERFECT time. We ask her if we could stop by and she said YES that she would LOVE it and that she now has two daughters! Miracles! We are calling her at the same time on Wednesday to try and set something up. I can't wait! 

JoAnne came to church, she's coming back to the fold!! She has a heart of gold and showers compassion on everyone. She loves easily and is easily loved. We have 3 lessons with her this week and GOT MEMBERS TO COME TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! CANNOT WAIT!!! 

Getting the members involved takes one thing: just ASK. They will when they can if you consistently  but politely ASK them! Once they feel that raging missionary spirit they will spread it! This is our starting point.

The wheels are ROLLING.

We have this thing in our mission where we are memorizing one scripture a day with a promise that we will have a photographic memory. Honestly I am remembering everything! I definitely feel the Lord qualifying me as I put forth the effort to do this daily. I speak scripture. The individual scripture nudge their place into my heart and I refer back to them all the time. I use them when talking, which is funny. I think I've gotten to that point on your mission where you no longer relate to normal people... QUICK TIP use color pens when writing scriptures on cards to memorize. I memorize by color and visually, like I have with my mission scriptures. It works!

Gotta go! Sorry such limited time! Gah...

WRITE ME PLEASE! The Bedford address.

MANCHESTER

So I have SUCH limited time today. I'll just let you know where I am
and what's happening here!

I am with Sister Turley. Our enthusiasm and energy combined is
dangerous. I've never met someone so similar to me in those ways!
She's the SWEETEST sister. She has taught me how to cook, probably
because I cannot let her continue to cook me meals twice a day. She's
incredible. Little acts of service is her thing, so I'm gonna get
really creative with ways to serve her! She has a heart of GOLD. I am
so lucky.

Leaving Hanover was really difficult... I cried and cried not wanting
to leave the area or Sister Korman, or the people!! Funny thing
happens when you get transferred, I heard President Stoker calling my
name and telling me I was serving in Manchester and I knew I belonged
there. The same feelings came when I opened my call to the Manchester
New Hampshire Mission. I knew it was the place. I felt peace and
excitement. I AM WHERE MY FEET ARE.

COOL STORY. So ya know how William just left the MTC for his mission?
The new sister, the ONLY sister coming into our mission, is taking my
place in Hanover. She's going to paradise. She came up to me and told
me she met my brother! What are the chances. Just little miracles
everywhere.

The ward is great. It looks more like a branch, but I love it. The
people are all converts! SO much fun! They call me a "firecracker."
The Bishop could be a football coach, he's all about game plans, and
kind of looks like a football coach to be honest! Funniest man. He
works for Pepsi. But the members are SO funny! I get to speak in
sacrament next week about the plan of salvation, lucky me because
that's one of my favorite topics! Probably where the vast majority of
my testimony comes from.

A little about the area: I am serving in MANCHESTER, the largest city
in our mission! It's GREAT. We are in a car share with the Elders
(there are 8 missionaries in our ward, we are the only sisters). We
walk a lot. I had a strange feeling I was going to walk a lot in my
next area. I love love love it! Though I wish they'd plow the
sidewalks more. We walked an hour to get to this computer. It's
wonderful to feel healthy again. Also, it's warmer here, so that's
nice! Manchester has little flashing lights when the city is having a
"snow emergency" but really, it is a lot of snow. We live next to a
ski resort. Looks more like a sledding hill. But it's across the
street from our house haha and we live downtown! Strange. The area
opened up to sisters two transfers ago. Our boundaries chaged, we have
no investigators in our area. The elders are letting us teach a little
boy named Magnus in their area. So not much to tell other than we are
FINDING!!!

Something I keep coming back to is the creation of the earth. All
things were created spiritually before they were created temporaly. So
we are spiritually creating our area, getting a game plan, praying
with faith, doing all the nitty gritty of preping the area so we can
get out and FIND. It'll be fun to see an area grow again! Sister
Turley and I are ready to get the tires rolling. This area is indeed a
tracting area, so we're going to get really creative. If anyone has
any finding ideas, let us know!

Just send my mail to the mission office. It's like down the street haha!

Sorry no pictures, this computer is slightly ghetto!

Love y'all!

Yoga?

The day has come. I am being transferred tomorrow, not sure where I'm going. I want always feel the way I do now, I want to leave every area with the freedom of mind I've been given. I believe the Lord knows I've done my best here and that I've given it my "heart, might, mind, and strength." O have worked to earn His trust. He is grateful for what I've done here with Him in Hanover. I have been changed by the people here and will never be the same. It's been everything from a paradisaical haven to a jail chamber in the refiner's fire. It's like yoga: if you hold a position long enough, you become numb to the pain, but also receive stretching benefits. Other times when I was released from the painful positions I could feel the rush of blood rejuvenate my body and soul. Life is like yoga. It's been a strength training: lifting little by little, frequently, "line upon line." I've learned the things I've needed to over time. In myself I see the tiny muscles of my testimony accentuate like never before. Every now and then it's been like body building, lifting HUGE loads of weight, for shorter amounts of time, while growing larger and stronger each time. Just like our bodies, I have been broken down and built back up to be who the Lord would have me be. Wherever I go, the Lord will continue this pattern.

Goal: to sprinkle everyone with compassion. It is a language everyone understands. Love and compassion come from God and are gifts of the Spirit. All love comes from God, that's why everyone understands it. People don't understand why there's hate in the world, they don't understand pride, it's confusing. Confusion is a tactic of the adversary. The Gospel emits love, transparency, purity, it is something everyone can feel unless if they open their hearts. 

I think Hanover has taught me that questions are okay, in fact, they are encouraged. Revelation comes best in response to a question. I think it's taken me to this point to realize how many questions I do have! Yesterday Sister Grampp taught us that the questions we ask determine our success, I know that to be true because I've seen it! Many times I ask "why" questions, I need to be asking more "how" and "what" questions! I see that I need to doubt more of my doubts, and hold more onto what I know, and admit what I don't know.

There's a reason the first step of repentance if acknowledgement. The closer I get to the Lord, the more I can acknowledge what I am doing wrong. He helps me see my holes, then He fills them over time.

John was baptized on Thursday. It was wonderful!! Such a Spirit of JOY and EXCITEMENT! During the baptism I felt two things: the MOST joy, and the MOST exhaustion. You think you know the two emotions until the Lord makes you feel them in extremes. There is nothing so special as making covenants with God. There is a spirit that comes when you talk about it, think about it, and especially witness it. The sacred ordinance of baptism cleanses us from sin. So much peace and joy swept over everyone in attendance as he went under the water and came up clean and fresh. He had been forgiven. I think the Lord wanted me to feel all the work that went into this event. 4 (we were only missing 2) of the 10 missionaries there had taught John over the course of 9 months! SO MUCH FUN!!! John is so amazing. If anyone needs ANYTHING he will do it for them. He is all about little acts of kindness, trying to make people happy little by little. I must say we as missionaries are totally spoiled by him. He is always there to help and is so dependable. What a man to have in the ward now!

 Maria, sweet sweet Maria.

 I love her!!! WHY MUST WE BE SEPARATED!!! (this is our comp inventory)

 CREED. WHO IS GETTING BAPTIZED THE 15TH OF FEBRUARY AND I WON'T BE THERE. He looks like the Elders Quorum President.

 The greatest district meeting. We are teaching Family Home Evenings now and so our meeting took place in a "home."

 All of us with John on his baptism!!!

DAWN!