This past week was ok; we've been going through the member directory &
visiting people we don't know. We met a bunch of people who weren't interested
in the church anymore, and we met a few who were nice & let us in :) We
look forward to continuing to meet with them & help them come closer to the
Savior. ^__^
Two of our investigators have been coming to church every
Sunday without fail!! They are so awesome & it has been a privilege to see
firsthand how much the Lord blesses those who are humble & faithful; it
reminds me of Alma chapter 32--you should go read it. :)
That's about it
for now--have an awesome week! Work hard, pray always!
Be strong &
faithful because He was!
~Sister San Diego
Monday, January 21, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Thank You, Mr. Gardener!!
Hi all!
I would like to start this week's post with this article; please read the whole article before continuing to read this blog post :)
http://www.lds.org/new-era/1973/01/the-currant-bush
I love that story; every time I read or hear it, I always tear up a little.
I'm not gonna lie, the life of a missionary is hard. Life in general is hard. But what it all comes down to is what are you going to do about it? How are you going to be PROactive instead of REactive? How will you *trust* in God that He will lead you the right way & help you in your struggles?
I would like to tie the currant bush story to my own:
The first week of the year was a bit of a rough one; we had gone through 2-3 weeks that were seemingly unproductive. Appointments had fallen through, some people were sick, and others were busy. While we did have bits of success in each week, I was still very frustrated that so many things weren't working out right. You could say I was very much like the little bush, cut down & feeling rather upset. Negativity constantly came at me, and I had to stop myself & remember that being in that frustrated, negative state of mind is exactly where Satan wanted me.
Like verse 4 of the hymn "The Time Is Far Spent" goes:
"Be fixed in your purpose, for Satan will try you;
I would like to start this week's post with this article; please read the whole article before continuing to read this blog post :)
http://www.lds.org/new-era/1973/01/the-currant-bush
I love that story; every time I read or hear it, I always tear up a little.
I'm not gonna lie, the life of a missionary is hard. Life in general is hard. But what it all comes down to is what are you going to do about it? How are you going to be PROactive instead of REactive? How will you *trust* in God that He will lead you the right way & help you in your struggles?
I would like to tie the currant bush story to my own:
The first week of the year was a bit of a rough one; we had gone through 2-3 weeks that were seemingly unproductive. Appointments had fallen through, some people were sick, and others were busy. While we did have bits of success in each week, I was still very frustrated that so many things weren't working out right. You could say I was very much like the little bush, cut down & feeling rather upset. Negativity constantly came at me, and I had to stop myself & remember that being in that frustrated, negative state of mind is exactly where Satan wanted me.
Like verse 4 of the hymn "The Time Is Far Spent" goes:
"Be fixed in your purpose, for Satan will try you;
The weight of your calling he perfectly knows."
and boy, he sure does! He definitely does not want any of us to succeed in finding happiness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, nor does he want us to succeed in helping others come unto Christ. But the last part of the same verse is this:
and boy, he sure does! He definitely does not want any of us to succeed in finding happiness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, nor does he want us to succeed in helping others come unto Christ. But the last part of the same verse is this:
"Your path may be thorny, but Jesus is nigh you;
His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose."
How true it is that Christ can help us through any hardship, if we will "trust in the Lord with all [our] heart[s]" (Prov. 3:5-6)!!
Last week, I tried to lighten up my attitude more, & I truly feel like Heavenly Father helped me in doing so, and that I could not have done it myself. As the week went on, we had our visit from the Traveling Sisters, who came to train & help us in different areas of our work. It helped SO much, & they gave us awesome pointers. We had scheduled multiple appointments for that day & were able to get to almost all of them, and they became new investigators! We had a great lesson with another investigator later in the week, & the Spirit was there so strongly as we testified.
On Saturday, we spent a good amount of the day doing service for a lady who was taught by the previous Elders & was almost not wanting to meet with missionaries anymore. While we were there, she became much more comfortable with us & as we were talking with her about prayer, her neighbors came over. The husband had seen us outside shoveling snow & chipping ice and asked if we were Sister Missionaries. Turns out he was an inactive member & his wife was not a member--they both wanted to start going to church, & she wanted to learn from missionaries! As we talked with them & the lady we were visiting (I'll call her Lindsay), Lindsay shared with them her experience with missionaries so far: at first she was afraid that we would just try to force her to do something, but that day realized that we truly want to help her & care about her. It was the best experience ever!!! I have a testimony that if we are striving to do our best in doing what Heavenly Father would have us do, He WILL put good things in our paths, and will let all things come together for our good. We ended the week with 12 lessons (4 times as many as the week before), and 7 new investigators (blowing away our average of 1 or 2)!! I am so grateful that we were finally able to have a lesson with so many people we were struggling to get a hold of for a while--it was really a miracle!
Well, I gotta run now, but know that God is there & he is mindful of you. He hears every prayer & answers with what is best for us. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Love you all, may you have an awesome week!
Be strong & faithful because Jesus was!
~Sister San Diego
How true it is that Christ can help us through any hardship, if we will "trust in the Lord with all [our] heart[s]" (Prov. 3:5-6)!!
Last week, I tried to lighten up my attitude more, & I truly feel like Heavenly Father helped me in doing so, and that I could not have done it myself. As the week went on, we had our visit from the Traveling Sisters, who came to train & help us in different areas of our work. It helped SO much, & they gave us awesome pointers. We had scheduled multiple appointments for that day & were able to get to almost all of them, and they became new investigators! We had a great lesson with another investigator later in the week, & the Spirit was there so strongly as we testified.
On Saturday, we spent a good amount of the day doing service for a lady who was taught by the previous Elders & was almost not wanting to meet with missionaries anymore. While we were there, she became much more comfortable with us & as we were talking with her about prayer, her neighbors came over. The husband had seen us outside shoveling snow & chipping ice and asked if we were Sister Missionaries. Turns out he was an inactive member & his wife was not a member--they both wanted to start going to church, & she wanted to learn from missionaries! As we talked with them & the lady we were visiting (I'll call her Lindsay), Lindsay shared with them her experience with missionaries so far: at first she was afraid that we would just try to force her to do something, but that day realized that we truly want to help her & care about her. It was the best experience ever!!! I have a testimony that if we are striving to do our best in doing what Heavenly Father would have us do, He WILL put good things in our paths, and will let all things come together for our good. We ended the week with 12 lessons (4 times as many as the week before), and 7 new investigators (blowing away our average of 1 or 2)!! I am so grateful that we were finally able to have a lesson with so many people we were struggling to get a hold of for a while--it was really a miracle!
Well, I gotta run now, but know that God is there & he is mindful of you. He hears every prayer & answers with what is best for us. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Love you all, may you have an awesome week!
Be strong & faithful because Jesus was!
Monday, January 7, 2013
"Called To Serve - Our King!!"
Howdy!
Hope your first week of the year has been good to you!
This week has been another slightly tough one among appointments falling through, not being able to catch people at home, etc, but it's ok because we have another new investigator! He is a humble, nice young man, & our lesson with him about our Heavenly Father, prophets, & the Book of Mormon went awesomely! His roommate wanted to meet with us too but was fixing a car, so he invited us to come back when he is off work to talk with him!
There are also several other potential people we are working with, it's just a matter of establishing a good time with them. We have a bunch of appointments on Wednesday, so hopefully that will all work out, especially with the traveling Sisters helping us!
That's all for now, take care!
Be strong & faithful because He was!
~Sister San Diego
Hope your first week of the year has been good to you!
This week has been another slightly tough one among appointments falling through, not being able to catch people at home, etc, but it's ok because we have another new investigator! He is a humble, nice young man, & our lesson with him about our Heavenly Father, prophets, & the Book of Mormon went awesomely! His roommate wanted to meet with us too but was fixing a car, so he invited us to come back when he is off work to talk with him!
There are also several other potential people we are working with, it's just a matter of establishing a good time with them. We have a bunch of appointments on Wednesday, so hopefully that will all work out, especially with the traveling Sisters helping us!
That's all for now, take care!
Be strong & faithful because He was!
~Sister San Diego
Snow Castle in a member's yard
Let me out!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Happy New Year!
Dear everyone:
This past week was the best & almost worst week ever.
It was the best because of Christmas Eve (p-day & dinner with a part-member family), Christmas Day (Skyping my family & a slough of meals & parties), our double-zone missionary Christmas party on Saturday (food, games, white elephant), & teaching a new investigator. It was the worst because almost everyone we tried visiting was out of town, sick, or busy, so we only taught a couple people during the week.
But! It's ok because our newest investigator makes the down times of the mission so worth it--he is a really nice guy who wants to start a new life & have God in his life more. He brought himself to church 2 weeks in a row, he asked if he could take the lessons, & is a very dedicated person! I was one told that it's after a little bit of downtime that you're springboarded to new heights, and it's true! I look forward to this week & the new people we'll find!
In other news, transfers are tomorrow & Wednesday; all of us are staying where we are except for Elder Moyle, who has been called to be a traveling Zone Leader, which means he & Elder Sanft (my previous District Leader & the other traveling Zone Leader) get to work with every companionship of Elders in the mission! Sisters Firmage & Nunn were also called as traveling Sisters to work with all of us Sisters in our missionary work--it's very exciting & I can't wait to see them! While it is a bummer to see the last of my first District leave, I wish Elder Moyle the very best as he continues working hard & being an awesome example to those he serves!
Hope you all have a safe & Happy New Year!
~Sister San Diego
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I can't believe it's already 2013!
This past week was the best & almost worst week ever.
It was the best because of Christmas Eve (p-day & dinner with a part-member family), Christmas Day (Skyping my family & a slough of meals & parties), our double-zone missionary Christmas party on Saturday (food, games, white elephant), & teaching a new investigator. It was the worst because almost everyone we tried visiting was out of town, sick, or busy, so we only taught a couple people during the week.
But! It's ok because our newest investigator makes the down times of the mission so worth it--he is a really nice guy who wants to start a new life & have God in his life more. He brought himself to church 2 weeks in a row, he asked if he could take the lessons, & is a very dedicated person! I was one told that it's after a little bit of downtime that you're springboarded to new heights, and it's true! I look forward to this week & the new people we'll find!
In other news, transfers are tomorrow & Wednesday; all of us are staying where we are except for Elder Moyle, who has been called to be a traveling Zone Leader, which means he & Elder Sanft (my previous District Leader & the other traveling Zone Leader) get to work with every companionship of Elders in the mission! Sisters Firmage & Nunn were also called as traveling Sisters to work with all of us Sisters in our missionary work--it's very exciting & I can't wait to see them! While it is a bummer to see the last of my first District leave, I wish Elder Moyle the very best as he continues working hard & being an awesome example to those he serves!
Hope you all have a safe & Happy New Year!
Be strong & faithful because He was!
~Sister San Diego
missionary snow angel (p-day)
It snowed actual flakes!!! (usually it's just snow crystals)
Monday, December 24, 2012
Mele Kalikimaka - Merry Christmas!
Hi everyone!
This week, I would like for you to focus on something--what is the most valuable thing that you have? A smartphone (with facebook)? A car? A ring? The temple?
These are all nice things, but they actually aren't the most valuable thing in your life.
John 3:16--
Tomorrow, we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ--he and His Atonement are the Most valuable gifts any one of us could ever receive. Our Heavenly Father gave his only perfect Son so that all of us, His imperfect children, could have the opportunity to return to Him. Christ gave all for the same purpose, and He did so willingly because He loves us so much.
Are you willing to receive these gifts in your lives? What gifts can you give in return?
I hope you all have a very Mele Kalikimaka, and may you cherish the time with your families & remember the reason for the season :)
Love ya much!
~Sister San Diego
Hope you had a Happy End-of-the-World Day!! ;)
This week, I would like for you to focus on something--what is the most valuable thing that you have? A smartphone (with facebook)? A car? A ring? The temple?
These are all nice things, but they actually aren't the most valuable thing in your life.
I encourage each of you to read this article before continuing to read this
post:
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/12/latter-day-saint-voices?lang=eng (the
one titled "I Hope Someone Will Love Her")
John 3:16--
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
Tomorrow, we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ--he and His Atonement are the Most valuable gifts any one of us could ever receive. Our Heavenly Father gave his only perfect Son so that all of us, His imperfect children, could have the opportunity to return to Him. Christ gave all for the same purpose, and He did so willingly because He loves us so much.
Are you willing to receive these gifts in your lives? What gifts can you give in return?
I hope you all have a very Mele Kalikimaka, and may you cherish the time with your families & remember the reason for the season :)
Love ya much!
Be strong & faithful because Jesus was!
~Sister San Diego
 |
| Merry Christmas from our 2 districts |
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| Only in Northern Nevada, lol...hanging a deer from a tree (they do that after getting their deer/elk hunt) |
Monday, December 17, 2012
Happy 29th Birthday, Mom!!!
Hi All!
First off, I would like to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! to my Mom, who will be "29" tomorrow! ;D
Tomorrow also is my 5-month mark since I came out into the mission field! It's crazy how quickly time flies by! 13 months to go...!
Quick bit of news for any future Sister Missionary--lds.org has awesome tips on the main page! Hopefully they will still be there by the time you read this :)
This week we got our car back on Wednesday! The best part was that it snowed the day after--we were SO grateful the snow was held off until we had the car again!
We have still been having a little bit of a hard time in scheduling appointments & helping people to progress & come to church to be spiritually strengthened, but it's ok because this is a new week & it will be better! And even though we've been having some difficulties, we have met a lot of people who may be interested in learning about the gospel!
CHRISTMAS IS A WEEK & A DAY AWAY!!!!!
Remember the reason for the season! =)
Be strong & faithful because Jesus Christ, the Savior & Redeemer of the world, and our Exemplar, was!
~Sister San Diego
First off, I would like to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! to my Mom, who will be "29" tomorrow! ;D
Tomorrow also is my 5-month mark since I came out into the mission field! It's crazy how quickly time flies by! 13 months to go...!
Quick bit of news for any future Sister Missionary--lds.org has awesome tips on the main page! Hopefully they will still be there by the time you read this :)
This week we got our car back on Wednesday! The best part was that it snowed the day after--we were SO grateful the snow was held off until we had the car again!
We have still been having a little bit of a hard time in scheduling appointments & helping people to progress & come to church to be spiritually strengthened, but it's ok because this is a new week & it will be better! And even though we've been having some difficulties, we have met a lot of people who may be interested in learning about the gospel!
CHRISTMAS IS A WEEK & A DAY AWAY!!!!!
Remember the reason for the season! =)
Be strong & faithful because Jesus Christ, the Savior & Redeemer of the world, and our Exemplar, was!
~Sister San Diego
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| Nativities from the Creche |
 |
| Santa Nativity |
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| We had to bike it last week, sure glad we got our car back!! |
Monday, December 10, 2012
Pieces Of Our Testimony Are Like Popsicle Sticks
Hi Everyone!
This week has been pretty good, considering we were without a car! I don't recommend biking in the winter--it's bloom'in cold!!
Back in September, our car had a not-so-friendly encounter with a coyote, & the coyote ripped out a few cosmetic pieces. We finally got to take it in for repair last week Monday, and we will get it back either later today or tomorrow (Yay). In the meantime, we have done a combination of walking, biking, & catching rides w/ members & the other Sister Missionaries. It was definitely an experience that made the two of us extra grateful for our car!!! And like my brother ( http://eldersandiego.blogspot.com ), I can say that my mission has had an "impact" on me--I was biking, wrecked on a curb, & hit the top of my knees on the road. I'm ok & can walk fine, but I now have a nice "battle wound." (Elder San Diego got a baseball-ankle)
Now as I said, despite us being car-less, it was a good week! Even though a few appointments fell through, we have still met a bunch of people & had some good lessons with those we are teaching! We also got to help with a service project for a family whose mom recently passed on--that was one of my favorite parts :)
We've been working with 2 brothers, JJ & Chris--they are awesome kids & are really good at reading the Book of Mormon & praying! We meet with them every night to teach their lessons & read with them. Their family is awesome :)
Another investigator named Ray came to church with his roommate yesterday! They really felt that it was good for them to be there, especially on that day
We also are working with several others who are either investigators, part-member families, or people who may be interested in learning more about the gospel--I wish I could tell you about each of them, but I am running out of time! I will let you know more about them next week :)
The work is good, the people are great, & I hope to serve my calling as best as I can while here!
Yesterday, Sis. Michaud & I had the opportunity to speak in church--our topics were about why Jesus Christ was born & why He was born in the circumstances He was, and about the shepherds & the wise men coming to see the Baby Jesus, & how we can relate their story to us.
I chose the latter topic & related us to the shepherds & wise men, the star to the Gospel, & the angels to prophets, including several other traits of those people & ways we can come to/find Christ as they did. I will see about taking my notes & actually writing them into a talk for my family to post.
On Friday, we had a visit from our Mission President & Mission Mom, Pres. & Sis. Hermansen. Sis. Hermansen gave a nice lesson on how pieces of our testimonies are like Popsicle/craft sticks--the more pieces we have, the stronger they are together & the more difficult it is to break our testimonies.
I encourage you all to continue building your testimonies, even if it's about one principle of the gospel at a time! I promise that when you do, you will have greater spiritual strength & you will know the truthfulness of the gospel even more!
Hope all is well with you & that you are having a good week!
Be strong & faithful because He was!
~Sister San Diego
This week has been pretty good, considering we were without a car! I don't recommend biking in the winter--it's bloom'in cold!!
Back in September, our car had a not-so-friendly encounter with a coyote, & the coyote ripped out a few cosmetic pieces. We finally got to take it in for repair last week Monday, and we will get it back either later today or tomorrow (Yay). In the meantime, we have done a combination of walking, biking, & catching rides w/ members & the other Sister Missionaries. It was definitely an experience that made the two of us extra grateful for our car!!! And like my brother ( http://eldersandiego.blogspot.com ), I can say that my mission has had an "impact" on me--I was biking, wrecked on a curb, & hit the top of my knees on the road. I'm ok & can walk fine, but I now have a nice "battle wound." (Elder San Diego got a baseball-ankle)
Now as I said, despite us being car-less, it was a good week! Even though a few appointments fell through, we have still met a bunch of people & had some good lessons with those we are teaching! We also got to help with a service project for a family whose mom recently passed on--that was one of my favorite parts :)
We've been working with 2 brothers, JJ & Chris--they are awesome kids & are really good at reading the Book of Mormon & praying! We meet with them every night to teach their lessons & read with them. Their family is awesome :)
Another investigator named Ray came to church with his roommate yesterday! They really felt that it was good for them to be there, especially on that day
We also are working with several others who are either investigators, part-member families, or people who may be interested in learning more about the gospel--I wish I could tell you about each of them, but I am running out of time! I will let you know more about them next week :)
The work is good, the people are great, & I hope to serve my calling as best as I can while here!
Yesterday, Sis. Michaud & I had the opportunity to speak in church--our topics were about why Jesus Christ was born & why He was born in the circumstances He was, and about the shepherds & the wise men coming to see the Baby Jesus, & how we can relate their story to us.
I chose the latter topic & related us to the shepherds & wise men, the star to the Gospel, & the angels to prophets, including several other traits of those people & ways we can come to/find Christ as they did. I will see about taking my notes & actually writing them into a talk for my family to post.
On Friday, we had a visit from our Mission President & Mission Mom, Pres. & Sis. Hermansen. Sis. Hermansen gave a nice lesson on how pieces of our testimonies are like Popsicle/craft sticks--the more pieces we have, the stronger they are together & the more difficult it is to break our testimonies.
I encourage you all to continue building your testimonies, even if it's about one principle of the gospel at a time! I promise that when you do, you will have greater spiritual strength & you will know the truthfulness of the gospel even more!
Hope all is well with you & that you are having a good week!
Be strong & faithful because He was!
~Sister San Diego
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| Sis. Michaud & Sis. San Diego |
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| OUCH! |
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