Dear Mom, Dad, Erin, Britt, Damian, Jordan, Brandice, Colin,
Cortney, Ammon, Solon, Zach, Shyler, Emery, Addie, Dashle, Coy, Rowyn, Talmage,
Liam, Eilish, and Ecklyn (yes Solon, I said Ecklyn. I'm praying that Ecklyn
will be her name),
How is everyone? I hope I didn't forget anyone's name, but I'm
on a mission! I can barely remember what day of the week it is let alone the
names of my entire, ginormous, family! I hope you are all very excited for
Christmas! It's so weird that Christmas is next week. It feels all wrong to me.
It's....warm outside. Well, mostly. It's actually been overcast and rainy here
the past three days, but it seriously doesn't seem like Christmas AT ALL. I
need snow. I mean, it's still always in, at the lowest, the 50s here. It's just
throwing me off. haha. I'm excited to get to talk to everyone on
Christmas! I'm sure you're not as pumped as I am, but act excited, ok?
haha.
This week went by really quickly! The definite
highlight of the week was having zone conference. It's always so fun to see
other missionaries that I have served around, who have been transferred to
different areas. I love hearing the comments and viewpoints of the other
missionaries, and it really strengthens me. I especially loved the opportunity
to see Sister Castro and talk with her more. It's nice to be able to get to
know her better and I always feel so loved when she is around. She takes good
care of the missionaries and we really are so grateful for her. She has a very
comforting spirit about her and I think that's why I love being around her the
most - it's probably because she is a mom. That's my guess. I really enjoyed
when she spoke to us. She is very powerful and is absolutely guided by the Spirit
when she speaks. One thing that stuck out to me the most that I learned about,
was praying. I have been feeling lately that I need to improve the way that I
pray. I have a relationship with my Heavenly Father through prayer, but I know
that it could be so much stronger. In my patriarchal blessing it talks about
how I will have a great relationship with Him through prayer and that I will
feel Him close to me as I pour my heart out. As we were taught about pleading
with God through prayer, I was really pondering on what that means and how I
can improve my prayers. I spend a lot of time praying throughout the day but I
know that I could be praying more. I need to take the time to really focus when
I pray and I think that will help me feel that I am exerting my best efforts
when I am praying. Anyway, that's something that I'm working on right now.
Something that I've done whenever possible is to pray vocally when my companion
is in the shower. I find that I can focus so much more when I'm praying vocally
and I know how powerful vocal prayers are. I also pray vocally in the shower
sometimes, which seems funny, but it helps me a lot. I'll keep you updated on
improvements/miracles that I see as I work on improving my prayers.
This week we taught Choice, Heena, Rocio, Kathy, the Lams (less-active), Liz, Brother Luke (less-active), the Pflaumers, Nancy, Shelly, Nanci (less-active) and Kelsey, Cheyenne, Michelle, Ginger (less-active), the Oatmans, Elias, Judy (less-active), Hani, the Matweyews, and Anthony.
Elias is really great! He came to church with us again yesterday. The hard thing is that both of the wards we cover meet at the same time, so we were in sacrament meeting with Elias, but we had to leave halfway through second hour to go to the other ward. Sister Eaton said she would sit by him when we left and take care of him, so I hope everything went well with him. I wouldn't have worried if Brother Pierson (the ward mission leader) was there, but he was at home with the flu. Elias is very in tune with the Spirit. He's aware of how he feels when he prays and when he reads. The hard part is when he reads in the Book of Mormon. He's been reading every day for 10 minutes, but it's hard for him because he didn't finish high school. He just doesn't know how to read that well. I think he gets a little discouraged by that, but the great thing is that he keeps trying. We've told him that we know he'll see his reading skills improve if he continues to read in the Book of Mormon, and I really do have the faith that that will happen. The Lord blesses those who put Him first, and that will happen for Elias if he continues to do so. Elias is a sad guy. He moved away from his family in Washington because of a bad relationship he was in and is living here with his aunt. It's been such a blessing for him to be able to pray and to have learned how to pray. He always talks about how when he prays he feels better or he feels safe. That really touched me, because I have had those same feelings a lot as I've been serving my mission. The thing about teaching Elias is that he is 29. He could go to the singles ward, but we're not sure right now if that is what's best for him. We've been praying about it a lot, so we'll see what answer we receive about that. I hope we don't have to pass him off to the singles ward elders. That always makes me nervous for some reason, even though I know that the elders are really great missionaries. We'll just need to be very sensitive to the Spirit so we do what's best for Elias.
We taught the Oatmans again this week. They didn't read like they said they would, which made me pretty disappointed. I just want them to read and pray so they can receive their answers sooner rather than later. They had questions for us when we came because they had talked to a friend of theirs who used to learn from the missionaries. They asked about the Word of Wisdom and about how there are parts of the Book of Mormon that are word for word with passages in the Bible. The funny part is that the whole time Deanna kept saying that they need to give it time and stay open. She's really great. I think she really wants to know if this is true for herself. We told them that a lot of the concerns they have now, and possibly will have in the future, will be resolved by first getting a reassurance/answer for themselves about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and both Keith and Deanna talked about how it's hard to think that there are three kingdoms when they've been raised to think only of heaven or hell. Deanna also talked about how she doesn't understand why God would have people that were really good and followed Jesus Christ, but just didn't become members of the LDS church, not be able to live with Him. Even when she expressed that concern she basically answered herself and said that she would have to give it time and pray about it. How great is that? We invited them to be baptized on the 19th of January and Deanna said yes right away - that she would make that her goal. Keith was hesitant. He said he felt like that was trying to rush things, but we explained that it's showing their faith in God to give them answers so long as they are doing their part by reading, praying, and coming to church. Keith then agreed and said that he would set that as his goal as well. I know that they'll get an answer. They were planning on coming to church with us on Sunday, but on Saturday night they texted us and said that they didn't feel like they should come to church with us yet. They said that right at that moment they were reading "their homework," and Deanna said that they would need more time and prayers. My heart sank a little because I know how powerful the Spirit is at church, especially in receiving answers to their questions. Sister Stoker got in the shower right after that, so I knelt down and prayed vocally about Deanna and Keith. I prayed that they would feel the Spirit as they read and that they would be able to recognize it. We are meeting with them on Wednesday night, so I'm excited to hear about how reading and praying has been going for them.
My trainee, Sister Stoker, is doing well. Obviously she is still going through some ups and downs, but I know that she's going to be fine. She feels like she isn't progressing or growing, but it's so obvious to me that she is. When we had zone conference, I was talking to Hermana Walker about what it's like to be training and I told her that the coolest thing is seeing the Lord working with Sister Stoker to help her change and be shaped into a very powerful missionary. Although Sister Stoker is unsure of herself, I know that she's a great missionary. She wants to be perfect at everything because that's what she's used to. She's just like I was, but she's learning to rely on the Lord more than herself. That's something that I'm still trying to learn as well. I just know that we are so much more successful when we choose to rely on the Spirit rather than relying on our personality or our own abilities. We are promised to be given power and we have been set apart and given authority to teach the people in our area. It's hard for her to just listen to me bear my testimony about that and to just be ok with everything, because she has to experience it for herself. I'm just trying to help her recognize the blessings and to see the changes that she's been making already. She breaks down every once in a while because it's hard and sometimes I'm not really sure what to say. All I can really say is to be patient and trust in the promised blessings of the Lord. That's what helped me when I was struggling and it still helps me. I read the blessing I was given when I was set apart or I read my patriarchal blessing and I remember that the Lord ALWAYS fulfills his promises to us if we are obedient and worthy. She'll learn that just like I have.
This week we taught Choice, Heena, Rocio, Kathy, the Lams (less-active), Liz, Brother Luke (less-active), the Pflaumers, Nancy, Shelly, Nanci (less-active) and Kelsey, Cheyenne, Michelle, Ginger (less-active), the Oatmans, Elias, Judy (less-active), Hani, the Matweyews, and Anthony.
Elias is really great! He came to church with us again yesterday. The hard thing is that both of the wards we cover meet at the same time, so we were in sacrament meeting with Elias, but we had to leave halfway through second hour to go to the other ward. Sister Eaton said she would sit by him when we left and take care of him, so I hope everything went well with him. I wouldn't have worried if Brother Pierson (the ward mission leader) was there, but he was at home with the flu. Elias is very in tune with the Spirit. He's aware of how he feels when he prays and when he reads. The hard part is when he reads in the Book of Mormon. He's been reading every day for 10 minutes, but it's hard for him because he didn't finish high school. He just doesn't know how to read that well. I think he gets a little discouraged by that, but the great thing is that he keeps trying. We've told him that we know he'll see his reading skills improve if he continues to read in the Book of Mormon, and I really do have the faith that that will happen. The Lord blesses those who put Him first, and that will happen for Elias if he continues to do so. Elias is a sad guy. He moved away from his family in Washington because of a bad relationship he was in and is living here with his aunt. It's been such a blessing for him to be able to pray and to have learned how to pray. He always talks about how when he prays he feels better or he feels safe. That really touched me, because I have had those same feelings a lot as I've been serving my mission. The thing about teaching Elias is that he is 29. He could go to the singles ward, but we're not sure right now if that is what's best for him. We've been praying about it a lot, so we'll see what answer we receive about that. I hope we don't have to pass him off to the singles ward elders. That always makes me nervous for some reason, even though I know that the elders are really great missionaries. We'll just need to be very sensitive to the Spirit so we do what's best for Elias.
We taught the Oatmans again this week. They didn't read like they said they would, which made me pretty disappointed. I just want them to read and pray so they can receive their answers sooner rather than later. They had questions for us when we came because they had talked to a friend of theirs who used to learn from the missionaries. They asked about the Word of Wisdom and about how there are parts of the Book of Mormon that are word for word with passages in the Bible. The funny part is that the whole time Deanna kept saying that they need to give it time and stay open. She's really great. I think she really wants to know if this is true for herself. We told them that a lot of the concerns they have now, and possibly will have in the future, will be resolved by first getting a reassurance/answer for themselves about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and both Keith and Deanna talked about how it's hard to think that there are three kingdoms when they've been raised to think only of heaven or hell. Deanna also talked about how she doesn't understand why God would have people that were really good and followed Jesus Christ, but just didn't become members of the LDS church, not be able to live with Him. Even when she expressed that concern she basically answered herself and said that she would have to give it time and pray about it. How great is that? We invited them to be baptized on the 19th of January and Deanna said yes right away - that she would make that her goal. Keith was hesitant. He said he felt like that was trying to rush things, but we explained that it's showing their faith in God to give them answers so long as they are doing their part by reading, praying, and coming to church. Keith then agreed and said that he would set that as his goal as well. I know that they'll get an answer. They were planning on coming to church with us on Sunday, but on Saturday night they texted us and said that they didn't feel like they should come to church with us yet. They said that right at that moment they were reading "their homework," and Deanna said that they would need more time and prayers. My heart sank a little because I know how powerful the Spirit is at church, especially in receiving answers to their questions. Sister Stoker got in the shower right after that, so I knelt down and prayed vocally about Deanna and Keith. I prayed that they would feel the Spirit as they read and that they would be able to recognize it. We are meeting with them on Wednesday night, so I'm excited to hear about how reading and praying has been going for them.
My trainee, Sister Stoker, is doing well. Obviously she is still going through some ups and downs, but I know that she's going to be fine. She feels like she isn't progressing or growing, but it's so obvious to me that she is. When we had zone conference, I was talking to Hermana Walker about what it's like to be training and I told her that the coolest thing is seeing the Lord working with Sister Stoker to help her change and be shaped into a very powerful missionary. Although Sister Stoker is unsure of herself, I know that she's a great missionary. She wants to be perfect at everything because that's what she's used to. She's just like I was, but she's learning to rely on the Lord more than herself. That's something that I'm still trying to learn as well. I just know that we are so much more successful when we choose to rely on the Spirit rather than relying on our personality or our own abilities. We are promised to be given power and we have been set apart and given authority to teach the people in our area. It's hard for her to just listen to me bear my testimony about that and to just be ok with everything, because she has to experience it for herself. I'm just trying to help her recognize the blessings and to see the changes that she's been making already. She breaks down every once in a while because it's hard and sometimes I'm not really sure what to say. All I can really say is to be patient and trust in the promised blessings of the Lord. That's what helped me when I was struggling and it still helps me. I read the blessing I was given when I was set apart or I read my patriarchal blessing and I remember that the Lord ALWAYS fulfills his promises to us if we are obedient and worthy. She'll learn that just like I have.
We'll talk next week!
You know what I want for Christmas? A letter
from Cortney, Colin, Britt, Erin, Solon, Damian, ZACH (that would be crazy),
and Dad. The others are good to me and write me letters. :)
I love you all!
