So this letter is just gonna have little bits of experiences, nothing really flows.
I love being in an appointment and 1) finding out someones concerns and helping solve that concern. or 2) using a scripture or asking a question and just feeling the spirit fill the room (there really is a tangible feeling of the spirit)
This happened the other night when we were teaching an active family about missionary work. I started by saying or telling about how when the missionaries came to the house and taught about missionary work nothing would really happen, So I tried to emphasize that our purpose at their house was to help them become missionaries on their own!
We shared Alma 17:2-3, 11 which talks about things we should do to become instruments for Heavenly Father, and out of nowhere I asked if they were scared/worried about the world their kids had to grow up in. They said, "yes, but we have the gospel. so we don't need to worry." I replied, "exactly! Don't you think there are other parents who are worried but don't have the peace of mind that you have?" The spirit filled the room and they committed to fast and pray about finding someone or to become aware of someone who they needed to help! They approached me Sunday with a family whom we have tried to visit but they just need a really great fellow shipper and now they have someone. YEAH! Hopefully they can go somewhere now.
So as I mentioned in my email Elder Bowen came to our mission, we talked about obedience and 1) he asked if we knew someone who should be on a mission but isn't 2) why are we serving missions. I automatically thought about a friend and he said, "the reason they aren't on missions is because they don't understand the doctrine". If they understood His plan they would be out. So I was thinking that no matter how great men are if they don't go on missions they don't understand the doctrine of the church. If I want a strong family who can face the temptations and events of the second coming I need a valiant faithful returned missionary.
Elder Bowen gave us 3 things that will change our missions. 1) Arise, not just wake up by 6:30am. 2) Have nightly planning every night. 3) talk to 20 people each day. He said that we go around asking people to change their lives give up life long habits and sometimes cherished relationships for the gospel, BUT we cant ask people to do that if we aren't exactly obedient to the simplest mission rules. Such as planning and waking up. There is much at stake to be just a little lazy! I at least felt good knowing the things I could do on uy own I ws doing and the compaionship stuff is getting better. Anyways it was a really great conference and I learned so much
We also talked about who we are and who we may have been in pre0earth life. Think about it.....Abraham was a "Nobel and great one" and opened the way for everyone to receive the gospel! Christ was a God who created this world then came here as a man. Adam as we know was Michael who helped create the world! They all passed through the veil and were subject to the challenges of mortal life. Just like us!! So, who exactly were we before this life? What did we do? What role did we play> What promises did we make our Heavenly Father? This really pressed upon my mind since I have a glimpse of who I was and how I promised y Savior I would come here to the Philippines and we had a "friendship" Who was I? What exactly did I promise to do here? YIKES! So many questions. Hopefully each one of us are able to live up to our promises and his desire everyday.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Being UNITED
We had exchanges last week, which were amazing. We tried to focus on one chapeter of Preach My Gospel, "Teach with your compainon in unity" We then focused on passing the lesson back and forth more often in the lesson. Can I just say the result was magical!
The family we taught has been less active for a long time and has been through many sets of missionaries. So...... our lesson was about the baptismal covenant. We just taught like normal (meaning the information) and then I was prompted to ask their thoughts. To which they said they felt like they were being corrected. At this point we hadn't really done much in way of invitations or suggestions things they should be dong so it opened up a great window to talk about eh Holy Ghost and how he is the one who truly lets us know what we need to be dong and that our messages don't come from us. It comes from Heavenly Father!
Unfortunately they still didn't come to church, which is okay, everyone has their agency. But this was one lesson I knew the spirit was guiding and teaching both the learner and teacher!This kind of teaching akes faith, patience, and trust in both your companion and Heavenly Father. But the results are magical! This doesnt just apply to teaching as a missionary but in helping famioy members make good decisions or in our own personal relationships.
The Key.....BEING UNITED!
So lets be more united. As a family, as husbands and wives (where applicable) as church leaders, and as individuals with our Father in Heaven. It can be tricky but it is possible.
The family we taught has been less active for a long time and has been through many sets of missionaries. So...... our lesson was about the baptismal covenant. We just taught like normal (meaning the information) and then I was prompted to ask their thoughts. To which they said they felt like they were being corrected. At this point we hadn't really done much in way of invitations or suggestions things they should be dong so it opened up a great window to talk about eh Holy Ghost and how he is the one who truly lets us know what we need to be dong and that our messages don't come from us. It comes from Heavenly Father!
Unfortunately they still didn't come to church, which is okay, everyone has their agency. But this was one lesson I knew the spirit was guiding and teaching both the learner and teacher!This kind of teaching akes faith, patience, and trust in both your companion and Heavenly Father. But the results are magical! This doesnt just apply to teaching as a missionary but in helping famioy members make good decisions or in our own personal relationships.
The Key.....BEING UNITED!
So lets be more united. As a family, as husbands and wives (where applicable) as church leaders, and as individuals with our Father in Heaven. It can be tricky but it is possible.
Miracles In Valenzuela
What an amazing week this last week has been. We reached our goal of contacting 20 people in a day... we didn't reach it every day
but we gave our best and we are already seeing the results! We had 4 new
investigators this last week and many follow up appointments this
coming week. We also had 5 investigators attend church!
One lady that we found is actually a friend of one of our less actives! We stopped to talk to this random lady on the street when our less active walked by and told us that her friend lived in the same complex. So she introduced us to her friend and they let us into their house. Our less active gave them a tithing pamphlet a while back I guess, and it was actually right above their T.V. We were all out of pamphlets and the only one we had left was law of chastity... yeah go figure. But we found out that she has a 4 month old baby! She is really cute! But we also met her father in law who has been inside the temple for some electrical work! We now have a return appointment with the both of them! And they even gave us a referral! The statement from President Hinkley about member missionary work is so true... Our less active has taken an interest in their progression and is starting to catch a vision of missionary work... Our less active also came to church on Sunday after having missed a few!
Judge Not that ye Be NOT judges
No matter how righteous we are life is hard. Look at our Savior, he was pure, he never looked at, thought or said anything bad, however people sought his life and eventually crucified him only hours after he atoned for their weaknesses and sins. There is NO EASY LIFE! So before we go and judge someone or say they should be doing something different, we need to remember they have personal battles we cant see and even if we can and we think its a no brainer, it may be a world crushing experience to them.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Just a Little Insight
Hello Again! WOW! P-day again.
Todays p-day was so great. We went to Avilon Zoo as a zone today! I was able to feed aralpaima fish! They were maybe 5-6 feet long and only eat meat/blood! We fed them chicken heads! It was so cool. I'm really sad that I'm not able to send pictures....but, I was also able to take a picture with a monkey named Trixy. She held my hand and even kissed my cheek. It was SO cool!! Then I pet a tiger, yep, the cages are that close, and they arent like our tigers in the zoo back home where they just sit and are boring. They were up and playing and would talk to us!!!:)
So there were some other really good things that happened this past week and other not so good...not so good first. One of our less actives has been really sick and just found out that she has breast cancer so if I may I would ask that you keep her in your prayers! She is such an inspiration though. She told us that "she knows Heavently Father will not put you through anything that we can not handle."
Now for the good things....Elder Shane Bowen from the seventies came to visit our mission this last week and gave some amazing talks. We discussed the oath and the covenant of the Priesthood, the Abrahamic covenant and so forth and we talked a lot about who we are. He said that he believes that when we remember who we are we will act differently. To illustrate this he talked about fleas....crabs...and a runner. He told us how fleas, like the ones you find on dogs, do not crawl or run, they jump. If you put them in a jar with no lid they will jump out. But... if you put them in a jar with a lid they will eventually learn to jump just below the lid..he then talked about how when you catch crabs you can put them all in one bowl and they wont get out because the crabs will pull each other down. Then he talked about the runner who broke the 4 minute mile... At the time even doctors said it wasn't possible.
As people we will often look at others and copy what they do...if someone thinks that this is the best they can do then otheres will only reach that height. Along with all the other runners..until the record was broken. After the record was broken many people have been able to get even better times...the secret...its all in your head...it all in what we want to do....whether we believe in ourselves and have faith or we dont... he challenged everyone to repent and to gain a better view of who they can become and the things that they can do..
After conference Elder Bowen, his wife, President Bertin and his wife, and the AP"S came to our apartment to just look around and what not....President Bertin before they left offered a prayer and then something special happened....They paused before they left then offered us an invitation and a challenge. They asked if we 4 sister would be willing to change our mission.. To set the standard higher and to become like the runner...YIKES!!! This is a disciple of Christ personally inviting me in my apartment to break records....Of course I said yes!!
This means that we will be talking and contacting more then 20 people a day....planning more effectively and waking up just a little earlier.. But the extra work will only bring extra blessings!!
I'm excited for the challenge. There you go! Just a little insight into my week
Well I hope you are all having a great week and things are gong great Remember Heavently Father loves you and is proud of you!!
Todays p-day was so great. We went to Avilon Zoo as a zone today! I was able to feed aralpaima fish! They were maybe 5-6 feet long and only eat meat/blood! We fed them chicken heads! It was so cool. I'm really sad that I'm not able to send pictures....but, I was also able to take a picture with a monkey named Trixy. She held my hand and even kissed my cheek. It was SO cool!! Then I pet a tiger, yep, the cages are that close, and they arent like our tigers in the zoo back home where they just sit and are boring. They were up and playing and would talk to us!!!:)
So there were some other really good things that happened this past week and other not so good...not so good first. One of our less actives has been really sick and just found out that she has breast cancer so if I may I would ask that you keep her in your prayers! She is such an inspiration though. She told us that "she knows Heavently Father will not put you through anything that we can not handle."
Now for the good things....Elder Shane Bowen from the seventies came to visit our mission this last week and gave some amazing talks. We discussed the oath and the covenant of the Priesthood, the Abrahamic covenant and so forth and we talked a lot about who we are. He said that he believes that when we remember who we are we will act differently. To illustrate this he talked about fleas....crabs...and a runner. He told us how fleas, like the ones you find on dogs, do not crawl or run, they jump. If you put them in a jar with no lid they will jump out. But... if you put them in a jar with a lid they will eventually learn to jump just below the lid..he then talked about how when you catch crabs you can put them all in one bowl and they wont get out because the crabs will pull each other down. Then he talked about the runner who broke the 4 minute mile... At the time even doctors said it wasn't possible.
As people we will often look at others and copy what they do...if someone thinks that this is the best they can do then otheres will only reach that height. Along with all the other runners..until the record was broken. After the record was broken many people have been able to get even better times...the secret...its all in your head...it all in what we want to do....whether we believe in ourselves and have faith or we dont... he challenged everyone to repent and to gain a better view of who they can become and the things that they can do..
After conference Elder Bowen, his wife, President Bertin and his wife, and the AP"S came to our apartment to just look around and what not....President Bertin before they left offered a prayer and then something special happened....They paused before they left then offered us an invitation and a challenge. They asked if we 4 sister would be willing to change our mission.. To set the standard higher and to become like the runner...YIKES!!! This is a disciple of Christ personally inviting me in my apartment to break records....Of course I said yes!!
This means that we will be talking and contacting more then 20 people a day....planning more effectively and waking up just a little earlier.. But the extra work will only bring extra blessings!!
I'm excited for the challenge. There you go! Just a little insight into my week
Well I hope you are all having a great week and things are gong great Remember Heavently Father loves you and is proud of you!!
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Whats your VISION
This letter is about creating a vision, for ourselves, our families, or any other situation or group you may be in. The word vision means "to see a future state; to see the end from the beginning" So when we create our vision we must know what, or who we want to become what do we want our lives to become? Then we must visualize our road map and identify key events and types of people that we need in order to accomplish this vision. In Isaiah 40:31 we learn of some things we must do and include in our vision. 1) we must "wait" upon the Lord the footnote says. It teaches us that we must hope for or anticipate his will or to know His will for us. 2) We must then "mount up with wings as eagles" I'm sure this could be interrupted many different ways bot for me it means take your vision and direction from the Lord and run with it! We must do all that we can to make the vision happen. Nephi and his brothers had a goal/vision. When they went back to Jerusalem to get the plates plan A didn't work so they had to go all the way to plan C.
Alma was commanded to preach the gospel in Ammoniaha. His first plan failed but he didn't give up. He went back by a different way, met Amulek and baptized many. Through these examples we see that when it is inspired of the Lord and we do our VERY BEST, we will succeed. However KIng Soloman has v=given us a warning about what will happen if we dont create or have a vision. In proverbs 29:18 "where there is no vision, the people perish."
So I took the time to do a lifttle self reflection and I created a vision fo my life. To share just a few goals, I want to always have family prayer, I want to be organized and I want to be physically fit. All these things I can work on and prepare for now. They wont magically come when I go home, when I have my own family or anyghing else. Wemust work our plan now. "Prepare for tomorrow by working today."
So What is your Vision?
I love you all so much and I hope all is well on that side of the world.Life continues over herel the work is progressing and blessings are being manifested.
"No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing"
Love you!
Alma was commanded to preach the gospel in Ammoniaha. His first plan failed but he didn't give up. He went back by a different way, met Amulek and baptized many. Through these examples we see that when it is inspired of the Lord and we do our VERY BEST, we will succeed. However KIng Soloman has v=given us a warning about what will happen if we dont create or have a vision. In proverbs 29:18 "where there is no vision, the people perish."
So I took the time to do a lifttle self reflection and I created a vision fo my life. To share just a few goals, I want to always have family prayer, I want to be organized and I want to be physically fit. All these things I can work on and prepare for now. They wont magically come when I go home, when I have my own family or anyghing else. Wemust work our plan now. "Prepare for tomorrow by working today."
So What is your Vision?
I love you all so much and I hope all is well on that side of the world.Life continues over herel the work is progressing and blessings are being manifested.
"No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing"
Love you!
LIfe long friends
What an interesting week this has been yet again!
So....My whole time here in the Philippines, learning Tagalog I've never really said anything that has been completely wrong and embarrassing. Yes I get grammar wrong and words mixed up and what not but nothing super embarrassing....until last week! So Sister Mole and I went to the salon to get our hair cut...well she ended up coloring her hair and I had time to wait so the lady talked me into getting a manicure and pedicure. So we were all sitting there chatting and one of the guys that worked there was a former investigator where he lives so he knows a lot about the church. The lady asked if I would like some coffee to which he quickly told her that it wasn't allowed!....That got us on the topic of the Word of Wildon and what we choose not to eat and drink...well he asked me if "sister"meaning sister Mole ate something........I thought he asked if we eat our sisters...as in do we eat people...oh my! We had a good laugh!
There are 4 sisters who stay in our one apartment and Sister Basulgan usually cooks for us, but she has asked us to help out by cooking a meal or two each week...They wanted American..so I made BBQ Pork...Can you get much more American then that!! And they made me giggle, they walked up to the table that had the pork, hamburger buns, and chips and asked, "Wheres the rice?" And they werent joking! They were very confused as to why there was no rice. But youknow what?! Ther were actually full even though there was no rice.
We had a really great week for finding new people to teach. We received a referral for a young lady named Michelle. She is 22 years old, has a 5 year old who is staying with her parents in Province since she is here taking care of 2 elderly ladies..We invited her to come to church this Sunday and she said that she would. And what do you know! She showed up before we did. But she loved it ans said that she can relate to everything that was being presented, she even shed a few tears. But I talked to her about the people she is taking care of and what kind of illness they hat because she mentioned that they have to go to Dialysis, and what would you guess..They have kidney failure and do dialysis 2 times a week for 4 hours at a time! This truly is a samll world and we all have experiences in our life so that we can help others in thier trials! Sometimes theyjust arent as apparent as this. I am so excited to get to know these amazing people better. I can feel we are gonna be lfe long friends! Its amazing how someone can automatically have a special place in your heart just because someone else who is special is already there!
I love being a missionary and seeing how the gospel truly is for everyone. And when someone comes unto Christ their world is immediately changes! (Mosiah 2, Book of Mormon) So if you need help, feel lost and in the dark, just turn on the light of the restored gospel!
I love you all, Have a great week and for everyone gong back to school...study hard, learn lots and NEVER forget who you are!
So....My whole time here in the Philippines, learning Tagalog I've never really said anything that has been completely wrong and embarrassing. Yes I get grammar wrong and words mixed up and what not but nothing super embarrassing....until last week! So Sister Mole and I went to the salon to get our hair cut...well she ended up coloring her hair and I had time to wait so the lady talked me into getting a manicure and pedicure. So we were all sitting there chatting and one of the guys that worked there was a former investigator where he lives so he knows a lot about the church. The lady asked if I would like some coffee to which he quickly told her that it wasn't allowed!....That got us on the topic of the Word of Wildon and what we choose not to eat and drink...well he asked me if "sister"meaning sister Mole ate something........I thought he asked if we eat our sisters...as in do we eat people...oh my! We had a good laugh!
There are 4 sisters who stay in our one apartment and Sister Basulgan usually cooks for us, but she has asked us to help out by cooking a meal or two each week...They wanted American..so I made BBQ Pork...Can you get much more American then that!! And they made me giggle, they walked up to the table that had the pork, hamburger buns, and chips and asked, "Wheres the rice?" And they werent joking! They were very confused as to why there was no rice. But youknow what?! Ther were actually full even though there was no rice.
We had a really great week for finding new people to teach. We received a referral for a young lady named Michelle. She is 22 years old, has a 5 year old who is staying with her parents in Province since she is here taking care of 2 elderly ladies..We invited her to come to church this Sunday and she said that she would. And what do you know! She showed up before we did. But she loved it ans said that she can relate to everything that was being presented, she even shed a few tears. But I talked to her about the people she is taking care of and what kind of illness they hat because she mentioned that they have to go to Dialysis, and what would you guess..They have kidney failure and do dialysis 2 times a week for 4 hours at a time! This truly is a samll world and we all have experiences in our life so that we can help others in thier trials! Sometimes theyjust arent as apparent as this. I am so excited to get to know these amazing people better. I can feel we are gonna be lfe long friends! Its amazing how someone can automatically have a special place in your heart just because someone else who is special is already there!
I love being a missionary and seeing how the gospel truly is for everyone. And when someone comes unto Christ their world is immediately changes! (Mosiah 2, Book of Mormon) So if you need help, feel lost and in the dark, just turn on the light of the restored gospel!
I love you all, Have a great week and for everyone gong back to school...study hard, learn lots and NEVER forget who you are!
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