What. A. Week! Holy Molly! Where to begin?
First and foremost, I HAVE THE BEST GRANDPARENTS EVER!!!! I got a package from them this week and it brought too much joy into my life ;) haha Dad how many packages did you get from your parents while you were on your mission? I've only been out for a month and I've got 1! HA
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| My package from my awesome grandparents! |
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| Sister Will. wearing my clothes....she really likes the sweater grandma! Haha |
Well I guess I will start off with the craziness that was this week a.k.a I went on 2 exchanges this week!
Exchange 1
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| Sister Hutchings and I |
I went over to Atobaco with Sister Hutchings. Atobaco is supper close to downtown Toronto a.k.a they live in the ghetto and there are drug deals and gun shots a.k.a my kinda scene! haha! Sister Hutchings is awesome, she is from Seattle and is just the most outgoing girl around town with a sweeeeet taste in music! Spending the day with her was supper fun and we got along really well. I got to go to a few appointments with her and such.. blah blah blah..
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| This is on my exchange with Sister Hutchings and that is Toronto..haha |
Exchange 2 (which was for 2 days)
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| Sister Thompson and I |
On this exchange I got to go to Oakville with Sister Thompson, who is my new best friend :). She is from Raymond Alberta (what what!) and played rugby out there as well as was captain for the Canada rugby team.... lets just say we had a lot to talk about. While all those things were great, probably my most favorite conversations with Sister Thompson was about the atonement. She shared some insight into the atonement with me that touched my heart. The atonement is soooo much more than what we can comprehend. There is a line in preach my gospel that says, "Through the atonement ALL that is wrong in life can be made right." I never fully understood that line, and probably still dont, but I was able to get a better picture of its meaning from a story Sis. Thompson shared with me... President Erying went to speak at a funeral for a girl who had been abused as a child and as a result committed suicide. In his talk at the funeral, he said "she would become the celestial being she was meant to be." Through the atonement, it would be as if she were never abused, she would be the person she could have been..... wow. We come into life as the celestial being we were before a.k.a our true nature, but as we experience life our "software" gets downloaded with viruses a.k.a sin. These viruses, or sin, are not who we are but they can distort and hinder our true nature, our true nature being that we are sons/daughters of a Heavenly Father. The atonement cleans out our software. It gets rid of those viruses that prevent us from being who we truly are. Ponder on the meaning of what I have just said and let me know your insights.
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| Trying to take a zone photo...I may or may not be yelling at an elder to get out of the way |
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| Our little old zone |
Now for Mitzie:
So we went to teach Mitzie about the restoration of the gospel and it went swimmingly! Before we started the lesson we asked her about her experience at church. She talked about how when she came into the building it was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.... BAHHHHHHH! Then we asked her what she expected from meeting with us and she said she wanted to gain a better relationship with God and learn more about the church and that she really liked being around us.... AKA she loves the SPIRIT!!!Honestly, where did this girl come from and Heavenly Father please send me more!
We were nearing the end our 1 hour limit, and we were only just getting to Joseph Smith. We asked her if she thought that God could call a prophet again and she said she did. Then we introduced the Book of Mormon and how this is convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth once again. We then committed her to read the Book of Mormon to know for herself if the things we have told her are true and she agreed. I then asked her if she would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God. She said that if she felt that this was God's church she would be baptized, but she wants to know more. Then I committed her to prepare to be baptized by May 19th and she said............YES! WHoop whoop!
We did more of teaching a lesson than a person..... omph our bad, but thankfully the spirit made up for our down falls as teachers.
As for sister Williams and I, we have come up with a Book of Mormon challenge that we are giving to people who we visit in the ward and I am extending the same challenge to all you all! Its to give away a Book of Mormon this week :) But dont worry, we have devised some steps to help everyone do this...
1. A prayer of faith
-ask Heavenly Father to help you give away a Book of Mormon. Ask for guidance as to who He has prepared in your life to learn about the gospel
2. Make a list of non member people you know
3. Read the introduction, Nephi 6: 4-6, 2 Nephi 25:23 &26, and Jacob 4:3-4
4. List the reasons why the Book of Mormon was written and identify the blessings in your life from the Book of Mormon.
5. Write your testimony in the front
6. Give it away within the week
Some Good News!
Sister Williams and I went to a church activity yay. Via inspiration from on high, we sat with a part-member VERY less active family! (dad is less active and wife is not a member) We talked a bunch with them and I joked about how excited we were to be feed here because all we have is pickles at home. They got a kick out of that one which sprung questions about what we do on a mission. By the end of the night, Lindsey, the wife, had enthusiastically invited us to come over for dinner.
The next day I phoned her to see when would work best for her. At the end of the conversation I was thanking her for letting us come over and telling her how excited we were etc... and she said and I quote "Ya no problem, we are excited to have you over! I was surprised at how down to earth you were. Most missionaries blah blah blah..." I tuned her out at that point because she thought I was NORMAL! She even remembered my name and my hair colour! (haha she asked when I fist called if she was talking to the brunette or the blond) I am really excited to go over and see them, we heard that they tend to avoid missionaries.
Anyways that is my exciting news for this week. A bunch of exchanges, some cool experiences with Mitzie, and one person in Hamilton thinks I am normal. Id say this week I am winning :)
"Righteous women who stand in holy places are stronger than 400 lb bikers...."
Curtesy of our ward mission leader as he bore his testimony with the utmost seriousness about women
Scripture of the Week:
Helaman 10: 1-5
The fist few scriptures give a description of Nephi walking home alone after a very discouraging effort of calling the people to repentance. He is weighed down with the sins of this people and is feeling discouraged when he hears a voice...
vs 4-5
"Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou has done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the world, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.
And now, becuase thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to they word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will."
A Haiku For You:
My Darling Mother
Selfless Caring Loving
Families Forever
Sister Hall
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| This is our previous investigator Leslie. We ran into him outsife the church. He is just riding his bike home from work..... Oh how I love him haha |
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