Full to the Brim

Full to the Brim

I'd like to start out my email to you by writing out something I wrote in my planner in the middle of church this week.

February 23

"I'm sitting in church. They have opened the curtains and the sun feels warm. Maverick is smiling and our dear Nick is beside me still hung over from last night... what a champ :). Will is to my left and has brought 2 friends with him to church. Jake and Winnie are here and are stronger than ever and Jess has been going out with the missionaries to teach. President Williamson is crying over the pulpit as he talks about how all the work we do is for the one. Heavenly Father has such an immense love for each and every single one of his children and the worth of a soul truly is great in His sight. I feel it. I love the people of Ontario. I love Shelby, Nick, Maverick, Will, Jake, Winnie, and Jess. They are so special and God knows them and cares for them so much. How grateful I am for the privilege to know them and to serve them. I love my mission." 

We have had a wonderful week and I am so full of love that it is ridiculous!

I'd like to introduce you all to Shelby. So we met Shelby through Will on friday. She met Will at the clubs I think and just recently they got back in touch. Will knows how much Sister Taylor and I love to meet people so he told her to come over and we just happened to be there ;) Shelby is such a sweet heart and just has a good soul. We talked with her for about 15 min and shared a little Mormon Message with her and invited her to come out to church with Will.

----> fast forward to Sunday

Shelby keeps her word and shows up to church with Will AND it turns out that she also knows Jake! Sacrament meeting was a sacred experience and the spirit was strong. All the talks were geared toward how our Heavenly Father is aware of us and our struggles and trials. I look over and Shelby is crying. For pretty much the rest of church she continues to cry. When we get a chance to talk with her she lets us know that 3 years ago her father died and the rest of her family doesnt talk to her because she chose not to convert to Jehovah's Witness. For the first time in years she feels peace and warmth. We helped her to know that what she was feeling is the spirit. She started asking us questions about God, and what happens after we die, and then she asks the golden question.... she asked us how long it takes people to get baptized. Lucky for her there was a baptism after church that she stayed for :) During the intermission Sister Taylor and I did a little presentation on the Book of Mormon and then we invited people to bear their testimonies. I looked Will dead in the eyes and he got the point. He got up and started to talk about how he never liked church growing up and even when he came out to Kingston but then 2 sister missionaries started coming around... thats when he started to choke up. I feel SO blessed to have the privilege of watching Will grow and now he is bringing someone else into the gospel! Later that day we went over to Will's place to teach Shelby. We taught her the plan of salvation and invited her to be baptized on March 9th. She accepted and is so excited! I love her SO much! She is so special and I can feel how much Heavenly Father loves her!

We have been texting with Ian this past week as he has been away and things have been going good. He has continued to read his scriptures and has been having good experiences. The next time we see him is on Wednesday. I am very eager to talk with him. Sister Taylor and I have this feeling that everything is going to work out :)

We have been able to see Nick twice this week. If I have already said this I'll say it again, Nick has the biggest heart I have ever seen! I want him to come to know God SO bad! He is having trouble with faith right now. He wants proof that God is there and I know the proof he is looking for is the kind that he wont be getting anytime soon. I wish that it was easier for people to develop faith but I guess we all have our different trials....

This week I have been blessed in even greater abundance. Heavenly Father really is too kind :)

I love you all! Go and share a mormon message over facebook with a friend who doesnt have the gospel!

Line of the Week: Will introducing us to his friends

Will: "Oh hey yo, this is Lauren and ah..."

Me in a frantic whisper: "I'm Sister Hall!! Dont introduce me as Lauren! I knew I shouldn't have told you my name!"

Scripture of the week: John 14: 27

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

A Hiaku for you

confession

check the hobbit cup

laugh out loud

Y.O.S.O

Sister Hall

Happy belated valintines to everyone who reads the blog! Love sister Hall and Taylor

Our food for the week haha!.... #lastweekofthemonth #0.21centsleft #missionlife

D&D

D&D

It's been a while, but there are a few Shout Outs I need to get Out (hahaha)

Thank you mom for the package! We have already eaten ALL the fishy crackers haha!

Congratulations to AMY whom I love and adore! You are going to be the most amazing missionary!!!

What the heck Derek.... you are only a missionary for like another week! CRAZY!

So this week has been a little slower due to reading week and exams but thats alright!

We had been fighting to try and see Ian this past week. He had been swamped with projects AND was going back home for reading week which would have meant that we would be going 2 weeks without seeing him which wasnt ok. Thankfully we were persistent enough and on thursday he met us at a street corner on campus so that we could give him a movie to watch over the break and a letter we wrote him. While talking to him on the sidewalk I informed him that when he got back from reading week he would only have one more week before his baptism so he should start thinking of who he wants to baptism him etc.... As soon as I mentioned that, Ian started to get scared. He told me that March 1st wasnt for sure yet. I reminded him of his prayer and asked if he has felt that God is guiding him towards baptism. He told us that one of the reasons he said that prayer was cause we asked him to and then brought up some science stuff.... I feel that he has concerns that run deeper than what he tells us. I feel like all the stuff about science is just a cover for something, but Im not sure what and the spirit hasnt enlightened us yet... Keep praying for him it is all in the Lords time :)

This week Winnie gave her first talk, or she calls it speech, in church! We challenged her to invite a friend so she invited Jake's housemate Nick and he ended up coming! She did such an amazing job! I feel like a proud mother haha!

Sister Hall getting her hair cut by Jake! Thanks Winnie:) -J

Nick, the guy who came to church, is absolutely amazing. He is also the housemate of Jakes who told him to just get baptized that one lesson a few moths ago. It was a sign that Jake was looking for! Nick is a sweetheart and has always supported Jake in joining the church. He even came to both his baptism AND his confirmation. When ever we come over he always comes out to say hi to us and will sit in and listen but is still adamant that there is no God. Well we finally convinced Nick to do the stop smoking workshop the other night so last night we went over to do it with him but ended up just talking about his life and why he doesn't believe in God. It was almost an hour long! Near the end we invited him to hear the message we share and see why we are always so happy. He accepted the invitation and we are SO excited to start teaching him! He is SO cool! I just pray the Heavenly Father will soften his heart so that he will be open to the message :)

Line of the Week: Talking to Jay our YSA sunday school teacher

Me: "Hey do you think that you could invite Ian to your next D&D night?"

Jay: "Ya for sure, I'll just have to check with my dungeon master first."

Me: "Bahahahah! yaaa ok ;)"

Jay: "No, seriously I'd have to check."

Me: "...oh... ya, if you could do that that would be awesome!"

Scripture of the week: 2 Nephi 9:7

"Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement- save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise more."

A Haiku for you

infinite

broke the bands of death

eternal

Love you all! Stay good and invite a friend to church!

Y.O.S.O

Transfer day picking up the new sisters... I was literally on top of Sister Taylor with all the luggage!

My Indian pants! They are HEAVEN!

Thats Will and I on our way to a teaching appointment. He is freaking awesome! Will had an interview with the president this past sunday AND he will be getting his temple recommend in a few weeks as well as a recommend for his patriarchal blessing :) He is also considering going on a mission :) I think we will keep him :)

Revelation From Above

Revelation From Above

First off sorry for no pictures! I have a ton I want to put up but Sister Waal left with the magic device that got them onto the computer.... I'll have to go and look for one of my own. Dad do you know what I need?

So we finally got a car this week! Actually scratch that we got an SUV WHAT WHAT! Yup a brand new 2014 Chevy trax or something like that. It is beautiful and we feel like soccer moms and it's awesome!

On an even better note...... Winnie went down to Palmyra this weekend and got to go do baptisms for the first time AND went to the sacred grove! Ah! It was so exciting! I wish with all my heart that I could have been there with her, but I think there is something in the white handbook about not being aloud to leave your mission boundaries.... She had a wonderful time and felt the spirit strong in the temple :)

Now on to Ian. So we had the privilege have having a truly wonderful experience with Ian this week. Ian has been investigating the church for sometime and over those months has made great progress. There was however a good chunk of time when his progression stopped and he felt like he was in a limbo of sorts, that is until he started reading and praying everyday about 2 weeks ago which started him on an upward progression. Missionaries have been having a hard time helping Ian to overcome his skepticism and last time we meet with Ian we talked to him about asking for specific answers to his prayers to find his answers. I left that lesson feeling uneasy.... I pondered on the commitment we left with him and tried to figure out what we did wrong. That was when the thought occurred to me that Ian has time and time again received his answer from Heavenly Father and that He wasn't going to be giving Ian any out of the ordinary signs. Heavenly Father wants Ian to walk by faith, He wants him to get baptized on the little amount of faith that he does have, 30%, and as a consequence of exercising that faith, he will be boosted up to 50%.

Ether 12:6 "...For you receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

I was excited and nervous to meet with Ian again but I knew that we really needed the spirit in order for this lesson to go well so before the lesson I prayed that Heavenly Father would put into my mouth the words he would have me speak. The lesson was going very good. Ian understood what we were telling him about how he has received his answer and even asked our opinion if being baptized on a 30% belief that there is a God would be ok, but I still felt like there was more Heavenly Father needed us to say. That's when, by the grace of God I received some revelation. I realized that Heavenly Father wasn't going to answer Ian's prayers until he made a choice so I told Ian that he had to commit to Heavenly Father right here in prayer that he will be baptized on March 1st. I then explained that Heavenly Father will confirm to him in these next few weeks if this is the right choice to make because He will never lead us astray. A light bulb turned on in his head and it made complete sense to him so we got down on our knees and listened as Ian offered a sincere heartfelt prayer, committing to our Father that he would be baptized on March 1st. The spirit was incredibly strong and after the prayer Ian said he finally felt he was on a path and had the biggest smile on his face :D

Next thing we are going to talk with Ian about is how there is opposition in all things and how to be able to discern between Heavenly Father and Satan and while at church. I felt prompted that I should share this with Ian. Soooooo I walked up to Ian after church to let him know and as I told him his face light up yet again. He looked at me and said, "You will never believe this! I was thinking about that just last night while I was reading the BoM and now YOU are bringing it up! I am beginning to see how things are starting to connect." :D

BAH! SO cool! Ian is associating positive things with Heavenly Father confirming his choice to get baptized :) 

Please keep Ian in your prayers for these next few weeks! We know that these weeks may very well be the hardest and most confusing of his journey!

 

Line of the Week: In the middle of Ian's lesson I throw my hands in the air and proclaim to everyone this statement..

Me: "Ian! I've just received revelation for you!"

It was so cute too cause in his prayer Ian thanked Heavenly Father that I was able to receive revelation for him to help him out!

Scripture of the Week: D&C 63: 9-10

"But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.

Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men, nor as they please, but by the will of God."

A haiku for you

light of Christ

humble prayer answered

on a path

Sister Hall

Y.O.S.O

Herding Sheep and Testimonies

Herding Sheep and Testimonies

Alright! So lots have happened this week as it has been the first week we have been able to work in our area full time in about a transfer. It has been Wonderful :)

Sister Taylor is the bread to my butter (except she is gluten free..) She is pretty much my twin. We are both loud and a little crazy and I think we will be getting along just fine :) Sister Taylor just came from downtown Toronto a.k.a TONS of people on the street, buses, street cars, and subways. In other words contacting is her thing haha. She is so much fun to go out with cause she is absolutely fearless! We have done a lot more bus contacting this past week which I didn't care for at first but have grown to appreciate.

We have an new/old investigator named Ian. He is freaking awesome! So the reason why he is new/old is because before the elders were teaching him but since they left, they handed him over to us. He goes to Queens and is a YSA so I'm not sure why we weren't teaching him from the start... anyways, Ian is very logical and sceptical. He is an engineer and takes physics on the side. OMPH! Since the elders have started teaching him he has made a TON of progress! He is now at 32% that he believes in God and he said once he reaches 50.0001% he will get baptized. I think Ian will really test my skills as a missionary and I am excited to work with him!

Will hasn't been to church for a little over a month so this week we really hit home that he needed to not only come to church BUT that he also wasn't aloud to sit at the back and that he had to sit up in the front with us. So Sunday roles around and Sister Taylor and I are waiting patiently for him to show up. He walks in late and was about to sit down in the back but I threw a couple daggers at him with my eyes and he made his way up to sit with us (hahaha) then Mavric, one of the members we are working with, came and sat next to Will!!!!! Score! :) It was fast and testimony meeting and we were all sitting there when I leaned over to Will and told him to go up and share his testimony. He laughed and said no way. I told him that if he went up I would.... This intrigued him. He considered the offer and accepted. In order for me to get to the pulpit I had to pass over both Will and Mavric so I stood up looked at both of them and ushered them out of the bench haha! I walk behind both of them as we made our way up to the front (it must have looked so funny, this little white girl herding these 2 men up to bear their testimonies). When we got on the stand I thumped Will's back to encourage him to go to the stand and then he said in a loud voice, "Nah women first." The congregation laughed so I went to bear my testimony. After I was all finished and sitting down there was a pause as Will and Mavric debated on who would go first. Finally Will got up. He bore a sweet testimony about the peace he feels from reading the scriptures, testified that Joseph Smith was a prophet and then sat down, all without looking up once :) It was so sweet my heart melted a little.

I have a really good feeling about this transfer. I know the Lord has a lot in store for little old Kingston and I am excited to learn all I can :)

Scripture of the Week: Jacob 4: 14

"But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God heath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble."

A haiku For YOU:

Toronto

coldest in 20 years

what the heck

Y.O.S.O

The Work Of Salvation, It's Not Just A Catch Phrase

The Work Of Salvation, It's Not Just A Catch Phrase

Transfer News! I am staying in Kingston YSA for another 6 weeks!!! Sister Waal is being banished to Sudbury (its farther north and in the whole zone there is only one set of sisters) and Sister Lamb is staying here. I will be getting Sister Taylor as a new companion! I am super excited about this! Sister Taylor and I came out together AND I knew her back in Lethbridge! She is a power house and is exactly what this area needs :)

So because it's transfer day I'll have to keep this short cause Sister Waal still has to pack half of Norway haha

This is my highlight of the week :)

So back in November or December Sister Laing and I were walking home from an appointment talking to people on the street. We passed by our laundromat and saw a women standing there with a smoke. We stopped to ask her what the most important thing was to her. She explained to us that it was her family. We talked a little about that, got her number and gave her a card. Later that day we gave the elders her number to contact her and that was that. Yesterday I was able to speak at that womens baptism :) How amazing is that?! It is such a testimony builder to me that God is aware of ALL his children. It is no coincidence that Sister Laing and I just happened to be walking past her laundry mat when she happened to be out taking a smoke. I love that Heavenly Father can trust us to help Him in His work! It also makes me realize how important it is to talk with EVERYONE! You never know who is ready to accept the gospel :)

This is some food for thought

"I am called of God. My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He is my master, and He has chosen me to represent Him, to stand in His place, to say and do what He himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me. My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts. My words are His words, and my doctrine is His doctrine. My commission is to do what He wants done, to say what He wants said, to be a living modern witness in word and deed of the divinity of His great and marvellous latter-day work. How great is my calling."

Every time I read it I get chills. When we were baptized we took upon ourselves Christ's name and in doing so promised to do just this. This does not just apply to missionaries with badges on, but to all members who have this precious truth! How great is our calling as members of Christ's church?!

"Hastening the Work of Salvation" Is More Than A Catchphrase (A link Sister Hall asked me to share)

Our District!!

laundry...

I'm sorry to be cutting this short but Norway is calling! I love and appreciate each and every single one of you!

Y.O.S.O

Weapons of Rebellion

Weapons of Rebellion

Before I begin I must get a few Shout Outs out (haha)

Grandma Kathy thank you so much for the gift card and the chocolates! They were SO good... so good that there aren't any left and I got them on Friday..... oops!

Thank you to mom for the package! I LOVE the skirts AND they all fit, its a miracle!

Thank you to Sister Bennett for the lovely card/letter I really enjoyed the haiku :)

and thank you to grandma and grandpa for the socks and the paper on how the church is doing! It was very interesting :)

I also want to thank everyone who has been writing me and sending me encouraging notes! They are a joy to read!

Now to the meat and potato's!

This week has been pretty busy trying to work both areas, but busy is what we like! We spend most of our time in the West area because they have more investigators than us. The YSA work is kinda suffering right now.... we kinda have 1 investigator haha but that's alright cause in just a short week we will have transfers and I'll get another companion and we can get to work at building up our pool of people!  

This week we tried out a new finding idea. We handed out free hot chocolate at a big bus terminal by a mall and did a survey with people entitled "Questions Of The Soul (its a good one!)

At first I was nervous cause I've never done it before AND there were going to be tons of people around which is overwhelming. Once we got there and had everything set up we stood there for a few seconds and then I grabbed a cup, filled it up, pulled up my socks and gritted my teeth and walked over to Gale. Gale didn't want my cup of hot chocolate, but she was interested in the message we had to share as well as wanted to know how she could quit smoking in 7 days a.k.a 1 new investigator! After that we found one other investigator. All in all it was an awesome finding tool. Giving people free stuff really softens the heart!

Cleaning out the nasty pot from the church for our hot chocolate!

This week we also had our skills and interviews with President Scott. Man is he ever inspired! I love getting to sit with him one on one and just pick his brain! For our interview this time we talked a little about how the transfer was going and then got into some of my weapons of rebellion. For this whole transfer I've been making a list of little things I do that may not be disobedient but keep me from becoming the missionary God needs me to be. What Pres. Scott and I talked about was keeping my eye single to His (Christ's) glory. Its not that I'm home sick or anything cause I'm not, but I find myself throughout the day quoting movies, breaking out into random song, being sarcastic, goofing off etc... Things that aren't necessarily bad, but I feel, and President Scott helped me to realize, are keeping me from becoming fully consecrated to this work. It may only be my pinkie toe that is back at home, but I didn't come on my mission to be Lauren Hall, but to be Sister Hall and that requires me to change a little. So that is what I will be working on :)   

We've been spending a lot of time with Jess this week and since her confirmation she has been doing wonderful! She has been growing in the gospel and it's such a joy to see :)

Line of the Week: Trying to find our way from Brampton to Kingston while on the phone with our elders after giving the elders THE vaguest description of where we were....

Elder Snelson: "Ok sisters you need to go 5 km north!"

Me: "... are you kidding me elder! There are NO mountains how am I supposed to know where north is?!"

Elder Dewey: "Haha that's so true"

Elder Snelson: "Ok sisters take your next exit..... what exit did you take?"

Sister Waal: "Don valley..."

Elder Snelson: "That was my first area! I know exactly where you are! Oh man elder, they are just about to pass the McDonalds that we ate at coming home from MLC."

Elder Dewey: "That McDonalds?! Oh man they are so far away! They aren't going to make it home till 12 pm!"

Me: "What the heck! You have no idea where we are! There is no McDonalds anywhere!"

Elder Snelson: "There's no point sisters, you might as well get back on the 401 and ride it bumper to bumper back home."

side note-> we made it home by 9:28

Scripture of the week: Jacob 4:10

"Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works."

A haiku for you:

Gods army

80,000 of them

strong and true

I love this work :)

Y.O.S.O

Sister Hall

Goodbyes and Hello's

Goodbyes and Hello's

So this week has been everything but normal!

Something that most of you don't know is that for the past month or so Sister Laing has been going through a really rough time. I am eternally grateful that Heavenly Father saw fit for me to be there with Sister Laing through it all. I love her so much! She has helped me immensely to grow in my confidence and my ability to be a powerful missionary. She has taught me how to rely on the Lord in all things and that He truly does hear and answer our prayers. After prayerful consideration Sister Laing received her answer that the mission she was called to serve was finished and that it was time to go home. After some long and heart felt conversations with the Mission President he gave her an honourable release and so on Thursday the apartmentship drove Sister Laing to Brampton and said our goodbyes. It was sad and I will miss her a ton but I know that this was right for her :) (Thank you Sister Laing for letting us include this WHOLE paragraph about how awesome you are in the blog this week:) Welcome home!! -J)

Our last road trip!

So with my companion gone what does this mean for me and the YSA? Well for the next 2 weeks I will be in a trio with Sister Waal and Lamb and we will be covering both areas!! It sure is different and takes a little getting used to, however, I am learning of ton from teaching with these 2 and am excited to soak in all I can!

As for my area, things have been pretty dead this week. I am thinking of dropping all our investigators by the end of the week if things don't change. I also haven't heard from Francis for a week which is stressing me out to the max! On the other hand Jess was confirmed this week!! YAYAYAYAYA! AND Jake got a new calling...... he is the second councillor in the sunday school presidency! SAY WHAT?!?! He is going to be amazing! :)

I had a cool experience with a less active we have been working with since October :) His name is Will and he is pretty awesome. We have been working with him trying to help him over come his doubts and to live the commandments. He has been making a lot of progress too! Anyways over the break I felt prompted to text him on New Years eve to see when we could meet with him next. Then I felt like I should send him a quick reminder about how awesome the word of wisdom is. We got to see Will for the first time since that text yesterday and he told me that just as I texted him someone handed him a beer and he was about to take a sip but instead he poured it out!

Thing I love about missionary work #2: Acting on a prompting and realizing that a prompting was an answer to someone's prayer

A little food for thought from my studies: Do you know why Satan was kicked out of heaven? Rebellion. He thought He knew better than God. When we pick and chose what commandments we will follow or chose to partially follow his commandments, we too are rebelling against God.

Scripture of the Week: 2 Chronicles 20:15

"... Be not afraid nor dismayed... for the battle is not yours, but God's"

A haiku For you

Sister Laing

Stronger than you think

bigger plans

Sister Hall

I got to see sister Ormond when we dropped off sister Laing.. prediction is that she will be the next sister training leader!!!