I am Thankful for my Testimony

I am Thankful for my Testimony

An update from the good old Oakville............ JORDEN GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!

Shout Outssssss

Mom I got the awesome package -> hence the awesome picture (which did not load...) :) Thank you so much for all my winter clothes! I will be needing them soon AND don't feel bad that there weren't any treats, trust me when I say I do not need them hahahaha!

Something that I have failed to mention for the last few weeks is that I am currently in the BEST housing situation in the whole mission! Why you might ask? Well let me enlighten you. First off, I am in the Queens ghetto aka lots of interesting people to talk to (so many theories of alien invasions haha I love it!) and second I am in...wait for it....... an APARTMENTSHIP!

A.part.ment.ship: when 4 awesome missionaries get to share an apartment with one bathroom

And I absolutely LOVE it!  We have WAY too much fun... no wonder they try and avoid these types of situations haha

Sister Laing, Me, Sister Waal (from Norway) and Sister Lamb (from wait for it..... UTAH! Surprise!)

Our companionships are creepily identical.... Sister Waal and I are slightly crazy and loud and Sister Laing and Lamb are quite and powerful. We joke around a lot about how if Sister Waal and I got put together nothing would get done cause we would laugh way too much and get side tracked every few minutes. Thank goodness for inspired companionships! Sister Laing keeps me on the straight and narrow AND laughs at my jokes :) She is amazing!

As for this week I got to see a different side of missionary work. Its called staying inside all day cause your companion is sick hahaha...... poor Sister Laing got a bad cold so we had to stay inside for a few days. We would go out sometimes if we had appointments but otherwise she would sleep and I would try and entertain myself.....

I watched over 80 Mormon messages, read my scriptures, phoned former investigators, watched the restoration, legacy, and finding faith in Christ a bazillion times, worked on my hand stand, aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnndddddddd built a blanket fort!

Me inside the blanket fort reading my scriptures, watching Mormon messages, preparing for a sunday school lesson AND not posing for the camera

This week we have been seeing the fruits of General Conference :)

Jessica was having second thoughts about getting baptized, but after listening to the conference and praying, she has had a change of heart and wants to continue to work towards baptism :D

Winnie went home this weekend to tell her parents that she is wants to get baptized.... it didn't go very well. She is unsure of what to do at this point and is wanting to push her baptism back. We saw her Monday night when she had gotten back from the weekend and talked with her about how she was feeling. I know that I should probably be really worried, but I just have this feeling like everything is going to be alright. Winnie has felt the spirit and I can see the physical change that is taking place in her as she hears these spiritual truths. The Lord has prepared her for this and is watching over her. Perhaps it might take longer than what we had anticipated but like the scriptures say, "Trust in the Lord".

As for Thanksgiving, I got myself covered :) A bunch of us all went down to this place called Smokes Poutinery (its awesome! I've even seen it on the food network!) And guess what..... they had a Thanksgiving Poutine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right mom, I had thanksgiving dinner poutine style :) It had fries, gravy, cheese, turkey, stuffing, AND green peas and it was SOOOOO good!

To end off this letter, I guess I'll let you know that our apartmentship is down a car due to the other sisters getting their car annihilated by a driver. The sisters are ok (Sister Waal's neck is sore) but the car is totally done for. We found out today that they also wont be getting a replacement car anytime soon..... which means BIKES AND BUSES! Sister Laing and I are thinking of giving them our car because they cover a larger area so we will get to use bikes and buses. I am pretty stoked to uses bikes... not so much buses. It will make things a little harder, like getting our members who don't own cars to lessons..... but the Lord will provide!

Scripture of the Week: D&C 98: 12-14

"For He will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith. 

And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal.

Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy."

A Haiku For You:

Oh Happy Day

On the path back home

a mission?  

Sister Hall

First Doubt Your Doubts Then Doubt Your Fears

**Sister Hall won't be writing again until Wednesday due to Thanksgiving!**

First Doubt Your Thoughts, Then Doubt Your Fears

Can I just say I love being a missionary?! Like really can life get any better?  I think NOT!

 

Before I get into my weeks adventures I just wanted to send a quick update about Oakville :)

Jorden is currently getting ready to be baptized on October 13th (he moved his date up a week!)

Fiona has come to church the past 3 weeks and absolutely LOVES it! She has noticed the change it has made in her week and wants to feel the way she does at church all week. In response to the invitation to be baptized she said "OF COURSE!" Since she has been coming to church she has been facing some anti Mormon material from her neighbours and even her husband, but every time someone brings it up she gets mad at them and defends the church :) She is SO special and I love her so much!

 

I'm sure I am not just speaking for myself when I say that I have been spiritually stuffed this weekend but have room for SO much more *exclamation point*! (hahahahahahha! that guy cracked me up!)

Conference weekend was no disappointment and came at the perfect time. We had 4 of our investigators attend conference and I sure cant think of a better way to help resolve their concerns than to have them listen to the prophet and apostles of God :) I am eternally grateful for these inspired men and for the power of the spirit in teaching eternal truths.  

 

As for this week we have once again been blessed greatly... I hope I have time enough to write about all of them!

 

I will start off by telling you a little more about my dear Winnie. Winnie is a member referral and is one of the investigators who was in the big class we taught last sunday. Since that class we have taught Winnie twice. She is INCREDIBLE! I honestly do not know what we do as missionaries to be blessed with such wonderful people to teach! First off let me tell you how she came to be a member referral. Scott, one of the YSA, was sitting in class when Winnie approached him. She sat down and told him that she had heard he was Mormon. She proceeded to inform him that she wanted to be Mormon as well.... Scott literally said, "Great we are always recruiting!" hahaha! Since then she has been coming to FHE and institute. Teaching her is such a joy because she is truly humble.

 

Right now we are facing a slight dilemma please bear with me as I explain.

SO we set Winnie's baptismal date for October 27th and everything was great until we realized Scott, her fellowshipper, would be away that weekend.... After careful consideration we approached both of them and asked Winnie what she would like to do about that. We suggested to moving her date up a week or possibly back a week or keeping it the same. She decided to move it back to November 3rd, we advised her to pray about it and council with God and then to get back to us.

Fast forward to Sunday right before general conference starts.

Winnie approaches us in the hallway and says she needs to talk with us about her baptismal date. She explains to us that she has been thinking a lot and told us that she wants to tell her parents about getting baptized and that based on their response she will be baptized on October 20th or November 17th.

 

*Sister Hall's Insight* what incredible faith she has to want to be baptized earlier after only meeting with us 3 times! The power of the Holy Ghost is truly amazing and missionary work would be impossible without it. It is such a humbling experience to witness the power and love God has for His children and what He is willing to do to bring us back home.

 

She is going to talk with her parents when she goes home this weekend for Thanksgiving. She comes from a Dow(?) (no idea how to spell it) religious background (I believe its like the Buddhist religion.) We are praying ERNESTLY that her parents will be accepting and supportive. Please keep her and her parents in your prayers as well :)

 

Next I would like to introduce everyone to Jake :)

 

So Jake is the other investigator we gained last week from that Sunday class. So here is the story behind Jake; he is the friend of a recent convert named Taylor. When he found out that Taylor had joined a church he thought she was crazy so he decided to go to church with her to prove that she was brain washed..... He has now been to church 4 times HAHAHAHAHA! The first time we had our one on one lesson with him we asked him a few questions to get to know him and one of them was his thoughts thus far on the church. He told us that he has never met so many nice and genuine people at church and that he LOVES coming. He told us one of the biggest differences he has found with our church and with others is that with Mormons going to church is not a chore, but something to look forward to and he really likes that.

->Little does he know that really its the spirit he feels that makes him keep wanting to come back ;) mwahahaha 

He told us that his weakness lies with his lack of faith and his pride, but that he has been praying that God will not let his skepticism get in the way. He has the sincere desire to know the truth and he feels the spirit, even if he doesn't recognize it as the spirit, when he comes to church. I am so excited for him and his journey through the gospel!

 

So I am being exposed to a lot of new and different situations out here in Kingston. One of them is teaching people with absolutely no background in Christianity. We have found that on campus most of the people willing to stop and listen to us are exchange students from China. Them being from China, they of course do not have much of a foundation for Christianity or any other religion for that matter. The phrase "a whole nother ball game" fits well into this type of situation. Their concerns, questions, attitude, etc... are totally different from people who have gown up around religion and I am finding that I need to take a different approach when teaching them. 

Justin and James, now is the time to give me all your sage advice! I know that Japan and China are completely different countries, but I'm wondering if you guys faced similar situations as these ones. If you have I'd appreciate all the advice I can get :)

 

Line Of The Week: This is a conversation with our zone leaders over the phone.

Me: "perfect so is that everything?"

Elder Dewie: "Oh wait actually we have one more referral for you! This lady is awesome! She is from Russia and said she wants to be baptized!"

Me: "Get OUT! That's Awesome!"

Elder Dewie: "Ya, let me just get her information!... Ok so her name is hard to pronounce so Im going to spell it for you.'

- sister Laing gets out a pen and paper.

Elder Dewie: "ok its Yourmom."

Me: "Yourmom? that's supper weird... ok whats her number."

-Elder Dewie and Rogers just start laughing and then I clue in

Me: "yourmom.... your mom.... Elder Dewie I am going to make it my mission this week to go out and find your mom and baptize her."

At this point the Elders are in near hysterics. They think they are SO funny... -_-

Sister Hall

 

Full House

New Address!!

#1, 651 Victoria Street

Kingston, ON K7L 3Z8

Canada

Full House

Holy Moly Kingston YSA! Man is it ever different out here! I'll be honest, I was a little worried coming out here. Not only was I across the mission and working with the YSA but opening an area means going in with no investigators to work with.... and I do love my appointments. Looks like Heavenly Father is trying to help me get out of my comfort zone! So Sister Laing and I make the 3 hour drive out to Kingston and we get to work. We start making cold calls to all former investigators. One of the first people we call is a girl named Jessica. The missionaries taught her once about 7 years ago when she was 12.... I probably wouldn't have called her to begin with but we weren't working with much so we thought it couldn't hurt. Turns out this was one of the best choices of my LIFE! Haha! She couldn't remember meeting with missionaries but said that we could come over the next day and share a message. WHAT WHAT!

Next Day (Wednesday)

We head over to Jessica's and turns out she is pretty cool. She has had a really, really rough life and has lived on her own since she was 14 or 15. I could tell that she was in need for some serious TLC which is right up my ally :) She has always wondered if there is a God but with all the things that have happened to her, well lets just say believing has been hard for her. We talked with her a little about God and taught the restoration of the gospel. At the end of the lesson we invited her to prepare to be baptized on October 27th and she said that she would :D She is absolutely wonderful and I can just see how this gospel will change her life, bringing a flood of peace and joy and love! I cannot wait for her to experience it!

Jessica and I got to share a tender moment together this week :)

She was sharing with us a little bit about her past and asked us why God had abandoned her. I could see the pain in her eyes and my heart went out to her. I was filled with this love for her and started to tear up a little as I shared with her my testimony of the trials we face in life and how it might seem like God has left us but He never does. I shared with her my own experience when I felt like I was alone and testified that when in those situations, if you chose to turn to prayer and just ask to feel God's love that He will wrap you in his arms.

That night Jessica sent us a text telling us that she had prayed and that she felt warm.

God truly is just a prayer away :)

Thursday

On Thursday we got a hold of a few of the YSA and met with them early in the morning.... Can I just say that the YSA out here put me to shame! Holy crow they are the best member missionaries in the whole mission! I'd even put money on it if it wasn't super apostate! There aren't very many YSA (only about 9ish) but they are all very close and super active. They really want the YSA to grow so that they can get their own branch. So when we got together with them they sat us down and told us:

1. All the people they are currently working on

2. All the less actives we need to reach out to

3. All the active members who would like to fellowship and go teaching with us...

My mouth literally dropped! Saying that I am excited to work with these people is an understatement!

I also contacted on a university for the first time.... that was a really interesting experience... once again I think this is God's way of putting me out of my comfort zone. My new goal is to get a bunch of investigators so that I never have to go contacting on the university again haha! Although it wasn't all bad. We got two appointments with exchange students from china which was pretty sweet! I feel like the way we will see success though is by working with our YSA- which shouldn't be too hard seeing as they brought 4 friends to institute tonight....have I mentioned how much I love them?!

On a different note, Queens University is the most glorious campus I have ever seen! It is absolutely beautiful! So pretty in fact that I would seriously consider coming out here for school! 

This is just a way nice building on Queens University... It pretty much all looks like this 

Sunday

This was one of the scariest and most spiritual days of my mission thus far.

So we go to church like any normal day and we are greeting the YSA as they come in. To our astonishment they have brought 5 friends.... that is 5 people who are not members of the church....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the WHAT! So I'm sitting in sacrament meeting having a little freak out on the inside cause I have no idea what the heck we should do! After sacrament we head over to the special YSA sunday school class. It is there that Sister Laing and I decide that after the class we will hold a separate class for all non members and any YSA who want to join in where we will answer any questions and share with them a little more about what makes our church unique.

After class we head over to the room to wait and see who will come. At this point I literally feel like I'm about to vomit because I have no idea how we should start this and we need to make sure that this goes well cause if it doesn't the YSA wont trust us with any of their friends ever again and it will be a very loooooooooooooonnnnng transfer!

So pretty much everyone shows up to the class (13 people) and we begin by asking if anyone has any questions. We start to talk a little about the Book of Mormon which leads nicely into the restoration of the gospel. This whole time the YSA are bearing powerful testimony about their own conversions and how they found out the Book of Mormon was true. The spirit was SO strong! The strongest it has ever been in any less I've ever taught. When we recited the first vision it was almost like getting hit over the head with spiritual bricks! Soon enough my fears melted away and I just got to sit back and enjoy watching everyone be taught by the spirit. It was amazing and a very humbling experience. At the end of the lesson Sister Laing and I split up and started talking with the PI's to make return appointments. Out of the 5 non members, 4 gave us their number and showed interest in meeting with us again....Oh.... My.....GOSH!!!!

THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!

Witnessing Heavenly Fathers work right in front of you = Winning  

Sister Laing and I were looking for an former investigator.... This is where the GPS lead us.... I kept hoping that it would tell us to continue driving into the lake...  could have had a Michael Scott moment! (its from an episode of the office)

Well that's all for now! Be kind and say your prayers!

Line of the WEEK: Contacting on Queens

Me: Hey what makes you most happy in life?!

Random Student #24: Sex and Alcohol!!!

Me (in my head): that's original...

Scripture of the Week: D&C 88: 63

This one might be a repeat, but this week I have really gained a testimony that anyone who is seeking God WILL find him :)

"Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

A Haiku For You

Hearts warmed

Hastening the Work

Hey Kingston

Sister Hall

It Has Been A LOOOOONG Time Coming

It Has Been A LOOOOONG Time Coming

Holy Molly what a week! So much to tell!

Shout outtttssss

Thank you to Marisa for the letter! It was wonderful hearing from you and I'm glad the family is doing well! 

And mom I have not yet received the  package of letters from the family

Ok as for this weekkkkkk TONS of stuff happened! 

I guess I will start with Fiona :)

So this week we got to see Fiona a couple times. The first time we stopped by we got in to see her but only had enough time to chat with her/establish our role as missionaries. She shared with us some cool experiences in her life and informed us that the day we knocked on her door she decided to quite drinking... Wait WHAT?!?! Sister Rogers and I chuckle and explain to Fiona that we dont drink either. Fiona is super curious about our religion so she was asking us why so we explained the word of wisdom briefly. She told us that the only thing she would struggle with is coffee, but that she was willing to give it up.... that's right people. Fiona has committed to live the word of wisdom without actually being taught anything. She is SO cool! The next time we saw Fiona she was frantically running around to go pick her son up from school. She quickly told us to get in the car with her soooo we did. HAHAHA! Next thing we know we are teaching her the restoration in the car on the way to pick up one of her kids. The experience was SO bizarre that we had to take a picture.

Fiona and her two boys came with us to church this week as well :D Fiona really enjoyed it! 

Now for a Jordan update. So we get a call from Jordan Wednesday night- he wanted to let us know that he had been praying and reading the Book of Mormon and that he felt that he should get baptized on the 13th!!! He said that he really wanted both Sister Rogers and I to be there for his baptism so he didnt want to postpone it. We explained to him that we were getting transfer calls this week and that one of us might be leaving....  He decided that he would fast the next day so that we might stay. WOW. Jordan is way cool! So this week when we went to go teach Jordan we talked a little more about his baptism and addressed some of his concerns. He even told us that he was thinking about serving a mission in a few years.... BAH! If Jordan serves a mission I will literally die of happiness! When he told us Sister Rogers and I nearly feel off our chairs and then squealed with excitement like little girls. Ah I am just so excited to see what happens to Jorden in these next few years :D

Sam, Sis. Rogers, Jorden, and sis. HAll

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO............. we got transfer calls last night....... Looks like Sister Rogers is staying in Oakville with Sister Ormond as her new companion. Sister Ormond also happened to be my MTC companion and someone who I adore very much! I am glad she is coming to Oakville; I trust her with our investigators :) 

As for little old me I am heading to the other end of the mission to.............. KINGSTON! Cool eh!? I will be companions with Sister Lang (from CARDSTON! Who also came out with me!) We are opening a new area over there for YSA...... That's right. I will be serving in YSA. SOOOOOO WEIRD! It will be a completely different experience and will be a great learning opportunity for sure!  I will miss Oakville for sure and I'm sad I wont get to see Jordan baptized, but really the most important thing is that he is going to enter into that promise with God :) 

Now Kingston is a very special place in the mission. Back in the day, Brigham Young baptized like 50 people there in 1 WEEK! When president Monson was mission president in Toronto the Kingston area was doing TERRIBLE! So bad in fact that the missionaries called that area Stoney Kingston because the peoples hearts were made of stone. He decided to try an experiment so he closed down the area for a while until everyone forgot about Kingston. Then he started spreading rumors about how he was going to re-open an area in the mission where Brigham Young baptized 50 people. All the missionaries got super excited. Parents started writing letters to Pres. Monson asking if their boys could serve there etc... Anyways the area began to flourish with many many baptisms :) 

The life of a missionary: Get up, exercise, prepare for the day, study, find, teach, baptize. Each day you wonder:  What does the lord have prepared for us this day? Whoever shall we run into or teach on the street? Who does he want us to find? Where does he want us to go? Following the spirit, teaching by the spirit. Teaching with members. Learning. Growing. Progressing. Becoming Like Jesus Christ. This is missionary work. Adventure. Life. This is awesome.I feel an overall peace for the good things taking place here in Oakville. We see miracles each and every day and because so, I am humbled by the power of God and his magnificent influence in my life. I have the desire to do better. I have the desire to become something better. I pray the Lord will take me places never thought possible. All things are possible through Christ. What we need is a vision, set the goal, back it up with spiritual confirmation and the diligent hard work to get there. 

I'm excited for what the future holds! It looks like is going to be a pretty neat adventure over in Kingston YSA! They had best look out! 

Line of the week: So we get a call saturday night from our district leader asking us to come out to Burlington to help a family move. We show up there to find that our whole district has been recruited!

Elder Wunhanie: "Who would have thought that by the end of the night we would all be in the back of a U-Hall...."

Scripture of the Week: D&C 58: 27 (thats what it was supposed to be last week haha)
"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness."

A Haiku for you: 

YSA

Young Single adults

What The What!?

Sister Hall

This is me fasting durring weekly planning.... it got pretty rough

So Full Of Love

So Full Of Love

Where to even begin!???

Shout Outsssssss

First of all............ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST MOM EEEEVVVVEEEERRRRR!!!!!!!!! She is the salt of the earth and the peanut butter to my jelly! I should also apologize that you havent gotten my letter yet! I wanted to include something in it and we just havent had time to actually get it done so I wasn't able to send it out to you in time to get to you today (did that make any sense?) Anyways rest assured that it is on its way WITH the surprise :)

I am spiritually exhausted from this week and I wouldnt have it any other way :)

I've told you about the two girls we are teaching, Jane and Jenny from the Philippines- we taught them a few more times this week. It was such a treat being able to get to know them because they have begun to open up to us and we can see them beginning to trust us. We had a cool experience with Jane, who normally tries not to speak. It was near the end of the lesson and we were trying to wrap up so we can get out on time. I noticed that Jane was about to share something, but the member we brought interrupted (not on purpose) her. I stayed quiet and was interested to see if Jane would just let it go or if she would attempt to talk again. After our member had finished talking Jane piped up and asked if she could share a story. We all listened as she explained how they only went to church 2 x a year back home and how she liked being able to go to church every week with us. She explained that at church she felt good and at home. It was sweet to see her take the time to express that to us. A little tender mercy from God :)

So Rogers and I are out tracting around a referral that we had gotten from HQ (head quarters) and we knocked on the door of a nice woman. She was all done up with make-up and the works but she took the time to talk with us and asked us if she could have a copy of the Book of Mormon. SCORE! We give her a copy and told her that we will come back on friday to see how things are going. 

So we go back and knock on the door and this guy answers the door. He has on a leather jacket, has tattoos, has a really nice flow going on (reminds me of taylor kitch), a square jaw... he just looks like a guy that you wouldnt want to mess with. Anyways we ask if Fiona is home and he goes and gets her. She apologizes and tells us that he was supposed to be away on a bicker trip with his friends this weekend but he came home due to the weather. She said we should probably come back another time when he wasnt home. We said no problem and chatted with her a little more. THEN she invited us in to have some home made apple pie. 

->side note. Coolest thing about being a missionary is the people that you get to meet. I mean who would invite complete strangers into their home to give them pie?!

Anyways we start talking with Fiona about her week and then her husband, whose name happens to be Taylor, sits down on the couch and starts asking us questions. We end up talking with them for a good hour. You really should never judge a book by its cover. Taylor turned out to be a super open and God loving man. He told us about his grandpa who served in the war; he killed 4 men and with each of those men he took their ID and after the war, every year he would send flowers to their families. I talked with him about how God will always win and compared it to being in a dark cave and then lighting a single match. That little match can illuminate this cave. Light will always over come darkness. He really liked that analogy and even refereed back to it several times throughout the discussion.

Anyways we left them and Fiona gave us her number so we could figure out a time to come back. That night she sent us a text to thank us for coming over and told us that Taylor was also interested in sitting in on the discussions. SWEEEEEET!

Sam was confirmed a member of the church today and was given the gift of the Holy Ghost. I'd have to say that that was one of the highlights of my mission. In sunday school Jordan opened up about how the missionaries have helped him to have a change of heart. He said that at first he thought that we were just weird preacher girls trying to convert his mom, but as he got to know us (or in other words as he felt the spirit) his heart began to change and that he felt the love that we had for his mom. He realized that there was something different about us etc... That night Sam had us over for dinner and she made us perogies! Then we had our little discussion with Jordan. From when we first met Jordan to now, the change that has taken place is incredible. He has a different light about him. He smiles more and laughs more and just looks happier. We asked him if he has noticed a difference in his life since he started coming to church and reading and praying and he says he has. This is big for him because Jordan's natural instinct is to fight everything we say. Teaching him that night, he didn't argue with us once. At the end of the lesson we invited him to be baptized on October 13th. We could see that there was some inner conflict going on inside him so Sister Rogers asked what would be keeping him from being baptized. I cant remember what he said, but then we asked the question, "What if the Saviour was standing in front of you... what would He say?" and Jordan said "He'd say I was ready......" BAH! We left it to him to pray over and are excited to see him on friday!

I came out on a mission as a way to give thanks to God for all that He has given me, but now I'll be thanking God for giving me the opportunity to serve for the rest of my life!(I dont know if that made any sense but eh thats alright!)

Line of the week: Our zone leaders sent out a text asking everyone for ideas on how to get members to fellowship. This is the text we sent back:

Oakville sisters: "Have all the single males ordered Filipino brides!? That way you get a convert baptism AND help them receive an ordinance!"

Scripture of the week: D&C 58: 37

"And it is wisdom also that there should be lands purchased in Independence, for the place of the storehouse, and also for the house of printing." (Hmmm.....?? -J)

A Haiku For You

Never Fear

Love you to the moon

Mom Is Here

Sister Hall

We stopped by to say Hi to Sammy and left with gifts haha! Sammy bought me that pretty jacket, that wonderful purse (which I used all day while tracting hahahaha!) AND that awesome orange travel bag! 

How Great Shall Be Your Joy

How Great Shall Be Your Joy

I must admit, this week I have been spoiled.

First off, I have been taking the advice from my sister training leader and we are dropping some of our investigators. Its hard, but I know that it is necessary. I have a little analogy actually about this that I'd love to share with you all. So you know how if someone likes you, and you are absolutely oblivious to it even though everyone around you can see how much this person likes you, well its the same with investigators. As missionaries all you can see is this investigator dressed all in white but everyone else can see that they are just not ready. Lol that made me chuckle thinking about it.

I got spiritually round house kicked in the face this week at our zone conference! Oh my, President Scott is just so inspired and SO funny! He talked about comfort zones and how we all have the tendency of wanting to stay in our comfort zones, but when we do that we stop progressing.... and as we know, the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of progression. President went on to say that at certain points in our mission we start to plateau; we begin to get comfortable with the lessons... "Oh you have a question about faith? Let me take you to Alma 32!" Or, "Today I want to talk with you about how you can find answers to your prayers. Let me bring you to a passage in Enos!" We get into those routines and we stop relying on the Lord for help. Thats when things start to get dangerous. The Spirit sure did his job that day, because I got the message loud and clear haha. I have started to get very comfortable with missionary work and I have noticed myself relying less and less on God and becoming more complacent. I've decided to shape up and as dad would say, "pull up my socks and get back to work"! I'm working on finding different scriptures to use and am working on coming up with little personal goals for myself like using a scripture to answer someones question on the street etc.... Since doing this I feel SO much better! I didn't even realize that I had been missing something in my life until I made the changes. 

This principle of course goes beyond mission life to ever day life. President Monson says we change every day. It is up to use to be sure that we change in a way that helps us to progress in our journey back home!

So this week my dear Samantha was scheduled to be baptized. Sister Rogers and I are sitting in sacrament (about 10 min into it) and we realize Sam isn't here.... Rogers and I exchange nervous glances and decided to go out and give her a call. We are pacing up and down the hall. The phone rings and she doesnt pick up. We call again and I hear a voice on the other end. Turns out Sam forgot her tithing so she made Jordan, her son, drive back home so she could get it. 

Words really do not do justice to how I felt watching Sam take that first step back to returning to live with her Father in Heaven, but a few hours after the service I reflected on the days events and this image of God and all his angels rejoicing for Sam entered my mind and I felt a joy that I have never experienced before. All the doors that get slammed in our face, all the people that tell me I'm brain washed, none of it matters :)

Line of the Week: 

Grace is Sam's 4 year old daughter

Grace 5 min before the baptism: "Where is the lake mom?"
Grace seconds before the ordinance is performed: "Look, it's a jacuzzi! Why is mom in the jacuzzi?"

Scripture of the week: Alma 26: 37

"Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."

A Haiku For You: 

narrow gate

leading back to home

straight path

Sister Hall

Hoarding Investigators

Hoarding Investigators 

Man it feels like FOREVER since I have sent an email home!!!!!!!

So life on the mission has been peachy :) a little bit of a roller coaster, but that is life. Before we get into everything, a few shout outs are in order I think :) 

Cute Kittens!!

Shout Outssssssss

To my dearly beloved sister Jillian, I absolutely LOVE the photo Album AND the necklace soooooo no you cannot have it back hahaha. I think I've looked through that album at LEAST 6x's and it still hasnt gotten old. 

To the Summers, thank you for the running shoes! They fit great and are WAY cooler than my old running shoes!

As for this week I met some cool people one of them being a girl named Gillian who happened to be baptized by Jeff Spackman.... SAY WHAT!? SOOOOOO cool haha! She had us over for lunch and we got to talking about her conversion story and mentioned the elder who baptized her is from Calgary and lo and behold he comes from the great Spackman line! Anyways she says Hi to the Spackman family :)

I got to ride a bike! BUT safety first!!!! hhahah

I got to go on an exchange to the great city of Brambladesh (aka Brampton or Little India) hahahaha! I swear there are more East Indians here than there are in actual India! I am so thankful mother for making me go to FFCA. I can now relate to all the people in Brampton. For example, Sister Sunbloom and I were out walking around and came across a few East Indians who were sitting outside. We went over to go talk to them and they quickly give us their chairs, grab us some orange juice and fresh mangos.... Yes I can get used to this! Anyways so we start talking with them and we find out that they are Punjabi so I ask them if their last name is Sing (haha). They get all excited and say that is the mans last name or something, but they were very impressed that the white girl new a thing or two. By the end of our conversation they called me little Indian girl and were convinced that I was Indian. Apparently its my dark hair and my face...?

Something that I didnt anticipate doing on my mission (and I dont know why I didnt think Id face this problem being called to Toronto and all) was having to teach people who's second language is English.... it's like being called to a foreign mission, but never being taught your mission language which makes for some good awkward moments. I now know how to say missionaries, Jesus Christ and prophets in spanish, so I'm pretty much covered to teach the restoration to anyone Spanish and now I'm working on my Tagalog. We found a family to teach who are from the Philippines, well their mom is a member and has been here for a few years and her 4 kids arent members and they have just come from the Philippians 10 months ago. Anyways we are now teaching her 2 daughters Jane (19) and Jenny (14). Jenny has really great English, but Jane is not as comfortable... she kinda looks at us and smiles awkwardly when we ask her a question (doesn't everyone??? :) -J) haha its great! The fist time we went over to their house only Jane was there and Sister Rogers got all excited and started talking a mile a minuet and Jane had to ask her to speak slower.  

This Sunday Sam will be baptized!! We have been seeing her every day this week so far and we are spending our p-day with her after we email. She is so humble and full of the spirit and such a wonderful example to me of walking by faith. Meeting her was more of a gift to Sister Rogers and I than I think it was for her to be taught by us haha. 

I would like to send out a formal invitation to the Davidson's to come to Sam's baptism :) It will be on the 8th at 1:30pm at the chapel.

Line of The Week: In response to Sister Sunblooms commitment to me to drop some of our 19 investigators

Me: "Ya.... I think I have a problem maybe I'll email the president about it in my weekly email.... 'Dear president, I've got a slight problem.... I hoard investigators'"

Scripture of the week: D&C 6: 7

"Seek not for rights but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich."

A Haiku for You:

Atonement

GREATEST gift from God

hope eternal


Sister Hall

This is the ski hill in Brambladesh! I'm thinking next next winter vacation we should make a family trip out here and ride the slopes! 

Sister Rogers.....doing her personal study?