week 10

Hi All!

New Companion

So this week was transfers! Tuesday night I got into Billings and stayed with our sister training leaders and then the next morning we got up at five o'clock and left the mission home by seven off to our new areas! I didn't get to Great Falls until two so it was a long day in the car! Wednesday I met my new companion/trainer Sister Decker and she is one of my favorite people! I love this new area and her so much! We live in an apartment all to ourselves which is really rare for missionaries but hey we got lucky! Not lucky...BLESSED haha. When I arrived Wednesday I almost had an anxiety attack because there were people and houses everywhere which is not what I'm used to! That's just sad haha...I'm well adjusted now and never want to leave this area! I cover one ward which is a huge step down from covering three wards and a branch in Wyoming! But I love it! We have been doing some door approaches and I was able to do it without getting nervous! I was shocked! It's so easy now! It's awkward...but easy! I have been teaching lessons like crazy! It's become so natural for me that I don't even stress anymore about appointments. Mainly because I have such a good trainer. Sister Decker is the happiest person and is just overall amazing! She's been out for 13 months so she doesn't have much left which makes me sad because I don't want her to leave me haha. We are literally the same person and clicked from the beginning. My first night here we did some door approaches and we went to one house and the man asked who we were. Right when we told him he slammed the door in our face and we barely got one sentence out. Another man we saw we said "have you ever met Sister missionaries before?" And he said "I don't know and I don't care" then slammed the door. So people just love us! Haha. At that point you just have to learn to shake it off and laugh because there's no good in being down about it forever. Sister Decker and I realized they weren't saying no to us...they were saying no to God and that made us sad for them. At that point all you can do is pray for their hearts to be softened and maybe one day they will be. The ward members are so dang funny I love them! Okay...I gotta talk about my favorite member ever! His name is Kirby and he's just the best. We go and see him twice a week and he's a less active but he's really trying! He's such a goof. I wish I could just record him because everything he does is so funny. Sister Decker gave Kirby one of her scarfs and we made him put it on and we were just dying. He bought us flowers too and we were just like AW KIRBY! I never realized how much people really do love and care for the missionaries. It's amazing. People have been so good to us it's just overwhelms my heart with gratitude. I've never loved people as much as I do now being on my mission because I'm able to look at them the way God does. On the first visit with someone who I have never met I am able to say that I love them and mean it because I really do care for these people and know how much Heavenly Father loves them. It's the best feeling. We went to see a less active family who has been struggling and the dad was just so upset with God for all of his trials that he was facing. I cried after that lesson because I was sad that his heart was so hard. At that point all I knew I could do was pray and just love him. That's what we all need to do. Just love people regardless of things they may have done to us or disagreed with us. Welp... Not too much happened this week but hopefully next week I'll have more interesting things to write about!  

Today in church the topic was on Patriarchal Blessings and I never realized just how special a Patriarchal blessing really is. If you don't already have your blessing I encourage you to make that as your next goal. It truly is such an amazing blessing and such a great tool for us in our lives. Whenever I struggle recognizing my purpose, I read my blessing and I am reminded of my blessings and talents that I need it have been given. Meet with your bishop if you are interested but I highly recommend it! I invite you to pray. Pray to Heavenly Father for assurance that this is the right decision because I know it is. He hears every prayer, every word.

General conference talks:

(These are just some points that stood out to me! You'll have to read them for yourselves and see what inspires you!)

•"The souls sincere desire" by Carol F. McConkie- Prayer is essential to developing faith. A loving God is as close as a prayer away. How cool is that? "Let your hearts be comforted; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God." Prayer is a gift from God. We need never feel lost or alone. 

•"And choice seer will I raise up" by Elder Craig C. Christensen- Because Joseph was a prophet, we have more than a window into heaven- the very doorway to the eternity especially is open to us. It is through the holy ghost that we can know the truth of all things. Heavenly Father promises us that. Pray! 

•"The Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to pray" by Elder Juan A. Uceda- When you pray, are you up really praying or just saying a prayer? Heavenly Father pays attention to our voice but we need to pay attention to his. Read Alma 26:20, Luke 22:42, 2 Corinthians 1:3, & D&C 10:5! Love and mercy are with Him the very moment you say, "Father, in Heaven." Let us all pray as Jesus taught us to pray with real intent, an opened mind and a sincere heart. 

•"Am I good enough? Will I make it?" By Elder Dern Cornish- If you really try and will not rationalize or rebel- repenting often and pleading for grace- you positively are going to be "good enough". Heavenly Father guides us an blesses us because He wants us to come home. Our Heavenly Father intends for us to make it. That is His work and His glory. He gave His only begotten Son that we might not perish but have everlasting life. "However many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made...I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's Atonement shines." -Elder Holland 

I want you all to recognize your role as a member. Now is the time that we all come together to spread the word of the gospel. I can't express enough how crucial members are in someones conversion. "The responsibility does not only rest upon full time missionaries but upon all of us." You don't have to wear a name tag to testify of Christ. You don't have to wear a name tag to hand out Books of Mormon. We all play a huge role in this gospel! I love the quote that says, "It is not by chance that you live in Africa, Asia, Europe, north, central or South America; the Pacific or another place in God's world, because the gospel must go to "every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." Though some people may not be ready to hear the gospel now, pray for their hearts to soften that one day they will listen. We cannot force someone else's conversion but only let the spirit testify to them what is true. 

General conference is coming up soon so I invite EVERYONE to watch it. I want you all to take notes and then when the time comes to email me something that you liked and touched your heart. How is every one's scripture reading and prayers going? Have you made repentance part of your daily prayers? Invitation for the week! I invite you to stay all 3 hours of church this coming Sunday. If you aren't already having daily scripture and prayers as a family, do that! I promise you so many blessings come from it! I invite you to pray to be an answer to somebody's prayer. Seek for opportunities to serve people in your neighborhood or your ward. I would like you all to watch the Restoration movie as a family. It's amazing. I can't help but cry when I watch it. Did anyone get a chance to listen to the general conference talks I shared last week or the week before? It's good stuff! I invite you as well to come up with three goals per week and work together as a family on them. Help each other accomplish those goals. At the end of the week evaluate if you accomplished your simple goals or not. If not no worries! Keep working at it! 

I love you all so much and I'm happy that my letters made it! Hope you all enjoyed them! I pray for you everyday and think of you often. I see so much change in you already and it warms my heart and strengthens my testimony. I have a testimony of this Gospel. That I have truly seen it change lives and soften peoples heart. That if Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet we wouldn't be here today if it weren't for his faith. Strive to be obedient because you are promised so many blessings if you do. Recognize that each of us play a huge role in this Gospel. We are each a piece of the puzzle. I love you more than ever and I hope you all have a great week! Keep the faith. 

I'll send pictures later!