Sunday, December 1, 2013

Much to Be Thankful For. Just Not the Weather.

Nov 25, 2013


HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Hope you have a good one! And no they do not celebrate
American Thanksgiving here (obviously)....But...thanks to our ward mission leader (and us persuading him) WE ARE HAVING THANKSGIVING WITH HIM ON THURS! Yay! So that's two Thanksgivings I'm going to have this year. Obviously, it's not the same without the fam but it's going to great! And Mom, don't worry I will BE THERE NEXT YEAR! haha And tell the families hi for me and that I'm so grateful for all their support.
Today we are just relaxing and cleaning our house because we are going on an exchange tomorrow. I'll be staying here and my comp will be off to Etobicoke.
IT SNOWED for the first time! Winter is here! I'm a little nervous because it's getting COLD. And it's because of the wind. We get this really cold wind that blows in your face. My coat is good. My boots are good. I think I just need to layer up more on the colder days. But it isn't too bad yet. I'm just excited because it looks like a white Christmas! :) I hear it won't be too bad until January or February. And I am grateful because I'm in a bus area so I don't have to worry about driving in it! :)


I had something really sad happen the last week. I left my tri scriptures at a bus stop. Yup. And I went back to look for them and they were gone. So someone is enjoying Sister Ogden's scriptures. It STINKS! I had color coded them and everything and I had so many good scriptures and experiences with them. And so I've been using my comp's old scriptures. I feel like a part of me is lost! It's okay though I hope I can convert whoever has them. And...don't worry there's this recent convert from my friend who is sending their old tri to me, and it's in good condition! I just have to wait a few weeks.

Zone conference is next week. I am so excited! It's going to be awesome!

Okay to give you a quick update:
(Name) got confirmed by the bishop yesterday. It was very very great. The spirit was so strong. I know he has so much on his plate...like I said before-- two hours of sleep on weekdays. I know that he is going to get blessed for accepting the gospel and he is going to get extra help with the things he has to deal with. It's amazing to see how the priesthood works. The bishop doesn't know him very well...but he still said things that really related to the things that he needs to hear...as if he did know him. It's really cool to see the priesthood in action. The church is true brothers and sisters!

Well right now we are in REBUILD mode. We had a few baptisms and now it's time to find more of the prepared. It's hard sometimes, but at the same time it's fun! If there is something I've learned it's that this is God's work and He will place people in our path according to His will and time. We just need to be obedient and talk to everyone and we'll find those that are ready.  Just need to be patient. But we made a breakthrough with one investigator that we had. We taught her the restoration the first day and she completely did NOT understand it. Oops. So we tried again, and that time she understood a little more. And she told us that she'd come to our church! Saturday she called us and told us never mind, maybe next week, so we thought she wouldn't come. But, when we got off the bus on Sunday to go to ward council guess who we saw?! Crazy! We told her to come to church at 1 and she said she'd try.

And she came. 

And she had a great time at sacrament meeting. She told me that she knew "God was there." It was super neat. She kept nodding her head in agreement as the prayers and talks were given. It was a really good experience. So we are excited to continue to work with her.
Another excited thing is that we met (names) FINALLY!  After coming to church 3 times. We taught a Restoration lesson and it was great. The Lord has really prepared this family. They asked really good questions and are excited to read the Book of Mormon. They want to learn more before they are baptized, but they love the church and are excited to learn more. They are also going through some trials...but the gospel is going to bless them big time! I think great things are going to come out from them.
I can't believe it but it's official. I'm over my hump!  Nine months out… and nine more to go! I hope that I can do everything to make the most out of the rest of my mission. But I'm so grateful to be here. I can't believe a year ago I was waiting for my call to come!

I know that God is a very real person. He loves us and knows us by name. I know that He knows the people that we are working with. And He knows me. He has helped me every single day of my mission. I'm so grateful that He never leaves us on our own, but He is working side by side with us. Even though we are very far from being perfect, He still lets us help Him with His work.

I sometimes feel like the two year who tries to help her mom make cookies and ends up making it more complicated than if the mother had just made them by herself. But like the two year old I'm learning and growing. And at the same time I see my brothers and sisters growing here in this area. It's amazing. God's work won't fail; it's impossible.  And I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ, and I can't wait for this Christmas season. Love you so much family! Have a great Thanksgiving!

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