An Amazing Weekend with all 300 of My Homies

3/24/14

Mom thanks for the packages! I'll prob open them up on my birthday. My comp’s birthday is this week so it's fun to have our birthdays close. She's gotten her packages, so that's good! She's so funny..she really wants to open them so I've been hiding her packages from her. ha. 

Oh man. Guys I think I could write a novel on this weekend. One of the most powerful meetings in my mission by far. So on Friday we drove for a little sleepover in Brampton...we had to drive 2 1/2 hours and guess who was the driver? Yeah. me. We drove some of my old areas, which is weird.  You just feel a lot of emotion. 

But we slept over with some other sisters...and guess who...my trainer! So you could imagine the awesomeness there! She is doing SO great and it's just really weird because due to school she's leaving in two transfers. EEK! So it meant a lot that I could see her especially because I haven't really seen her during my mission other than our first two transfers together. It makes me just think about how hard it was for both of us a year ago...and how far we've come now and how we are doing better. God really does lift us and help us out of trouble. Love her to death and always will! 

So Elder Bednar...well the entire mission was gathered for the first and probably only time. I don't know if I've mentioned this but there was a lot of preparation made...fasting, praying, and studying for this experience. I was really nervous/excited because we were told Elder Bednar was going to come and ask us questions. We got really good seats...I was on the third row on the right hand side. I just remember when he entered the room there was an immediate difference in Spirit. And I forgot to mention it wasn't only him who came but Bishop Davies and two Elders from the 70....so it's pretty amazing. 

This is really hard for me to describe what I learned because a) it's really personal and b) it's hard to describe and explain. But I'm going to be quoting from my journal here because I think that will be better:

"God told me some pretty bold things...one to quit worrying about myself and getting in the way of the spirit...two that I need to stop being one to be acted upon instead of being one to just ACT and DO it...One concern I had was how could I have a desire to change and a desire to act. I learned through what Elder Bednar and others said that I need to increase my faith and knowledge of the Atonement and my relationship with God. When we increase our faith in those things...we WANT to become better and we WANT to change. A powerful experience was when his wife bore testimony of the Atonement. Sister Bednar told us to think about one of the darkest/loneliness experiences in our lives. She asked if the Savior would criticize, or bring us down because of those times. I thought about being discouraged a year ago. That was a regret that I've held onto for a long time...As Sister Bednar said that even in our darkest moments, the Savior loves us and is extending His arms of mercy towards us, I felt an overwhelming feeling of forgiveness for the first few months of my mission. I couldn't help but hold back tears. I felt the true POWER of the Atonement. Which made me have a desire to ACT. It made me feel joy beyond compare...and it made me long to be in God's presence forever. I'm so grateful that Elder Bednar told us to not be stressed out about being perfect but to be a little better today than the day before. I thought he would rip us apart as missionaries and tell us what we need to be doing better. But even Elder Bednar told us that we shouldn't expect perfection INSTANTLY. And the way the Spirit taught us how to be better was a way that didn't degrade or make us discouraged. 

I'll never forget when an elder asked a question in front of me. He was from my last zone in Kitchener. He stood and he was from the Philippines and his voice was shaking from emotion so I couldn't understand everything. But he talked about how he read a talk from Elder Bednar where he went to a man...gave him a pat on the back and told him that everything was going to be okay. He asked Elder Bednar if he could do that for him. Elder Bednar said sure, got down from the stand and walked up to this Elder...and they embraced. Elder Bednar showed Christlike love that I have RARELY seen and felt and witnessed. He told this elder, "you can do it. I love you. You're going to be okay." At that moment everyone in the room just felt Christ's love for this elder and for ourselves individually. There was not a dry eye in the room. I knew that if there was time Elder Bednar would love to have met us personally...I could feel that. I know that he is a true representative of Jesus Christ. And I knew from that experience that Christ and Heavenly Father know us and love us.

Elder Bednar's testimony...what a unique experience...I don't know if I can even explain it...but it was amazing. The Spirit told me that day that there are prophets... seers..and revelators on the earth today. Elder Bednar is one of them. Prayers were answered, the Spirit was felt in abundance, and we were taught and edified."

AHH so it's so hard to talk about what I learned...sorry! But at the end of the meeting, Pres and Sis Scott were invited to bear testimony...because it was probably the only time they would do so in front of the entire mission....all 300 of us. As they did... I just felt at HOME. It was amazing to be sitting with all my brothers and sisters...who were serving alongside me. I love the elders and sisters I've served with so MUCH! And Pres and Sis Scott have been there for me even when it's been tough. I love these people! 

After that meeting I totally understand what it means to be exhausted because of the spirit. I was physically weak from the spirit from Elder Bednar PLUS the emotion of  seeing ALL my companions (about half of them participated in the meeting by commenting or asking questions) and the joy that I felt from seeing them again. It was really weird. If we didn't have food afterwards I'm not sure if I would have been able to make it out the door ha. But it was just such an amazing feeling and I can't deny that this is truly God's work. 

Honestly this last week was pretty rough. My comp was sick...and I've said this once I'm sayin it again I'm SICK of my companions being SICK. haha. But she's getting over it so that's good. Honestly...we've been having a hard time finding people. And EVERYONE we schedule an appointment with BOMBS. So it's been a little trying at times. But I'm grateful to be here. I was reminded last weekend with Elder Bednar that God knows us, our situations and there's a reason why we are where we are. Just taking it a day at a time and it’ll work out. 

Little miracles have happened though! (Name) received an answer to a prayer he said at church yesterday...it was a small prayer but he got an answer and he was so excited about it! Yes! 

Then I don't know if I told you but we are the Kajiji coordinators for our zone. Kajiji is Canada's Craig's list. So we are offering free stuff on Kajiji as a finding tool for the areas here. (This is helping my advertising skills for sure!) Lately it hasn't been very fruitful. BUT...last week we posted something and we got a call from a lady for some free gospel literature. She lives in Kingston so it's not our area but that' okay. We gave her info to the elders there...they dropped the stuff off…and she has a baptismal date now! YAY!!!! Although we're not seeing fruit in our area it makes me excited to see fruit in others.

Oh and I have some fun news for you...guess what? Well every Tuesday the people in our church get together for some bball...and there are a lot of nonmembers that come. Finding activity? YES!! So for the next few weeks we're going to try to see what happens...but I'm playing church ball! My comp isn't a bball player so she's sitting on the side talking to the nonmembers that are sitting out. I'm definitely a little rusty but that's okay and it's weird playing because I'm guarding guys and I can't really touch them so it's hard to play that way. ha. But I made a nice shot last week and that was good!

It was SOO funny because earlier that day we were tracting a neighborhood and this guy answered. We talked to him and he said he might be interested..just not right now but he told us to keep him and his girlfriend in mind. WELL...guess who showed up that night at basketball? Yup that guy we tracted into. Ironic? Very. It was so funny! So he knows what we do but who knows maybe over time he'll open up?

The weather is warming up SLOWLY.  Like this morning it was -8c but in the afternoons it gets to be 3-4 degrees celsius. But the worst is over which is the most important part! 

A Few Pics of the Sleepover...

(I look a little rough but we hadn't had much sleep)

New Area, New Friends, New Blessings, New Adventures

March 17, 2014

Hello from Ontario. Man transfers are CRAZY! This is my fifth area and sixth companion...all in about a year. Guess I'm just meant to change and adjust a lot! 

The area here is nice. It reminds me a little bit of my last town...but it's on the lake. I'm still trying to get to know the area..but every day I get a little better. Our area is HUGE...but we have limited ks on our car so we're trying to figure out how to go exploring while not going over on our limit. Part of our area includes an island. 

The weather sometimes gets bad...I learned that last Wednesday. I had to drive everywhere around in this new area and it was snowing....all...day...long. It snowed like four or five inches. I was NOT happy. But you know what sometimes you have to do things that you don't necessarily want to do. So I drove in the snow. I recalled my setting apart blessing said I'd be safe on my mission, so I figured that I'm not going to get in a car crash that's going to kill me. Our car has four wheel drive (what a relief!) so it wasn't that bad. But yeah I did it. And now I'm more confident in driving in the snow. So yeah! We're supposed to be getting another storm this Thursday. Wish me luck! 

My companion is from Washington. She's been out for sixth months now and she's awesome. She's trying really hard to work hard and be obedient which I appreciate SO much. I love her. I'm grateful for her showing me the ropes and what's up here. 

The branch is nice. I'm still trying to adjust I guess because I've always served in wards beforehand so it's a little different. Yesterday at sacrament meeting they didn't have a piano player so we sang a capella for the hymns. Never done that before but it worked out! But then the primary pres wanted me to play a song from the Easy Hymnbook for primary's singing time. So my first sunday in the branch I played for singing time. I did okay! (I got major help) I think it's funny that I've never taken piano lessons yet I always end up playing the piano...ha.

We have some awesome investigators!

(Name) is really cool. He's 20 and apparently the missionaries first met him when he was high. But they taught him...he went to church and started doing the things they asked him to do...and he made a COMPLETE TURN AROUND and now believes in God and wants to get baptized. Crazy! He is a faithful churchgoer and we're trying to get him more involved. 

(Name) is super cute. Her fiancé, who lives with her right now, is less active but super supportive. We've taught them a few times and they have really really cute kids. At first they had a marriage date set for a year and a half away. Yeah. BUT...we had a miracle. After we taught them we received a text that said that they had moved up their marriage to this fall! ....oi. So...if they do get married I might have to come back for that! They are awesome though. She has noticed a difference and she' s just really really sweet. It's weird because I've only known these people for a week but I love them already! 

Anyways miracle of the week:

We were dropping by a less active's house. (We’ve never met him before) And we first couldn't get into the building because we didn't have his buzzer code. Luckily someone let us in and we were able to go to his apartment. But another lady answered and told us that the person we were looking for didn't live there anymore. But we continued talking to her and told her what we did and bore testimony of how God loved her. I saw her eyes watering. She told us we came at a time where she was having a bad day and told us we could come back .She's uncertain if God exists...just because of the things that are happening. The Spirit was there and it was a testimony to me that God puts people in our path for a reason. We are seeing her this week! 

When I first got here...I just remember feeling very peaceful. I've never felt that way before when I've gone to a new area. But I just felt that although I feel inadequate sometimes...and I have shoes to fill of previous missionaries that have served here whom I personally know...that it's going to be okay. God's going to help me. It’s a smaller town… so it's not the city that I'm more used to. Work here is moving a lot slower than other areas. But that's okay because I know that God needs me here. Why, I do not know yet. But he does. I'm excited to see how this all plays out because right now I just feel a little lost...

But wrapping up, I just want to say that I'm so grateful for the Holy Ghost; the Comforter. God really does help his missionaries. No doubt about that!

I am amazed at the members here in Ontario...who have to stand up for their beliefs when they are so much in the minority. I especially admire the youth who just know 1 or 2 people in their schools that go to the same church. It's really amazing and it strengthens me. You really do have to make a decision to live the gospel here...people don't live the gospel because it's the "popular thing to do." 

You should be grateful that you live 30 min away from Church Headquarters. You've gone to a session of general conference at least once in your life whereas many many people here only hold attending conference as a long term dream. You live 10 min away from the temple while here it's 2 hours away. You have many friends that understand your values about church, the word of wisdom, the law of chastity, and moral books and movies. Here...sometimes it's not the case. 

But the best thing is almost wherever you go...Christ's church is there. Although it's not the easiest thing to live the gospel in some places...it's there...and it holds the same blessings and gives us the same happiness and peace...and we can find it in His church wherever in the world. It's amazing!

I forgot to tell you. Saturday is a BIG day for the mission....for once in my mission life, ALL the missionaries in the Canada Toronto Mission are gathering in a huge meeting. An apostle is coming, along with two other general authorities! AHHH! I'm so excited! As missionaries we've been doing everything we can to prepare...from cleaning our houses really well, to fasting, to studying certain subjects. I'm so excited...but I'm so nervous too! It's going to be awesome! All the missionaries (like 300 people) plus three General Authorities equals A BIG SPIRIT PACKED MEETING. Can't wait to tell you about it!

Christ WANTS us to use the Atonement

March 10, 2014

Holy cow. I'm going to ramble because 1) I did not sleep AT ALL last night so I'm out of it 2) I'm getting transferred 3) I'm feeling a roller coaster of emotions! 

But first of all..please enjoy the 60 degree weather for me while I freeze here! haha. I don't know even though it's been pretty cold...it's been okay. I think my body adjusted to the freezing weather...And yeah I know God probably had a laugh when he sent me here...in the coldest place EVER after finishing a semester in BYUH. It's pretty intense but my coat's pretty heavy so it helps A LOT. And our car warms up pretty fast....but like I said before my clothes are WORN OUT.  I feel pretty tough surviving a Canadian weather and all, But I CAN'T WAIT FOR SPRING! We had a sunny day last week and it was just awesome! 

As far as updates go… Well the good news is we got to see (names). But it was the weirdest lesson yet. We got in and they said, "We need to get back to business slowly..so today no preaching. Let's just talk." (??) haha But they gave us an update and all their problems are easing up. So that's good!

I just love (name). We "heart attacked" their home one night while they were at the hospital and it was awesome! 

Other investigators! Man we had some awesome lessons this week. First we taught (name)...and it was awesome. The spirit was so strong as we taught her about God's plan. It makes sense to her. She is so prepared! She wants to make sure she understands everything and knows it is true so it might take a while with her. But she is sincere and willing to act...which I know will help her progress. And her trials are getting better and she's figuring things out so that's good. 

Then...we taught (name)! Yes the guy that pushed our car! YES YES and YES! When we met with him he like bore his testimony how he feels God put us in his path for a reason. He was going on and on about how he's been doing self reflection lately, how he just wants to find peace and feels there is something more to life. CRAZY!  He is super prepared. And the thing that gets me is...the thing that got him interested in hearing our message is that I just asked him what faith/religious belief he had? He told us that struck him hard and he doesn't know. Super crazy! He is awesome! 

Sunday was crazy because...well it's transfer call night. Like I say over and over again, I don't know why but I always get SO stressed out/excited/ jittery on transfer call day. Like it's so bad, but I don't know what to do about it! But anyways...yesterday I thought there'd probably be a change, My comp would be going because she's been out here six weeks longer than I have. So, just a reminder about transfer calls...you wait by the phone from 9:00pm to 10:30pm for a call. If you don't get a call nothing's changed... if you do, well you're moving or your companion is. The suspense is KILLER! I mean...your next six weeks depends on that phone call. So we wait and wait and wait and wait and wait and wait....10:00 passes...we wait and wait and wait...10:20 passes and we realize that we would be staying together. We were excited...but I think we both were expecting something to happen and we felt like something was off. I was saying my prayers at 10:30 just saying, "Okay Heavenly Father, you know what's best...if this is the best then just help us know what we need to do..." when at 10:30 WE GET A CALL!!!!! And...instead of my comp leaving, I'm moving to the opposite side of the province. 

So there I lay in bed for the night just really shocked...and feeling excited/surprised/a little sad to say goodbye/etc. 

I'm still in shock. And I feel like I haven't been here for long at all. It's crazy. I'm going to miss the people here soooo much. I feel like I've really learned a lot here. Although it hasn't been the easiest past few months...they have been months where I have grown. (I mean...I had to drive in the snow!! haha). And this area has made me really appreciate the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. This past week especially...I have been studying about the power of the Atonement...and what it does for us....it's been amazing. 

I'm so grateful that Christ WANTS us to use the Atonement....it's not just a thing we HAVE to use to get to God. Something I've recently realized is that repentance is NOT a punishment. Sometimes we punish ourselves too harshly for our sins...but instead of having hope, that leads to despair and hopelessness and that's not how the Atonement is intended to be. It's about hope. When we truly repent, we feel sorrow for our sins but we HOPE to be better...we HOPE to not repeat those mistakes...we have a hope that God still loves us despite our mistakes...and we HOPE that we can be made clean again. Without that hope...we aren't using the Atonement properly. It is a PRIVILEGE to have the Atonement and we should treat it as God's most important gift to us. I'm so grateful for it...I can't describe how grateful I am that although many people suffer, although I don't always know what to do to help them...the Savior does...and He loves and understands them.

I'm off to my new area! Adventure awaits!

SAYING GOODBYE...

Gonna miss all these peeps!

I got Goodbye Dumplings! YUM!

Sure Love Her!

I Love the People I Serve Here, and I Love the People I Serve With!

3/2/14

Hiya family!   Like always there's a lot to say so sorry if I ramble. :)

Well....guess what happened yesterday? (Names) WERE CONFIRMED! It was so great. I could go on and on about them. First of all, Sister had been sick ALL last week. But we were able to see her on Saturday and she was well enough to get confirmed. It was a tender mercy. 

She shared with us on Saturday how the Book of Mormon has been helping her. She just finished first Nephi. :) And she told us how she was having a really bad morning last week and her son knocked off the Book of Mormon from the shelf and she decided to pick it up and read a highlighted verse. She told us that that verse meant a lot to her at the time and she felt better and the rest of the day went better after she had read the Book of Mormon. It's amazing to think that at first we struggled getting her to read the Book of Mormon...we first had to invite her to read just one verse every day...but as soon as she did that she's been reading more and more. The Book of Mormon is very very powerful. My mission has been teaching me that. Our ward mission leader confirmed her yesterday...and it was really meaningful because he is a convert and NEVER has confirmed anyone before. He was super nervous but it all worked out and he did great :)

(Name) was also confirmed. He's a good guy and it's been awesome to see how the ward has been reaching out to him. He was confirmed by Brother (name)... and it was awesome because he did the blessing part of the confirmation in Chinese. Although I couldn't understand what was being said the spirit was super strong! :) 

The work's going great here! We're still trying to find the elect but God's put some really cool people in our paths. First guess who called us on Friday? (NAME)!!!!!! And guess who we are going to be teaching tonight? (Names)! We don't know what happened but they wanted us to come back. We are sooooo excited! I had to do a happy dance in the car when I heard what was happening. It was so hard to drop them and I'm so excited to be picking them back up again. 

Then last week we decided to drop by a potential investigator’s. She lives at an apartment building where a sister from the ward lives. We were just talking to her and helped her take out her garbage. She was nice but we never could set up an appointment. So we decided to go drop by her randomly. She let us in instantly and then she just burst into tears and unloaded all these things that were going in her life. She was questioning her faith and was just overwhelmed because she just has a lot of things going on. We had to listen to the Spirit big time...and so we did a lot of bearing testimony, listening, and we even pulled out some Mormon Messages on her computer to invite the Spirit. By the end she was happier. I know that God needed us there and it was really cool to help her. We were supposed to see her yesterday but she cancelled so we will be seeing her on Wednesday...and we are going to be teaching her the Plan of Salvation. I'm stoked! 

Then there was one more guy that was really cool. We were running to an appointment...but there was a guy sitting in front of a store...I was so close to not talking to him because we were late but we decided to stop and do it anyways. Turns out that he just BARELY turned his life around and BARELY started to believe in Christ/God. We had a good talk and scheduled an appointment and said a prayer on the street with him. After the prayer...he stopped and said..."You know...as you were praying I was reminded a few weeks ago I was praying to find some real Christians and a Christian church to go to. I think God just answered my prayer!" We were so excited! He was solid! ......But then....he bombed his appointment and we haven't gotten ahold of him since. AH! We keep meeting all these solid people and then we can never meet with them it's frustrating sometimes! Well...God's timing is perfect I guess we won't give up! 

(Name) is doing okay..still some drama here and there. He's just had a hard life so it's a roller coaster ride....Man....but he's in the right place doing the right things most of the time so I think God's watching out for him. I feel peace that although sometimes things get really stressful with him...it'll work out. I don't know how but it will...

It was a good week last week! (Not as stressful as the one before) But that's missionary work for you...you have good weeks and not so good weeks. Good times and bad times. :) It makes me really appreciate the good moments! But I loved it because it was....ZONE CONFERENCE! Oh man I love zone conference so much. I could go on and on for like five pages but I won't. So for zone conference we went to London.....Ontario. haha. (Don't worry I've confused the two before) It was pretty awesome. We talked about the restoration and the apostasy. And it was really neat to see President Scott bear testimony about the Restoration...super super powerful. 

I just love the missionaries here! I was able to see some good old missionary pals...Get this: my trainee was there, her trainee was there, AND my old comp was there...so 3/5 of my companions were there. I was pretty happy! There's such a spirit when you gather together in the same room with a big group of missionaries. I have really grown to not only love the people I serve, but the people I serve WITH. There are some elect people serving here alongside me in this mission. They have taught me SO much! 

District Meeting

Eating out!

Sister Selfie

Catching Up with Sis W!

But to be honest I had a pretty....emotional? sad? bitter-sweet feeling. There were a lot of departing missionaries that gave their last testimony during the zone conference. And there were a lot that I knew whom I had served with. It's really sad to think about how people are leaving.... people who have taught me SO much and have helped me out....Why is everyone leaving? And it just hit me pretty hard that in a few months I'd be doing the same....I'm just not ready for that yet. I feel like I have SO much more to learn and SO much more to do here! But...life goes on. I just have to be grateful for EVERY MINUTE that I have to be here. I can't take the time I have here for granted! 

Well I love you family! Thanks for supporting me out here in Canada....it's been the best thing ever!

Priesthood Power, Blessings & Baptisms

2/24/14:

Wow: what. a. week. I've been SO excited to write you this email you have no idea. I have a surprise. But I’m gonna make you wait a bit for it.

Well let me just say that this week has been THE CRAZIEST week ever. First of all, (name) is awesome. She wasn't having any problems or concerns. When we were going through the baptism interview questions with her, she would bear her testimony on everything and how she knew it was true. It was awesome. Like I said before, the Lord has been preparing her  for a while. 

But Thursday rolls around and we get a call from the zone leaders. They called and told us, "Well you're going to have another baptism this Sunday!" Apparently, there's a Chinese student who was taking the lessons in Montreal...who just barely moved here...and still wanted to be baptized. And he couldn't make it to the Chinese ward because it's an hour drive from here. So he got passed down to us. It was INSANE! We had to meet him, get his interview set up, and made sure everything was good for him to baptized...in three days. He is so cool! I felt bad though because he was taught everything in the gospel in Chinese and so it was sometimes hard for him to understand everything we were saying. And I think he misses his friends and his last church in Montreal because EVERYONE spoke Chinese. His friends played a big role in his conversion. We really want him to feel comfortable in the ward. It's just a little stressful because there's only one family that speaks Chinese and he and (name) are the only people there who are like 19-20 years old. But he was still baptized along with her yesterday and he seemed to be excited and happy. Man it was just crazy because Heavenly Father was like, "Here you go...here's another baptism..." I was NOT expecting that to happen. Morgan...I wish you could be his friend. He's awesome. 

Anyways...so as you know...the week before a baptism is THE CRAZIEST. Let me tell you that this week has been one of the most stressful weeks ever. Usually Satan takes it out on the investigators preparing to be baptized. But instead (probably because these two were just too solid) he decided to take it out on us. My comp and I just kept switching off having bad moments... Both of our weaknesses came out last week. I had a little bit of a breakdown just because I was very exhausted...and a little discouraged...and quite overwhelmed because of all the things we had to do....My comp got a little sad sometimes... Then she was sick one night and we had to go home early. Then when we were trying to figure out the  baptisms... one thing just happened, after another, after another. People kept bombing appointments and rides...we would spend hours calling to find people to help give them a ride or come with us to teach...it was just a mess. Then on Friday night...it was MY turn to get sick. And I just felt crummy. Saturday morning rolled around and I still felt icky and with all the stress (it being the day of both interviews and the day before the baptisms...and there was a ward activity where our investigators were going to that night after the baptisms) and I wanted them to be happy...and I just had had ENOUGH. 

So a few hours before the interview, I called my district leader and asked for a blessing. I had been thinking about it all morning long and I think I just needed help...and I wanted help...and I just wanted to know that everything was going to be okay. And I don't know, I think it's me just trying to be a tough girl, but I sometimes justify myself as "I can do it...I'm okay...I'm strong. Praying and fasting are enough. God's got my back. I'm not lying on my deathbed so it's not like I NEED a blessing as if my life depends on it..." But I remembered another time on my mission where I was struggling and I didn't get a blessing and now looking back I regretted it. So I decided to get one. 

By the time I was able to get my blessing I was slowly starting to feel a little better physically and emotionally...but I still wanted it. Let me tell you. I know the priesthood is truly the power of God. The words that I heard from the blessing that was given were words that I didn't expect. It was one of the most intense blessings I've heard. And I wasn't expecting it to be. I'll probably email a separate email about it just cause it's pretty sacred to me and stuff. But some of the things that were said have really been pressing me for the last few days. But anyways, I'm grateful because after the blessing everything was starting to flow and come together a LOT better. By Sunday I was feeling a lot better. (Thank goodness!) 

The baptisms went very very well. The talks were great! You just feel such a special spirit at a baptism. (Name) was smiling and happy. The ward members were really welcoming to him which made me happy. It's amazing how you can just come to love someone even after meeting them three days ago. But I know God is so proud of him. What he's doing is NOT easy and definitely NOT in his comfort zone. But he is doing it!  It took him 2 years of investigating the church to find out it's true. I don't know why of ALL people and missionaries we were the ones to witness his baptism. But I feel so humbled to know him. I'm excited to work with him more and I know that God's going to bless him and help him so much. 

And (name)...oh you know how I love her!  She has come such a long way! You take this person who has been through so much.. and you just see how because of her trials and hardships she is an amazing young woman and mother. I was so happy to see her be baptized. She was SO excited about it. SO EXCITED. She couldn't wait. And it was awesome to see her mother there, who was baptized last September.  I love her so much and she has taught me a great deal of what it's like to have true faith. By reading the Book of Mormon and from listening to the prophet online, she has felt the Spirit and she won't deny it. The gospel makes sense to her. The Spirit has helped her understand. And I just know that God's timing's the perfect timing. I don't know if I told you but we were THIS close to dropping her because we could never meet with her. The day of Do or Drop we visited her and we invited her to be baptized and she accepted. And now look at where she is now! It's amazing! :) 

While they were changing after their baptisms, we shared the Restoration with everyone there. .including the rest of her family who were nonmembers...I really hope that they felt something. And I hope that they will follow their examples. I don't know if it will be now or later...but I hope one day they will. 

Sometimes with my companions and investigators, I just want to saran wrap them and lock them away so they can be safe and no one can harm them. But I do know that trial helps us grow stronger and God will never give us anything we can't handle. 

One more thing! it was cool because I had a posterity moment last district meeting. My old comp (name) was there....I was there...and her trainee (my grandaughter) were all there. It was cool to see the person I trained and the person she trained all in the same room! But I'm excited for Zone Conference...I get to see Sister (name) I think so I'm pretty stoked for that.

Anyways I know that this is God's work. I'm so grateful to be here. I thank Him every day that I can be here as His servant to serve my brothers and sisters here in Canada.  I don't know why some things happen...but I know that no matter what happens it is for the best. I love the joy that comes from seeing people change by living the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's amazing to see the difference and see how it makes them so happy. I know God can't help but smile seeing them make these steps in their lives! :)

Love you lots fam! Keep the faith! :) 

Car Problems and Prospects

Feb. 18, 2014

Well, here in Canada we have this little holiday called "Family Day." Apparently in Ontario everyone gets the day off to spend time with the family. (I think they just wanted to throw in another holiday in there haha) But we were talking to our investigator the other day and she was like, "We need to have Family Day every week...on Sunday! Why can't they just do that?" Good point! That's what Sundays are for...but people here don't quite get that yet. We're working on that. 

(names) ...well we were going to teach them and then....they dropped us. :'( It's really sad. They just have so much on their plate they just can't do this anymore. Bummer. But I know God's timing's always right and they told us they wouldn't mind us coming back. BUT...we just have to wait a couple months for things to settle down. 

(name) is doing AWESOME!!!! And...SHE'S GOING TO GET BAPTIZED THIS SUNDAY! Yay! She came to church again last Sunday with her son and it went really well. We showed her the baptism font and she's really excited. We gave her some invitations so she's inviting all her friends to the baptism. So we are excited. It's crazy how fast she progressed. God had been preparing her BIG TIME. So that's cool. It's just crazy because we were THIS close to dropping her because she could never meet with us. But...I don't know why or how or when but it just was the right timing and we've been able to meet with her and she's been feeling the spirit. It's so cool. She tells us she's been happier since she started reading the Book of Mormon.  THE BOOK OF MORMON IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY IN CONVERSION. There's such a difference between an investigator who reads the Book of Mormon and who doesn't.  And (name) is one who does and she is so excited to be baptized. She is such a good mother. And she's only 19.  I just hope everyone really takes her in and befriends her. It's hard because there aren't a lot of 19 year olds in Relief Society if you know what I mean. 

(New Member) is doing awesome! Like really awesome. It was his birthday the other day and his brother was there and he pretty much invited his brother to hear the missionaries! It was awesome! But his brother lives quite a ways in the country so we don't know if missionaries can reach him. But we're going to try to get some elders to come down there. He is becoming truly converted. I can see that and it is amazing to witness. He's going to be qualified for the priesthood here pretty soon so it's so exciting! 

We went over and saw (name) yesterday she fed us and we taught her the Plan of Salvation. Although she's interested, she won't read the Book of Mormon or pray. She's so lonely and I know the gospel would help her so much!   

I went to the north end of town last week on an exchange with Sister G. It was awesome! I love exchanges and I love my leaders! It was the coolest exchange ever because we were tracting and talking to people and were inviting everyone to be baptized! At first, it may sound really weird. But it has been so cool to see how talking about baptism has created some really interesting spiritual experiences. I was scared out of my mind to invite someone on the street to be baptized. But hey, I know God helps us do scary things. We did it! And people didn't scream at us or call us weirdos or run away or anything. 

So more car stories....

Last week we were on the exchange...and my comp and the other sister training leader called telling us our car had died AGAIN. So we jumped our car AGAIN. The next day our car died AGAIN. So by Friday we had HAD it. We had to get it jumped once more and then we were going to take it in. 

We were trying to push our car out of the driveway when a man pulled over and offered to help. He was pretty entertained with us pushing the car. So he helped us. And we got in a conversation. He asked what we did and we told him our purpose. All of a sudden, he told us his mother passed away 2 years ago and he was really struggling with faith right now and would like us to come talk to him. So although I hated our car then, I'm grateful because I feel like God placed him in our path. I'm so excited! 

Anyways we took our car to the battery store...they were out of our battery...so we went to ANOTHER store. They checked our battery and told us that it was failing but it was also under warranty...so they sent us to ANOTHER place. And there they told us that they'd replace it but it'd take an hour to do so. So guess what we did for Valentines Day? Yup waited for our car to be fixed and it was out of our area so we couldn't really do anything. You asked if I watched the Olympics. Well we can't really do that as missionaries. But in the waiting room guess what was playing? AHH! It was so hard because we couldn't watch or listen to it. We were like trying to face away from it and make phone calls. But it was SO HARD. So we decided to walk around outside for a little while cause we were going crazy. 

But we got a new battery. for free! And now our car works! YAY!

Thanks for being amazing family! I love you so much! Thanks for your testimonies and examples. 

I am SO grateful to be here. I know this work is true. Although many people point their fingers and laugh and yell at me and try to break my faith, I will never deny that God exists and that this is His Church. I know that this work really is hastening and moving forward. And I'm grateful for the tiny tender mercies I see everyday here. The Lord works in small and simple ways...but because of that many miracles happen down the road. 

God's Love, Dead Batteries, and chillin in - 12 degrees

February 10, 2014

Hello! Another week just flew by. Yikes!

I have gotten HORRENDOUS with basketball/working out. A couple preparation days ago we were at a church gym and I shot a few baskets...FAIL.

Morgan asked for advice on things to read/watch before your mission.  Here are some:

·        probably read the member missionary work book that mom and dad are talking about so you can help members with missionary work. 

·        i can't tell you enough: like read and breathe Preach My Gospel

·        I don't know maybe look this up on youtube/lds.org but Elder Holland gave some powerful talks in the MTC it's awesome!

·        watch/listen to joseph smith papers

·        Jesus the Christ

·        get to know scripture mastery/book of mormon (it'd be a good idea to read it one more time before you leave)

·        look at the work of salvation website on lds.org

·        get to know family history; that's been a focus on finding in many missions

·        read the miracle of forgivness by spencer w kimball

·        if you read the Book of Mormon institute study guide that really has a lot of awesome insights. 

·        "Cast not away therefore thy confidence" is my favorite talk ever by Elder Holland. That's the talk that helped me quit basketball...it's great! 

This week was CRAZY! We saw some amazing things happen:

First of all, (names) are doing okay. We saw them last week and it was so cool because he went from drinking 25 cups of coffee to 8! So that's awesome! They are still doing great. Except this last weekend they couldn't make it to church. :( But I think they'll be okay. It's so true when people start making good choices Satan throws things at them to try to get them discouraged. 

(name) is doing AWESOME! It's been a very cool experience to try to help him to stop smoking. I've never had to help someone quit smoking who actually had a DESIRE to stop. I've never realized how smoking is so addictive and powerful. But he has made some great steps: he's had days where he hasn't smoked at all and he is getting better. He's been sincerely praying and asking God for help and accounting to him how he's doing each day. It's amazing. I know that he is really teaching me about our Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Whenever he has a fallback we just tell him to keep going. I know that's what our Jesus Christ does for US: he isn't tearing us down but cheering us on telling us to not quit and that tomorrow's a new day. I'm so grateful for the Atonement. I know he is going to be cigarette free soon...God is helping him. 

(name) is doing awesome! We ate at their place last week and taught them and committed her and her husband to read the Book of Mormon every night. They recognize the Spirit and they said they'd do it. So good things are going to come out of that. 

(name)…I'M SO EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT HER! We taught her the restoration last week and she GOT IT. You can tell if someone understands something or not. And she understood. It was so awesome! At the end of the lesson she told us she's been thinking about baptism...and it seems right to her. YAY! She's loving the Book of Mormon and it's awesome! And....SHE CAME TO CHURCH FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY! So. awesome. She had a great time. We are so excited for her. Now...the thing is...we have to teach her all the commandments in the next two weeks. It's go time! But I love her: she's so genuine and she wants to make sure that baptism is right for her not because we say it is but because she comes to know for herself that it is. She has had so many hard times. But she is so strong. It's amazing. :)

We found a miracle. A few snowstorms ago we talked to this old woman outside who was shoveling. She told us to come back. So last week we did. She is so amazing. She's this single old woman living by herself. But she has faith in God and you can tell it. Her house/countenance was just filled with the light of Christ. She told us we were sent to her for a reason and so we are coming back. WE ARE SO PUMPED! She is so nice...and she just goes to a church because she knows people that go there. She's gone to many different churches and she is seeking truth. It's sweet! 

I know that God loves ALL his children. I felt that a lot this week. I don't know if I'm going soft but there have been times in lessons where I just tear up because I know that God loves them so much...and that they are just so amazing. A lot of people have so many hard trials but God still loves them. I know it because I feel it so strongly. I know that they aren't alone and that He understands everything. It's one of my favorite things as a missionary to just feel that special love for these people that I don't know very well. It's funny though because now and then I seem to be hard on myself for MY faults..and I don't let myself feel God's love for ME. I'm a bit of a hypocrite for that cause then I feel like God couldn't love me for my weaknesses. But I think I'm learning now..so that's good. :)

Okay I want to end with a great story...haha okay just the craziest day of my mission which happened this last week:

It all started on Thurs. We were rushing to an appointment and we left the house, got in the car.

And the car wouldn't start.

So we had to call someone to help us jump the car and get it started. (So now I know what to do to jumpstart a car) Although we were late we got to our appointment.

THEN...the next day we had been weekly planning all day and were anxious to get back to work and get out. We go in the car....

AND IT WOULDN'T START AGAIN!!!!! 

We were pretty annoyed. So we called ANOTHER member and he came to help us. We push the car out of the snowy driveway (in other words I had a great workout) And then he tried to jumpstart the car. 

Well the car started...and then we heard the doors lock. 

The keys were in the car.

And the phone. 

And it was -12 degrees outside.

Yup a repeat of Hogi-Yogi. 

So the poor member called CAA and had someone come break into our car. We had to wait outside in the cold for a good 20 min. My feet were about to fall off, my face was frozen, and man it was just crazy.

But the guy did come and get us going. 

So then we wanted to call the mission office. I was quite frazzled so I called the number and the president's wife answered. It was weird for her to have answered but I asked for Elder G and she then laughed and said "Oh...I think you wanted to call the Mission OFFICE this is the mission HOME."  So that was my embarrassing moment for the day: I just called the Mission President's wife for no reason. 

After I called the mission OFFICE...the elder over vehicles told me that we needed to take our car and get the battery checked ASAP. (It was 5pm so everything was closing up) So we were calling and driving around trying to find a place to check our battery. 

Then I looked and our gas was really low...

But we made it to the place. They checked the battery and nothing was wrong. So that's good -- apparently I've been leaving something in the cigarette lighter over night which has been draining the battery. 

SO then we filled up with gas. And then I looked at the car clock and we had an appointment in 20 min. So because of previous events I decided we need an ice cream cone to make things better and get us feeling better. Then we went to Dairy Queen. Right when we got our sundaes...we realized. The car clock was wrong because the battery died. 

It was really 30 min past our appointment time. 

SO we ended up being an hour late. But she was okay and forgiving. But oh man after that I was just DONE!

So there you go!

Luckily life goes on and the next few days have been better. But man that was so crazy!

Okay I better go! I love you! I love the work and I love the gospel! Keep being amazing! 

Sister Ogden :)