Week 39: With a Willing Heart

 "As you obey with a willing heart, you will show the Lord your love for Him, earn the trust and confidence of members and nonmembers, and qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost." -Missionary Handbook

Hello everyone!

Thank you for the birthday wishes! As you can probably tell, I have a wonderful companion who made sure that tomorrow's celebrations will not be forgotten. (We even had cake for District Meeting!) So I can promise you that I will do my best to have a wonderful birthday. : )

It sounds like life has kept on going for everyone at home, which is great. There's nothing like bumps in the road to help you appreciate when it's a smooth ride. It's been great here in South Dakota, and I know that's really all you want to read about so I'll get right on to it.

Monday was pretty fun. : ) Sister L, from the Rapid City area, came with us in Sturgis while her companion went to the Missionary Leadership Conference in Bismarck. We got sweet pictures everywhere. It was kinda' like being back in the Trio again. We even took two hours at Walmart! (which was not good because the longer you're at Walmart the more you spend....)

 

Tuesday we still had Sister L with us. We had lunch with the Pehs in Deadwood, then came back to visit Carla and do our Media/Family History hour. I made an ancestry account and found a lot of really cool information---apparently there are people who have records and stuff further back on my Mom's side than I knew about. I'm excited to keep learning about my Lithuanian ancestors! Sister C also found a neat story called The Hummingbird Rescue (https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/06/the-hummingbird-rescue?lang=eng ) which really helped her see the impact we make as missionaries (and even as regular people going around helping others). While visiting Cindy at the long-term hospital care unit, she had us take a picture with her, which I'm really glad of now since as of yesterday she is in the ICU at the Rapid City hospital and I might not get to see her before I get transferred.

 

 

The elevator in Robert's apartment building always has cheesy jokes in it. I had to remember this one since Rally is coming up. : ) Make way for the motorcycles!

We met with Thomas, and then we all went to the Han's for dinner. President Han was actually out of town on a motorcycle trip himself (Sturgis Branch, go figure : ) ), so for our dinner message we challenged Sister Han to give a Family Proclamation to one of her bank friends. I'm excited to see how that went! And then of course we read PMG with Jackie and had a fun POS lesson with Sister L before the returning MLC missionaries picked her back up.

 

Wednesday morning we got to go to the food pantry again. Sister C and I took off the clear plastic wrapping on all the canned goods. I don't know how necessary that was, but it sure looked nice in there when we were done. : ) I think we'll try to do a hymn for them this next week, they really like it when we sing for them. We had an awesome meeting with Molly. It was our first time going to her apartment; as expected, it was super cute and clean and country, and she is amazing. I can't wait to get to know her better. We packed up our things afterwards, then stopped to see Rachel on our way back to Belle Fourche. In Belle we found a package from the Cs awaiting us. Her cute family gave me a new notebook. : ) I love it!

Thursday morning on our run around the park, guess what we saw? A horse! Just wandering around the park. No big deal. Two police officers were off the side watching, waiting, and a couple on a walk went and started to pet it. We ran back to our apartment to get our cameras. I felt weird getting too close, so this was the best we got. 

 

Home of the Belle Fourche Roundup. : )

We accomplished the amazing feat of practically finishing Weekly Planning that day. We also had a great lesson with Caitlin--apparently she's already friends with Rue's family! We also met with the Os and had a nice lesson outside on the tramp. They like to be outside in the summer because in the winter you can't go out at all.

Friday morning we met with Hannah and started to study Preach My Gospel with her. She is planning on going on a mission. She picked a chapter she wanted to apply, which was "Using Time Wisely"; then we talked about setting goals and she's going to try to do that this week. It's definitely true that "Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish. Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action. Goal setting and planning are acts of faith," (PMG ch. 8). I've always been a strong advocate of goals, but it's been on my mission that I've actually found a system that works for me. I am accountable to my companion, and we go over our goals every night, and I've seen a lot of personal growth in setting goals regularly.

We were supposed to have our first lesson with Ashley, friend of the Ss, on Friday night after dinner at 6:00. Dinner ended up being ready at 7:30, and she didn't make it over until about 8:30, but we gave her a Restoration pamphlet to read and

 

Saturday morning we met with her at 11:30 and talked about what she'd read. She liked it, and she's preparing to be baptized on August 8! I know that as she reads out of the Book of Mormon daily and prays for direction, she'll receive the knowledge and understanding that she's seeking. She's such a cute girl, I'm so excited for her! The Relief Society President's family fed us a nice lunch, after which we shared Sister C's favorite story about the marble egg. She then let us know that she wants to come teaching with us the first Thursday night of every month. That's a great way to make a missionary happy--letting them take you to a lesson. : )

We also went to Spearfish to volunteer at the wildlife sanctuary, but since it's out of our area and the Elders are there all the time we decided we'd just stick with the Tri-State Museum in Belle.

Sunday was pretty fun. : ) Robert didn't come to Church (although Ashely did!) in Sturgis, but guess who we ran into? The Stephens! It blows my mind that I would end up serving my mission in the place where they go every year for their honeybees. I got to get an update on Elder Stephen's mission in the Philippines, and of course we got a picture. : ) It was chill.

The Ds had us over for dinner, which was nice. They're feeling topsy-turvy about the new Supreme Court ruling, so we read Psalm 23 with them, focusing on the line "He leadeth me beside the still waters." Sometimes in life we feel like the threatening water around us are raging and deep. However, when the Savior is with us--and He is always with us--the waters are still. I've personally felt the peace we learn of in John 14:27 ("Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled , neither let it be afraid."), even this week. There are many ways to be distracted from our troubles in life, but I know that I've found lasting peace and comfort through living and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thank you so much for your prayers and letters! Prayer is powerful and I can feel the protection and peace from so many people every day.

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister F

Week 37: The Book of Mormon & the Temple

"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven." -Praise to the Man

Hello everyone!

Sorry for sending out a late email this week. I promise I have a good excuse for you.

Some change:

-President and Sister Anderson have been released as the North Dakota Bismarck Mission President, and today we welcome in President and Sister Hess.

So just so you can see how much fun we had, here is a picture of Sister C, Jackie, and I sitting outside a mall in Rapid City. We went there with a sister in the Branch; I got a pair of running shoes, Sister C found a cute shirt at Dress Barn, and Jackie completed her outfit for the upcoming Youth Conference trip. Sister C had a bad cold but was a trooper and still had a lot of fun.

Tuesday we had a wonderful training meeting in Rapid City. Sister C was on Week 7, which in 12-week is all about using the Book of Mormon. We were so excited and inspired by the things we discussed that after our meeting we switched all our lessons that day to reading out of the Book of Mormon, and it was an inspired success! With one less-active sister, she had just decided to start the lessons with us and that morning she said she'd never read the whole book, but as we started to read with her the story really related to her life and she was so excited to get into it that she had us ask President H about getting an audio recording. It was also our first time getting to meet with a former investigator, and it turns out the Book of Mormon was exactly what he needed to start reading from too. And then with Crystal, after our lessons she wasn't so confused and we really made progress with helping her understand the actual Gospel, instead of just telling her how wonderful it is. It probably should have been obvious that that's what we needed to do--but hey, we're not perfect. : ) Good thing we can follow the Spirit!

Wednesday we kept on our BoM kick and read with everyone. It was fun to have lunch in Deadwood--Sister C and I just love it up there! It's such a quaint town. All the houses are old and have so much character. I should probably take some pictures for you, huh! Unfortunately, Molly had to leave to work early so we're just going to have to schedule to meet with her specifically. That less-active from Tuesday was still loving the Book of Mormon today. Also, I quite enjoyed being a trainer today. While doing 12-week I realized that I'd never showed Sister C how to resolve concerns, so we practiced that in the car today and she's pretty boss.

Guess what was crazy? Thursday I had lunch with my own trainer, Sister W! She was back in town for her mission tour with her parents. Their rental car got some nice hail damage while they were in Rapid City; we're hoping they won't' have to pay a lot of insurance on that. That aside, it was so crazy to see her again! When you spend 24 hours a day with someone you notice all those little things they do, and then they leave and you forget and then when you see them again it's like a flashback or something! And then when you see your companion's parents and you learn all about why they are the way they are... it was really cool. She's already dating someone! And she survived finals after the mission, so there's hope for us all. : )

We mostly did Weekly Planning all Thursday, but we had a couple lessons. Sister C started feeling discouraged, so I made a list of all the people she'd helped today and stuck it in her planner for her to find (thanks for that lesson, Sister W). : )

Friday we finally met with Kaeli, an 11-year-old recent convert that I haven't been able to meet with until now. We've been here since Easter! Anyway, she's super smart and confident in answering questions that make you think, so I'm really excited to keep seeing her family. Her grandparents are preparing to be sealed in the temple, so that's wonderful. : )

There is a castle house here. The lady whose sister owns it let us in for a tour. We're hoping to help her with family history.

Saturday everything fell through except our volunteering at the Museum in the morning and our dinner & lesson with the Os. We tried to go help clean up hail damage in Newell, but when we called the members there they'd already cleaned everything up. That's all I remember. I guess that night I was writing my talk like crazy because 

Sunday I spoke in Sturgis about the purpose of the Work of Salvation! It was AWESOME. I love speaking in Church! And my talk was finished that morning so I didn't even have to fudge the ending. And we got to go to the OCS services again, and Sister C talked about repentance and I sang "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul". Something I've done on my mission is get a lot better at doing music everywhere. Once you sing on a stranger's doorstep, there's not much that will hold you back anymore. : ) We ran to Rapid City that night to visit Bree in the hospital--she had her baby early yesterday and we're hoping all will go well.

Sneak Peak to Next Week: We went to the temple today and it was exactly what I needed.
​

Panini: So it's the end of the month and, as usual, MSF was getting slim... on Tuesday we were in Rapid City for our weekly training, and afterward we wanted to get lunch. I took us to the shop I went to with Brother K, Sister S, and Sister D, ordered a mozzarello & pesto panini, and hoped there would be enough money in my account. : ) It was $5.19. And guess what! When I looked at my email this week, there had been exactly $5.19 left! I've definitely noticed that everything always works out when we pay tithing (and even if we do a bigger fast offering--it just always works out).
​

I am so grateful for the lessons I had this week. It's easy to take the power of the Book of Mormon for granted, but it really changes us every time we read. And I love the temple and I'd better get going.

Love you! Don't forget to pray!

-Sister F

Week 38: Guided by the Spirit

"For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will—yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man." D&C 76:10

Hi everybody!

It's been a pretty great week (again). : ) They always seem to do that. I'd say that's a good thing to have consecutively-great weeks.

Why is it so great?

Well,

on Monday we had a normal proselyting day since we'd do our P-day on Wednesday. After morning studies and training, a family in Deadwood fed us lunch. The construction up there is scheduled to run until October 2016, apparently, and it took us an extra 20 minutes to get up to their home. I felt bad about being super late...they were ok though. : ) The less-active sister we've been reading the Book of Mormon with said she was so upset she wasn't able to go to Church that Sunday. She had been just walking out the door when she had to stay home last minute to babysit grandkids. She'll make it next week, though. That night we got to go to Branch FHE, which was way fun. After going around the table and sharing our experiences of the week, we read and discussed Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. I love this chapter so much! It's amazing how Christ taught us how to live by good principles, and not just by established "do & do not"s. I've learned that when we teach by principles it is so much easier for others to understand, to listen to the Spirit and apply the things they've learned individually. (https://www.lds.org/church/news/apostles-introduce-spirit-led-teaching-to-new-mission-leaders-?cid=HP_MO_6-29-2015_dCN_fCNWS_xLIDyL2-4_&lang=eng ) 

Tuesday, of course, we went to Rapid City for our 12-Week training meeting again, after which Sister C and I had the panini experience. And then when we visited with that sister again she had read three chapters in the Book of Mormon that day! Super cool. She's noticed it making such a difference in her life, in her character. We showed our sweet Elder Birch & the Mormon Church (Mormon version of Green Eggs & Ham) book to Thomas before reading the Book of Mormon together, and we also shared it with the H after dinner. In this version, Sam is Elder Birch, and the Green Eggs & Ham become the Book of Mormon. All during the story the friend says, "I do not like the Mormon Church. I do not like it, Elder Birch!" but when he finally reads it, he loves it. : ) 

We ended the day with Marcia, a sister who came to Church for the first time in a while last week. She told us a lot of hilarious stories and showed us her cute home--she fixes it up all on her own, however she wants it done. When we got home we planned super fast and went straight to bed because 

Wednesday morning we woke up at 2:20 a.m. to get ready for the temple! We would need to leave at 3:00 a.m. to be in Bismarck on time. At 3:15, we called Sister S to see if she was coming. As luck would have it, she'd been up all night with her daughter so she slept through the alarm and we were on the road fifteen minutes later. Then it was super foggy, so it was really stretching it to go the speed limit. Needless to say, we didn't make it to Bismarck until 9:20, which meant we were too late to go to a session. I was kinda' sad at first, but I felt so peaceful about it I knew it was going to be ok. (That may sound a little dramatic to you, but I haven't been since November and it's REALLY nice to go on a mission.) When we got there the workers let us in, of course, but there wasn't really anywhere to go. So we sat on the couches just past the front desk, and while waiting I grabbed a set of scriptures and flipped open to a page. It landed on D&C 76. I then read verses 1-10, which, combined with the powerful feeling of God's love you feel in the temple, answered the question I'd been fasting and praying about (How can I strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ?). Heavenly Father knew that if we went to a session, we'd be too rushed to sit and read scriptures, and that was what I needed that day. And it doesn't end there! They were able to get another sister to come help us, and we were able to do another service that took less time, and Sister C's question was answered and we all felt the Spirit we needed and I am just so refreshed now. I love to be in the temple!

Exhausted & Happy  : )

Sister S treated us to a lunch at Cracker Barrel, then we took the five-hour drive back to Belle Fourche. I took a nap this time. : )

It was also President and Sister H's first day in the mission field. We didn't get to meet them, but they're going on a mission tour in a couple weeks so I'll be sure to send a picture.

Thursday morning was so amazing! We finally finished teaching Rueben the Restoration, and the Spirit was super strong, especially thanks to Carianne who kept bearing super powerful testimony. He's been reading out of the Book of Mormon, and we committed him to keep reading and praying for answers to his questions. He is probably the most polite 17-year-old I've met--that day he made us all cookies to take with us. Our meeting with Caitlin went well too. We kept it short so she could take her children to the carnival, so we just read Alma 32:26-end. She wants to have faith like a Redwood tree in California. : ) 

I got super nervous for our lesson with the Os, but it ended up being pretty great. We just sat at the tramp, sang hymns, and then ended with a prayer. It's amazing how, as we follow the Spirit, we're guided to do and say the things people needed at that moment.

At District Meeting on Friday Elder Bell talked with us about the importance of helping people be baptized. It was actually a good reminder for me--I got distracted from that somehow? Well, we shared that training with Robert and now he's back on date for August 15th. It will be tough for us to be gone that few weeks for Rally, but if he keeps reading and praying and comes to Church, he'll make it. 

That night they had the firework show in Belle Fourche, and it was approved to watch them, so we did. : ) We opened up the back of the Jeep and sat outside to watch and write in our journals. Sister C got some cool firework pictures.

Saturday morning we did an hour of contacting at the local parade--I had a very proud "Momma Moment" when Sister C helped a couple understand the importance of the Book of Mormon and give it away. We hardly ever (as in I've never before) do "street contacting," so for her to be so amazing and unawkward her first time was really happy. As you would expect, we couldn't really visit many people on Independence Day, so we'd planned ahead and filled our day with community service.

We volunteered at the Tri-State Museum, watering the flowers and running the sign-in desk. I was super grateful we were wearing sunscreen. We also met a set of brothers who were visiting the area; unfortunately we don't have pockets all the time so we couldn't give them any materials. We ran into them later that day, however, and I was able to give them a BecauseHeLives card, and they said they'd watch it. : )

We got a tour of the Johnny Spaulding cabin outside the museum, and I thought the upstairs was super cute. Wouldn't you agree?

Sister C was about to die from not teaching anyone, so we left the museum early to go talk to people. At the park we ended up speaking with "Vi" (or Viola) for an hour. She encouraged us to "test the Spirit" about what we were doing, and we assured her that we had. : ) Anyway.... we ended the day with helping take tickets at the rodeo. We met probably five LDS families from Utah while we were there. : ) Sister C was interested in watching the rodeo for a couple minutes before we left, so we prayed about it, got a "No," and then left. We didn't think much of it, but Sunday morning talking with the Elders we found out that it's unapproved to watch a rodeo, so that was good. : ) Glad we were kept safe from breaking rules! 

They had a huge stack of papers they were nervous they'd never get rid of. We were so pro we ran out (as they wanted) and then just helped with tickets. If I ever need a job where I just pass papers to people, looks like I'll be set. : )

The next morning it was Fast Sunday (hooray!) and we had a few visiting families at Church. We also got to talk with a member of the Bishopric about making our Ward Missionary Coordination meetings more effective, so soon we might have the auxiliary leaders come once a month. If that happens, that will be so nice! The Ss brought their friend Ashley to Church for the first time, and we might get to start teaching her soon. After Church both of our appointments in Belle were cancelled, but it ended up working out nicely so that we had time to study and do that day's training. The Sts fed us a nice dinner, and we shared a sweet message on the Why of sacrifice (Helaman 3:35), and then we drove to Sturgis to help with the last OCS service we'll be here for.

They had their 30-minute Fast & Testimony Meeting, after which Brother P came up and asked if one of us was from Delta. I said I was, and then he showed me a picture of his military chaplain and asked if I knew him. It was Brother Spring! He teaches seminary in Delta! So I told him that yes, I know him, and he had us all get a picture that he's going to send him. That will be a fun email!

We ended the night by helping Punkie and then the Dowers with indexing. I was really amazed at the computer skills--there were just some little quirks about the software program we showed them, and then they were speeding through the records. 

So yeah, a good week. : )

On the 4th of July our "contacting message" was asking people what liberty means to them, telling about an amazing book that has the record of America, and then sharing Ether 2:12; "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ,who hath been manifested by the things which we have written." I personally have seen this promise be fulfilled. As we devote our lives to Christ, we are individually strengthened and made free. How much more, then, will our nation thrive as we all come unto Christ? 

In closing, here's the first email from President Hess:

Dear Sisters and Elders,
It is great to finally be here with you in the Bismarck North Dakoda Mission. Sister Hess and I have been looking forward with great anticipation this “hour of our mission”, I’m sure just as you did when you first entered into the field. 
We have felt your prays throughout our preparation, and through the Spirit the Lord has blessed us to come to know you and your love for this work. We would find as we spoke of you, that it was as if you were literally our sons and daughters. 
Sister Hess and I know that this is the time that we were all prepared for (D&C 138:56). We are committed to you and the Lord in this great work. Please have patience with us as we learn the ropes, and please never hesitate to offer us council or training. 
We look forward to meeting you, and hearing of your great successes and of your testimonies and love for the Lord. 
Love you,
President and Sister Hess

Things are looking up. : )

Love you all! Thanks for the prayers. 

-Sister F

Week 36: All is Well!

"Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear; But with joy wend your way. Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day. 'Tis better far for us to strive our useless cares from us to drive; Do this, and joy your hearts will swell--All is well! All is well!" Hymn 30

Hello everyone!

What a wonderful week. : ) It started out with a Sunday, which is really the perfect way to start, and it ended on a Sunday, which is the perfect way to end. : ) And the middle of the week sandwich had lots of awesome learning experiences, which is what life is all about!

Just so you're aware, since we're going to the temple next Wednesday that will take up our P-day, so we might not get to email. So sorry, but I guess we can all wait to communicate. : )

*     *      *      *     *

 

Since we've been so busy the last few P-days, we decided to take a slow one last week. I ended up spending most of the day writing in my journal and drawing this sweet water pot picture for Sister C's missionary planner. I haven't drawn anything in a long time, so it was good for my left brain to stretch some. : )

 

This water pot felt discouraged by its flaw in not perfectly fulfilling its purpose to carry all the water back and forth, but its owner used this weakness to water flower seeds on its side of the path, resulting in beauty to decorate his home. Ether 12:27! We each have weaknesses too, but as we turn to the Lord He will make them our strengths and enable us to accomplish miracles.

We were crazy busy on Tuesday! That morning our schedule was so full that we hardly hat time to eat--thankfully, throughout the day Heavenly Father fixed everything so we still got our dinner and lunch hours. (He always does that. : ) ) Our 12-week Training meeting was in Rapid City (which was awesome and we had some really good Role Plays on helping people recognize the Spirit), which we got back from in time for our lunch, and then we had lessons with Thomas, Roze, Carla, Robert, and Crystal, all of which we had members for. It was really cool how our training from the meeting that morning helped with all of our lessons--with Robert, for instance, we had planned on going in and watching the Restoration DVD but as soon as we walked in you could feel how down and discouraged he was feeling. So instead we talked with him about finding comfort in the scriptures and the ways we can invite the Spirit into our lives.

Wednesday morning we, once again, had to cancel on the Food Pantry to help someone move in Sturgis--this time, Sister W. She's going to St. George, which will be good fr her but is very sad for us. (Funny story, I distinctly remember having the thought that I hoped I'd never have to help Sister W move since she has so many small little trinkets! Except she has a lot of practice moving so it was organized and unpainful.) Sister C especially enjoyed helping pack everything up since she found a marble egg that matched a cool story and Sister W let her keep it. I'll have to share that story some time. We went right after getting ready for the day, so we ended up doing our morning studies in the car in Deadwood before meeting with the Ps and their niece. Sister C got to share her marble egg story with them. Once again we witnessed why Sister C needed to be in Sturgis and in Belle Fourche--her personal conversion story helps everyone! She actually shared it with the next family we visited too. : ) 

 

The Hs fed us barbecued ribs for dinner, which I realized I don't think I've ever had before. The verdict? Delicious. : )

Thursday in Belle Fourche we tried to get most of our weekly planning done, but we took a couple breaks to go try potentials and tract. Sister B prepared enchiladas for dinner and we had fun sharing our experiences of how reading out of the Book of Mormon strengthens our faith in Christ. I always love visiting her--her home is out in the country, next-door to open fields and a quaint gulch full of trees and farm equipment. It's beautiful there, and I feel like I'm at home. : ) The O are doing super well--they were at Church last week, and Brother O shared cool scriptures that had meant a lot to him. Reading out of the Book of Mormon, praying, and going to Church make all the difference! They are going to make it to the temple!

Friday morning we had a wonderful District Meeting in Sturgis, courtesy of Elder B. He shared a cool Dr. Seuss book changed to Elder B and the Mormon Church; Sister C and I were so inspired that we're going to try to make one of our own. We had a fun time dusting at the Tri-State museum--I think I'm going to have to volunteer at museums just so I can keep being in contact with all the cool old dresses and saddles and book cases. I love old stuff! And then we met with Bishop J's daughter and shared Psalm 37:3-7; "3Trust in the Lord , and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." It's really hard to be in high school and see people "prospering in [their] way" when they're doing terrible things to others, but she pointed out that as we "rest in the Lord" by studying the scriptures, praying, and attending Church we will be filled with peace. She's amazing and we're going to start studying Preach My Gospel with her every week as mission preparation. : )

We had a nice discussion with Sylver O while reading "Defenders of the Family Proclamation" (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/defenders-of-the-family-proclamation?lang=eng) from General Conference, and Grandma C had us over for dinner and we received 3 referrals and talked about the important role hymns can play in our daily lives. 

 

On the way back from dinner I pulled over to take this picture. : ) Notice the clouds are pretty black?

The wind was warm and the lightning was looking frequent, and there had been a tornado in Spearfish just a couple days earlier, so we looked through my leadership binder just to remember what to do in case we got one. And we were just settling down to work on weekly planning when bam! We got a text saying that we were under an extreme weather warning and that we needed to take shelter for a tornado immediately! Bahh! Sister C and I freaked out for a second, then stopped, decided we should go to the Jones' home (they have a basement), prayed about it, felt good about it, then grabbed grocery bags with our essentials and drove over to their home. (Want to know what my emergency priorities turned out to be? My journal, my pajamas, and my makeup. :D ) There was lightning going all over, sometimes just a couple blocks away, and it was windy and people were standing outside taking videos on their phones. It started raining, but we made it over and brought their dog in with us. And then we had a lovely time hanging out with the girls (the boys were all at a Father's & Son's camp out miles away) and hearing Sister J tell us how she met Bishop J. After the storm warning ended Sister C and I went back to our apartment (we just got a little wet getting back to the car) and slept safe and sound. (lots of prayers of gratitude then and the next morning!)

 

As you can imagine, we just had a perfect morning the next day--you'd never know we'd had a crazy storm just hours before! It ended up getting to about 90*F. We had a cool street contact talking with the Chief of Police from Spearfish (he was there patrolling some car rally they were having in the park)--we talked about 1 Corinthians 15:29 and temples and God's plan for everyone to make it back and family history. Sister S had us weed her strawberry patch, which was fun. Sister C ate a tiny onion after I dared her to, and then to be nice I ate one right after. I guess I'm like Grandpa F now, I can just pick an onion and eat it!

 

 

Cute little strawberries. : )

We ran up to Sturgis afterwards to bake a cinnamon swirl cake for our Branch Picnic, which was super fun. While we were making it there was a 2-minute hail storm with hail the size of a dime, which was pretty cool. I don't think it damaged anything in Sturgis, but they got bad damage in Nisland we're going to try to help with. Beforehand we had a disorganized lesson with Crystal (so sorry...we promise we'll do better next time...), but she got to eat with us so it all worked out. : ) President H cooked hamburgers on his personal grill at the park. There was actually another storm warning going then, but Heavenly Father kept the weather nice for us and it didn't get bad at all that night.

Sunday morning we were back in Belle Fourche for church. I don't think we've been there at all in June, somehow. It was really good. Sister C and I were actually both fasting--I wanted to try preparing for the temple with fasting and prayer (specifically for help with strengthening my relationship with the Savior), and it went really well. I love Sundays, especially with the boost of fasting. Good thing missionaries are forbidden to fast all the time, because we totally would. : ) We had a sweet dinner message with the Ls as we helped them practice sharing the Gospel. I've noticed and been taught that as we teach members how to do missionary work, they'll do it. By the end, their daughter was excited to invite her friends to church!

*     *      *      *     *

 

At Brigham Young University they have a carillon bell that tolls, every hour, the first line of "Come, Come Ye Saints." That tune, as you could imagine, became an annoyance. Who wants to be told during finals that you shouldn't fear toil and labor? ; )  I haven't really ever chosen to sing that song all throughout my mission.

And then we had a lesson with Robert, and we sang it with him, and a new phrase stood out--All is well, all is well! And it's so true! All is well! And I don't fear the toil and labor of doing missionary work, because it results in so much growth and joy! So I just love this hymn now. : )

I love you all! I hope you had a great Father's Day! Remember from the example of your Pop that we don't need to fear work, because all is well. : )

Love,

Sister F

Week 35: Blessings of the Sabbath

"No recreational pleasure can equal the cleansing renewal and the spiritual guidance and growth God has promised those who faithfully partake of the sacrament and honor Him each Sabbath day." Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Hello everyone!

What a week! We've learned and loved and grown a lot! I hope I can type it all in for you to read about. 

Monday we had a pretty busy Preparation-Day, which included an hour-long contact at an antique store, a haircut for Sister C, and a makeup lesson from Roze, a retired model and makeup artist. : ) Afterwards I was really grateful that Sister C had brought makeup wipes to the car because we looked a little too crazy for Sister Missionaries--I had green eyelids. But we learned a lot and it was fun. : )

 

Anyway, 

Tuesday was pretty sweet. We meet with Thomas weekly to read out of the Book of Mormon, and I guess he shared this book with his friend Richard because Richard came this week! So we have a new investigator who already wants to read and understand the Book of Mormon, and he wants to build a foundation on Christ. He even committed to come to Church this week, and he was going to get a ride with Thomas. Neither of them came :/ so we'll have to follow up on that this week. Remember when I wrote about helping Krystal move into her new trailer? Well that afternoon we went over again, this time to help unpack and paint the kitchen. Sister C loves yellow so much, and since the paint was a yellowish color she was very happy about the experience. Brenda fed us a delicious spaghetti dinner, and we had a neat learning experience of teaching by the Spirit. Basically, I remembered the hard way that if you teach exactly off of a step-by-step outline, you're probably not adjusting your lesson according to what the learner already understands. Thankfully Brenda is super patient and we got to try again with Lorraine and it was much better. : )

Wednesday morning we helped out at the Food Pantry, had lunch with the Ps, met with Rachel, and had a couple minutes to tract before going to dinner with the Hs. We did a sweet dinner message on the Book of Mormon! To start, we had the boys hide in the basement with all the lights off. When Tyler went, we searched until we found him. Then we had Adam go and he used a flashlight to help us find him. We then related this to sharing the light of Christ (3 Nephi 18:24) and committed them to each write their experience with the Book of Mormon in the front of a copy we gave them, then to pray about and hand it out to someone this week. We said we'd do it too! (I actually keep forgetting so I'd better get on that! I'm super excited to try it, though. The Book of Mormon has been the keystone in my personal faith in Christ.)

Thursday was a little rough for Sister C; she's allergic to mosquito bites and had quite a few swollen, infected little guys all over her legs. We made it to our lesson with Caitlin (which was awesome--used the Bleach/Food Coloring lesson to teach the Sacrament) and to the Church for Family History hour, but then she was just wiped and we spent all afternoon resting. Ward Coordination was cancelled since Elder Jackson went home two weeks early (random knee injury). Except a few minutes before our appointment with the O, guess who showed up at our apartment? Brother S, our Ward Mission Leader! He was super excited about how things were going, he gave us a box of cookies and a shelf for our apartment, and then drove with us to O's home to offer a recliner. Unexpected but awesome. : ) And then our lesson with the O was pretty powerful. Brother O committed to read out of the Book of Mormon every day until Saturday, and we promised to read Habbukuk 5:1-5 and say what we thought. (It's kinda' weird, but.... feel free to check it out)

Friday we did something we've never been able to accomplish before--we fit all of our weekly planning for Belle Fourche and Sturgis into one day! We felt so boss that evening! A lot of prayer and focus and sweat/blood/tears went into the process, but we made it. : ) Alma 26:12; "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

. We also had an amazing lunch and lunch message with Sister S and Sister S on prayer--Sister C set the goal to relate every lesson back to the Savior, to how he lived and taught each principle. I've been reading in 3 Nephi, so we used the example of how the disciples in chapter 19 were changed by their prayer (vs. 24-25) and watched Mountains to Climb. The Spirit was so strong! The Tri-State Museum had us weed around the rocks for a couple hours. We met an LDS couple from Utah, which was pretty fun. The S had signed up to feed us dinner. They were both, however, wiped out from their day at work, so they drove us to Guadalajara's in Spearfish for some traditional West-Mex. It was super awesome and fun.

 

 

Super colorful family-owned restaurant. I got a ground beef enchilada and ate so much I thought I was going to die. : )

Saturday morning we had our monthly Zone Training Meeting, which was the best one I've been to yet. That morning in Rapid we had a Stake service project where we assembled educational packs for children on the reservations in the Dakotas.

 

Our training, the last one originally from President and Sister Anderson I believe, had three focuses: 1) the impact of clean living quarts, 2) the importance of priorities and sacrifice, and 3) a "Very Important" training on the Sabbath Day. I learned an awful lot. I learned more about helping people think about what's most important to them, and I LOVED the focus on the Sabbath. The First Presidency has begun to really focus on the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy, and we missionaries, as a figurative frontline, need to do our best to bring this message to the world. 

The Os fed us dinner that night when our original appointment canceled. We had planned to share the things we learned during ZTM, except it just didn't work out and we ended up reading from the Book of Mormon. Turns out, Brother O doesn't know as much as we thought he knew, so that was a very inspired change of plans.

 

And then is was Sunday! The Os went to Church in Belle Fourche, and we had so many blessings and things come together. Sister H gave a talk on how Faith has helped her in her life. A woman who'd just moved to Sturgis walked in and became a new investigator, and she loved what Sister H said. We set up an appointment to meet together that night, and Sister Huntley came, and it was wonderful! The stars were definitely aligned for us to be in Sturgis this week, and for this woman to come this week, and for Sister H to be there and give a talk. During Church Brother S from Rapid City gave an amazing talk on Family History, which got me super pumped to work on mine (I'll be giving a talk on that topic in a couple weeks). His daughter came and brought her friend Breanna who's investigating the Church, and we got to sit by them. : ) Also, Brother S (one of Daniel S's older brothers) and a cousin Brother B (can't remember first name.... : ) ) were here to do honeybee stuff, so that was cool! After Church we went to the VA to run a Sacrament Meeting there. I was supposed to give  talk, but Brother L, the officer who came, ended up being the only speaker. He talked about how prayer has changed his life, and it was really cool. When he was going to school at Dixie he decided to pray one morning that he'd have a safe drive back home. Then on this drive he took his eyes off the road for a few seconds, which resulted him running into construction barrels. He over-corrected, span sideways, and then the car rolled, caught air, and landed on the tires. He said he remembered being there in the car, watching dirt spin around him at the window shield, yet he felt a powerful, calming embrace throughout it. When the car stopped moving, he looked over to the passenger side and saw it had been entirely crushed. The car catching air had saved his side from the same fate. And he knew he had been protected by the Lord because of the simple prayer he'd offered that morning.

 

We had an amazing lesson with Robert about the Plan of Salvation. He's grown so much in his understanding of his divine nature and eternal destiny. The goals of the week are to attend Church and to keep learning more. We also had our first lesson with the new sister who just walked into Church today, and it went so well. It was a very thoughtful conversation between all four of us there. She has so much perspective on life--she speaks almost like a poet. I was able to share quite a few of my own experiences, about learning to please Heavenly Father and setting priorities. She's going to do well. I'm so happy for her. : )

Yesterday we saw so many miracles. Sister C and I had really put an effort into making the Sabbath Day a sign of our devotion to our God (Ezekiel 20:20), and so many great things resulted! I'm confident that as I continue to focus each Sunday on the Savior, I will receive all the help I could ever need. I know this has blessed me in the past and I know it will continue to help me in the future.

Thank you for the emails and prayers!

I love you!

-Sister F

 

Week 34: Tender Mercies

“But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." 1 Nephi 1:20

Hello everyone!

I'm glad all is going well with y'all. We've had another great week here in South Dakota. : ) I picked the title "Tender Mercies" because that's really everything we've been experiencing lately--no matter what the day is like, whether or not the area is feeling successful or stagnant, we have constantly been blessed with perfectly-aligned moments that make everything worth it.

Monday, for example, we decided we'd have our first District P-day of the transfer (and my first one ever!). After emailing and cleaning as fast as possible, we all met in Spearfish to play frisbee golf at one of the best courses in the country. It has 27 "holes" scattered over the beautiful black hills, each one more challenging and beautiful than the next. The final toss was off of a cliff! It was super duper fun, and we all needed to take a break to be outdoors and get to know everyone. So Tender Mercy #1 (I probably won't count because there were like a million).

Tuesday we had an amazing lesson on the Word of Wisdom ( https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng&query=word+of+wisdom ) for Robert in Sturgis. We had called President Hanhardt ahead to let him prepare his thoughts and to arrange for a Priesthood blessing if needed. Jackie came along too, and shared a lot of helpful thoughts. I love teaching Robert--it's so easy to teach him because he has the desire to learn and follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he is doing his best to do so. He's learned so much, and although he has smoked since he was twelve years old he's going to stop (how long that may take we're not sure). The Spirit was very strong, President L came to help with a blessing, and Robert has the support he needs to be able to keep this commitment. #2

Wednesday we had planned to help a sister in the Sturgis Branch prepare meals before she had knee surgery later in the week. We arrived at her home at 2:00; she wasn't home, so we went over to her daughter's home just a ways down the block. She and her younger sister were there, so we chatted with them for a minute. The Relief Society president pulled in not too long after. We waited and waited, but still, nothing. The two sisters came to wait with us on the porch, and Sister D (RS Pres) told us her story of conversion while we waited. It was really neat to hear! We eventually got a hold of the sister who had ended up getting stuck in Rapid City for pre-surgery treatments, so the Relief Society President went back home while Sister C and I went to help the sisters with their home. Bree is expecting her first baby boy in August. : ) I washed dishes while Sister C talked with Rachel, and then (#3!) Colin came home from work early! (He's not a member of the Church.) The Sister Missionaries had started teaching him a while ago, but then he got busy or something and I hadn't really met him yet. So we got to say hello, and he said he'd really loved learning about the Gospel and wants to keep learning once things slow down (working a lot to get money for the new baby). It was very helpful to get the information that he still wants to learn. Now, even if we're not the missionaries that get to be there, we can at least make sure the future missionaries know.

Thursday was quite the day--we enjoyed an almost constant thunderstorm in Belle. Thankfully we had scheduled our planner full completely with appointments and things so we didn't have to wander around outside. : ) (#4) We got to have a member drive us out to meet a sister in far-away Newell. She moved to town 6 months ago, will be moving again in probably 6 months, and she's had a really hard time getting to know the Ward. For some reason when we were setting up this appointment I kept thinking we needed to bring a member with us. And then Sister W (she drove us out) was able to get to know her and is aware of her situation, so now the Ward can help make it better. If we hadn't brought Sister W with us, I don't think anything would've happened to help the new sister feel more welcome in the Ward. But we did, and it was amazing and they're going to hopefully start getting their kids together for playdates. #4 We also had an amazing lesson with Brother O. #5

Friday for District Meeting in Sturgis we got to watch Elder L. Tom Perry's funeral that was broadcasted to the Church (https://www.lds.org/church/news/funeral-services-scheduled-for-elder-l-tom-perry?lang=eng ). While we were there watching, a boy, Adam, who was helping his family clean the church came in to watch President Monson speak. His own dad has just passed away a few weeks ago, and I think it really helped him to hear our prophet speak at a funeral. (#6) My Pop always would bring us to funerals, and I've learned that it's a great way to get to know a person. I learned a lot about Elder Perry, and I also gained some ideas of what I want to become, of how I want to be remembered. He spent his entire life in service--for his neighbors, his country, and his God. I'm so grateful for the difference he made in so many lives. And as Elder Oaks said, he's definitely not done now! : ) 

The rest of our day was spent doing weekly planning. Our brains started to get really tired, so Sister C and I took our dinner hour at the local restaurant Jambonz. It was super fun! Tender mercy indeed! #7 We ordered a platter of Southern food to share--fried chicken and catfish, mashed potatoes, gumbo, fried tomatoes, fried sweet potatoes, and cornbread. And then of course we finished it with a scoop of ice cream. A much-needed break it was.

Saturday morning we got to attend an 8-year-old's baptismal service. Even though Robert wasn't able to go (he was too tired), it was a blessing for Sister C and I to be able to go and feel the Spirit testify the importance of making covenants with God. I was the chorister for the day. The primary--in Sturgis, the children from two families--sang "God Gave Us Families" with their dad and older sister playing the violin, and it was super awesome. I'm so excited to share music forever! It's also been raining a lot of the week. After dropping our one investigator in Belle Fourche (He's been meeting with the missionaries since December and doesn't really want to change. We don't even know what we could teach him if he wanted to learn more.), Sister C and I turned around and saw this pretty flooded meadow by the apartment! #8 Of course we took a lot of pictures.

When we arrived back at the apartment I checked the mail, and guess what! We had a package! Sister C's first package from her family! It had been the type of day where it would be easy to be discouraged, so this was definitely well-timed. Her family was super cute and wrote me an awesome letter, too. (#9)

Sunday was Stake Conference. Sister B drove us up to Rapid City at 8:00 in the morning, and we found good seats in the Stake Center. I loved conference. President and Sister O, the Bismarck Temple presidency, spoke to us about how we can make the temple a priority. President and Sister Anderson spoke as well, and it was amazing! Sister Anderson's talk almost seemed like a homecoming address, based on Alma 26. Of starting her mission she too can say, "Could we have supposed that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?" Two of the biggest blessings of her mission have been serving with her eternal companion and living each day under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. "We will rejoice, for our joy is full. Who can glory too much in the Lord? . . . Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." She's going to be an amazing returned sister missionary. She is an amazing missionary now. President Anderson reminded the members that we missionaries can't do what we do without them. He also said, "I'd like to coin a new phrase in the Church--every member a mentor." He challenged us to think about how we could mentor a less-active or nonmember to enjoy the blessings of the Gospel.

After Zone Conference last week, I realized that I'd missed my opportunity to get one more picture with President and Sister Anderson before they're released next month. I couldn't have that! I prayed and prayed that I'd get one more chance to see them, to get a picture, to say thank you and goodbye. And they spoke at Stake Conference! Sister B waited patiently for an hour for us to be able to get a picture. I got my hug from President Anderson since he wouldn't be there at the airport next April. I cried when I hugged Sister Anderson--I couldn't hold it back. I love them so much! They've made such an impact in my life, in the person I am now and the person I long to become. Tender Mercy #10

I love being a missionary. I love getting to spend every hour of the day looking for opportunities to serve. I love my family. I love the Gospel.

Thanks for everything. : ) Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister F