#BecauseHeLives

Well here we are again. This week has been really good. Especially with Easter :) We had a fun p-day last week. We did a 5K as couple zones because our mission is getting fat...haha. However, my comp has bad asthma so we had to leave to get her inhaler and mostly walked...and we may or may have not finished. haha. Anyway needless to say, I need to get back in shape. Then we had a fun activity later in the day just having a picnic and coloring easter eggs. It was fun to relax and just chat with everyone. 

This week we taught quite a few members. The Elders Quorum President in one of the wards wants us to teach active members so they will know what they are inviting their friends to hear. So that has been really good and has helped us fill our schedule. We also taught a lady this week. She was already in our area book and what we heard about her was that she was a "social investigator" and not really interested in the gospel. She is from China so she doesn't really believe in God. So we went back to check on her and see if she read the Plan of Salvation pamphlet we had left. She said she could understand the words individually but had a hard time understanding what it meant as a whole. So we talked about how God is our Loving Heavenly Father and how he created the world for us because he loves us. We also talked about the pre-earth life and what the purpose of life is. It was a few points from two lessons, but it actually worked really well. We asked her to pray for herself to see if there really was a God and she even said the closing prayer! In her prayer she said that she wanted to give this a try and to find out for herself if he was really there. It was awesome :) I have such high hopes for her! 

This week I also found out that I am kind of related to the people I live with! So I found out that Sister P's maiden name is Child. So I told her I had a great, great, great, great, grandma with the last name of Child! Turns out, her line comes from Polly Ann Child's brother. So we share the same great, great, great, great, great grandparents. haha she was so excited. So that was fun :) 

This week we also went to the Easter Pageant with Sister P! We had a fun little girls' night. President wanted each of us to go and we couldn't find anyone to take so we all went together. It was really fun. I love Sister P. She is so funny. :) She is a great example of motherhood too. 

Easter Day was so fun too! The Easter Bunny visited us and we had dinner with the family we live with and a bunch of their family. I loved being able to watch Conference and to think about how much the gospel has blessed my life.

 Anyway I loved General Conference!!!!! It was so good! :) I don't even know which one of the talks was my favorite because there were so many good ones! One of the things that made me so sad, is when the people opposed the prophet and the apostles. If there is one thing I have such a STRONG testimony of, it's that the men who are apostles and prophets are called of God. I KNOW that President Monson is called of God. I've had the spirit witness that to me. I hope you all were able to have your questions answered by the spirit! Conference is such an amazing opportunity for us to learn and grown and find out personally what the Lord wants us to focus on and how we can improve. I can't wait to be able to re-read all the talks and study them more :) I hope that you are all able to gain testimonies of the prophet because that will help keep you on the straight and narrow throughout your entire life. So if you feel like you haven't received that witness, then ask! :) I promise that God will answer you because He loves you and wants you to be happy. The prophet is the Lord's spokesman here on Earth and when he speaks, it's as if God is speaking directly to YOU. And He IS. 

I love you all! Thanks for all the support. 

D&C 1:38

Did That Just Happen?

So this week was really good! We had a couple really awesome things take place. It has been crazy trying to learn all three wards and balance all the meetings between all three wards.It's an adventure for sure! Anyway, last Monday we were able to welcome one of our sister missionaries back to the mission! (She had returned home to be with her mother as she passed away). So we decorated her apartment and made posters to welcome her home. She was so cute about it. We are very glad to have her back! 

We have helped set up quite a few family mission plans this week too. We got to help the family we are living with set theirs up during family home evening. It was really fun. Since we live with them they try so much to do missionary work so that we have more people to teach! They are really awesome missionaries. So we discussed plans while we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores. Super fun :) 

We had a REALLY good meeting this week as a zone. I haven't received training that was that good in a long time. It was awesome! It was all about attitude. I think this zone definitely needs that because it tends to be a slower area. But we are going to change that!!! This area has SO much potential and it makes me really excited to see that. 

This week we had a rough day where we went through our plans really fast. So instead of biking or driving, we decided to walk so it would take longer, and so we could better street contact. WELL, summer is here my friends. It's been in the 90's so people aren't outside during the hottest part of the day...which is when we are outside. So we were walking to find a house. We walked a mile one way and found out that the house number we had, did not exist. Bummer. So we headed back and didn't see anyone outside to talk to either. However, as we were walking back, this car of two teenage girls rolled down their window and pulled over. They said, "Oh my gosh! Are you missionaries!? There is no way you can be missionaries. You dress way too cute for that!" Sister Graham and I are like whaaa? Neither of us felt cute and we were real sweaty. But hey, whatever works. One of them then asked for a Book of Mormon! We asked if we could come by and explain it to her. She said yes! whoooooo! Her friend said she had had it explained many times and they both know quite a few Mormons...probably from school. But woo! After they left, Sister Graham and I looked at each other like...uh, did that really just happen? Since when do people pull over to talk to US! haha it was awesome. So we are hoping to go back and teach her this week :) Miracles! 

We had a sisters conference this weekend and it was really good! We had a brunch and then we had all read four talks about womenhood and such. They had a few sisters picked out previously to lead discussions about the talks and they were really good. They also had a few testimonies. One of the testimonies was given by one of my previous companions. She talked about how she didn't have much longer to wear her name tag and all of us going home just broke down. haha it was the worst. I'm on the verge of tears like allll the time. My curse of crying is coming back unfortunately. So we had our conference and a little dinner and then we all got to watch the Women's Broadcast together. President was so sweet. He wanted our moms to know that we wished we could be with them to watch the Conference. SO he gave all of us permission to text our moms and tell them we missed them if we wanted to. That was really cool :) It's just been a super great week filled with many spiritual experiences. I wish I could explain fully! 

We had a great ward council this week with one of the wards and it was fully about missionary work. FULLY. That never happens. We had such a good discussion on how to be a member missionary and such. I am trying to take good notes since I'll be in that same boat soon. So my spiritual thought....I feel like everything I want to say is just inside me and all about women since we've had such a good week learning about women and what not. So I've learned a lot about self confidence, a woman's role, and being comfortable with who you are and what role Heavenly Father wants you to play. So I read a little bit about for ordination and how God has a purpose for each of us. We were all taught and tutored in heaven and we accepted our Heavenly Father's plan. I think it is amazing that we are all children of God and we all said yes. We all have testimonies. EVERY single one of us on the Earth, has a testimony because we all said yes to come to earth. WE just have to help others find their testimonies again. So whatever your testimony is, big or small, cherish it, because it is from God. I'm excited for Easter and Conference! I hope you all are too. One of my favorite things to do is to have a few questions in mind and be praying about those this week. I promise that whatever questions you have can be answered!    D&C 1:38. Have a great week!!

Seed Planters

Well here we are again!! I can't believe I only have 1 month left. ONE! It's becoming real with all the little things I have to do to prepare to come home. And, since I'm in a new area, everyone asks how long I've been out and then they always say, "oh wow! So you're going home really soon! This will probably be your last area huh?" Always. Anyway so that's a lovely reminder about how the time is slipping away so quickly. 

This week has been good. A lot of knocking doors and trying to meet members. We have been trying to contact people the ward leaders have given us but people haven't been answering their doors and such. It's still spring break though so hopefully we can contact more people soon. But the ward mission leaders and bishops are really great in all of our wards! So that is awesome. One of the bishops has us over every week for lunch and to discuss the work! So that is really nice of him. I enjoy having support from the leaders. 

So we finally met one of our investigators. She has had some hard things happen in her life and she can't move past them. She believes in God and has faith, but part of her is angry at God for all the bad things that have happened to her throughout her life. So we have very long lessons with her...she talks so much and really wants to be understood so she always explains how hard everything is for her. She just had a surgery that will take a year to recover from so she is struggling. So we are trying to help her put those hard things aside and just feel gods help to get through it, not to take it all away. So we had some good conversations with her. But she just doesn't understand why God lets bad things happen to good people. So we are working slowly, ever so slowly, with her. She is a very sweet and giving lady though. She made us a little brunch the other day because she loves to cook! She's sweet.

GUESS WHO IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!! I got word the other day that one of the investigators from my previous area, the one who didn't want to get baptized until November, is getting baptized on April 7th!!!!!!! I'm so excited! So that is a miracle and tender mercy :) I hope I can go back for it. 

We also had another cool miracle this week. A non member called us looking for the previous sisters from a few months ago. She had met them and wanted to feed them dinner sometime but had been super busy, so she called and asked if she could feed them dinner. We told her they were gone but she said would like to feed us dinner then. So that's the first miracle. The second miracle is that was the one night that we didn't have a dinner! (That never happens in this stake, you are always fed really well). So we were able to have dinner with her! She is devout catholic but loves missionaries and respects what we do. We didn't push too much because she said multiple times that people warned her not to have us over because we would try to convert her. But she mentioned something about the godhead and wasn't sure what we believed in so we told her we would come back and talk about it with her and she really wants us to come back. She doesn't want to convert but she is more prepared than she realizes. She's super nice. So that is a miracle!! It also shows how important it is to plant seeds sometimes. The sister before us left a good impression and she must have felt the spirit. So we don't always get to see the fruits of our labors, and you never know whose life you will touch. They touched their lives and they only met once! Crazy. 

Also, I finished the Book of Mormon again! It's so crazy how much I've learned just from reading it this last time. The Book of Mormon really is a springboard to personal revelation. I absolutely love reading the scriptures and learning about the gospel. It makes me so happy :) 

Anyway I'm running out of time. So my spiritual though... I have been thinking a lot about our struggling investigator we just met and how to help her; I am also reading in the Doctrine of Covenants. So I came across the sections where Joseph Smith is in Liberty Jail and these verses stuck out to me. 

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." D&C 121:7-8 

"If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea; If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can’t you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb; And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." D&C 122:5-7 

Even Joseph Smith questioned where God was and why all these bad things were happening. But when we understand that God knows and is fully aware of what is going on in our lives, and know that he wants us to be happy and become the person he knows we can become, then we can trust in him and know that all things we go through really will work together for our good. When this life is over we really will see how short our trials are. So hang on, keep fighting and pushing through the hard things because someday you will see the benefits and ways you have grown. We might not even know why in this life, but someday we will. So trust God and look to him for strength in all things. 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

District Leader

So SURPRISE...I got transferred. Ya...I wasn't happy about it, but hey, God had other plans so I can't complain. I was sad to leave my because I didn't even get to tell anyone I was leaving. We got transfer calls Tuesday night and then we had a full day Wednesday so I didn't get to warn anyone! I just up and left. I was sad because I wanted to stay for all the fun things we had planned, and I love our district! It was so fun and we were really close. But, I got called to be a sister district leader. Weird. Did not see that coming and I feel totally inadequate for that. I don't know what God's plan is but he fooled me! I thought for sure I'd be staying. So I'm back in my first area in the same stake I was in except I cover three different wards. Last year I was in this stake and covered only one ward. Crazy.

So I have a new companion! She is sweet and has been out for a little over a year. We are both new to the area though so it's been crazy trying to learn all the new faces and get all the people straight! Haha. 

Also, I sold my bike and I'm now back in a biking area. So I'm borrowing a bike! I was kinda sad that I don't get to use my own bike for my last transfer. I didn't think I'd be sad about selling my bike, but part of me wishes that I hadn't. Oh well. 

So this week was good. Before I left, we taught an investigator about the Book of Mormon and it went really well. This guy loves the Bible but we were able to show him how the bible and Book of Mormon work together and compliment, expound, and clarify each other. He really is looking for truth and even though he has a hard time wrapping his head around it, he says if that was all true that it would bring a lot of peace. So he truly has a desire and I know that he will get baptized someday. He is humble and realizes that he has to find answers for himself and that we can't get them for him. We were able to download gospel library on his phone so the text could be bigger and I'm sure he will read it. He's awesome. 

Anyway I'm on the iPad today because we don't have a library card and it takes longer to type! Haha so we haven't done much here anyways because it's a richer area so not as many investigators. We have just been trying to meet people in the Ward and the bishops and stuff. It's good. It's been an adjustment! I live with members and it is a young family. They have three little boys. I think God is preparing me to come home. Haha. 

So that is my thought for today, just do what God wants you to do. I was sad to leave for a minute, but I was calm and peaceful about it. I knew that God had other reasons and plans. Who knows what they are, but just go with it and you will find out! I'm excited for this transfer. :) so when God makes changes in your life or allows you to go through a trial, just know that he can see the big picture and have faith in his design. He knows what we need to learn and how we can grow. So embrace it! I read about faith today and when we act on the "seed" or anything that God gives us, we can see that it is good and as we work hard, we can see the fruits and our reward and we will have taken advantage of the opportunity God has given us to grow. Anyway I love you all! Have a great week and remember who is in charge :)

13 of 13

So today I officially started my 13th transfer. The final one. It's too weird. I say it every single week but it remains true...time goes by so fast! Anyway this week has been a pretty good one.
We had a really good lesson with our investigator about the gift of the Holy Ghost and
why he would want that and such. He is so funny. He still thinks he was baptized by the proper authority, but he recognizes that he never received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Silly guy. So we talked about that and tried to help him see that he needs that gift and all the blessings that come from
having that gift. So it went really well. We got the calendar down and had him write down some days that stood out to him so that he can pray about them to see if there is a day earlier than November 1st that he would be baptized. However, he did make one commitment at least. He said that he
would get baptized no later than November 1st, but that it could be earlier. So that is good :) He has been coming to church and staying for all three hours so that is great also. He also fed us dinner this week. It was the cutest thing. He stared at the signup sheet in church for like 20 minutes and then wanted to take us to Denny's. Cutest thing ever. 

This week we have continued to knock on many doors. We are trying to clean out the area book and also help the ward by cleaning up the records. We have 1200 people in the ward and not even 200 come. Soooo we are trying to find out if people still live there and if not, send their records off. So
that keeps us busy as well. We have found a few less active people that are willing to have us come
back and would like to come to church...however, they don't have a vehicle.Story of this area. Everyone needs a ride. Anyway so we are trying to help them the best we can. 

We also were able to teach a lesson yesterday to a guy we helped move at the beginning of this last transfer. We were finally able to have a good lesson with him. It went really well! He texted us earlier this week about Joseph Smith because he had been researching him on the internet...so that made us really nervous, but when we taught the Restoration, it went really well and he accepted things rather well! He truly wants to find answers. He is a little older and has a hard time accepting a modern day
prophet, but he has a desire to find out. So that is what matters! He is super nice and can relate to Joseph Smith a lot about trying to find truth and answers. It went really well :) 

On Sunday I did an impromptu musical number. Well, I accompanied someone. A girl had a talk and her fiance came and they both sang a song as part of her talk. So she asked me right before sacrament if I could play....good thing it was just "As I Have Loved You". They switched few things up a little bit so I just had to make a copy of the song so I could write on it and not forget the things they were switching up! But it went well :) 

Lastly, we had a huge meeting this week with Brother Randall (from the missionary department) and Elder Malm (from the Second Quorum of the Seventy). It was about how we are restarting the online proselyting and finding better ways to use our "devices" (ipads). So the trial missions are over and they are producing books and rules for how to use these things efficiently. It was a really good meeting. In case you didn't notice, I won't use Facebook on my mission ever again because from now one, when missionaries come in they will be doing a 12 week preparation/training before they use facebook and such. So because of that, we all have to receive that training and "restart". So I will be home before that training is finished. So that was a bummer because I was learning how to use it so
effectively and was always busy! haha. Oh well. It was a great meeting and they honestly didn't talk much about how we can better use facebook or our ipads. It was mostly on the Plan of Salvation and also about how this is going to prepare this generation and teach them how to be "sin-resistant" and know how to use technology effectively and so that the plague of pornography can be ended. It was all about preparing to have transparency and honesty in your marriage and such. It was really good. 

So my two spiritual thoughts come from the last two paragraphs above this. First...cultivate your "talents" or things you have learned. Man, I wish I was better at the piano because I seem to always have to stretch myself and it freaks me out every time because I don't feel prepared. Second, YOU were sent here at this time because God can trust you. He knew that his work would be hastening and he put us on the team and chose us to come at this time so that we could be a part of that. He trusts us to help build up his kingdom and to use the tools he has given us in the right way. Elder Malm
talked about how we don't need devices to hasten the work. The work would hasten without it, but we are able to use this to better help ourselves as well. You are sent to the mission you are sent to, in order to become the men and women of integrity that God wants you to be. You could apply that
to anything really. You are sent to this earth, or this family, or this town, or this job..etc...to become the person that God wants you to be. This life is short and the decisions we make now will affect our
eternities. So be wise! Work hard to do what God wants you to do and to help others. It will all be worth it in the end. 

Today I was reading in Ether about the Jaredites and when they crossed the ocean. They were in barges for nearly a YEAR! A YEAR!!! Can you imagine being in an enclosed barge with food, animals, and people for nearly a year...being tossed back and forth, not having fresh air all the time, and not being able to cook food? Ya that would be a huge TRIAL. So many trials probably came just from the one initial trial of traveling across the ocean for that long. Yet, they praised God day and night the whole time. And when they reached the promised land, they fell to their knees in humility and poured out their hearts to God in GRATITUDE for the many TENDER MERCIES he had bestowed upon then. Are you kidding me!? Tender mercies! If it was me I would probably say, "man! Thank you so much! It's about time I get to this land!" I mean, I would hope that I could respond as they did, but that really just impressed me at how much faith they had. They found the positives always and were grateful for the little blessings and tender mercies that God gave them each day. So when you are stuck in a trial for what seems like FOREVER, just remember Jaredites and follow their example. I mean hey, it could be worse. You could be stuck in a smelly barge with limited food for a year with sicknesses, diseases, and such. You can make it through anything with God's help. And what impressed me the most was the verse that talks about how God made the winds blow furiously toward the promised land continuously. So no matter what you encounter or go through,
though it may be stormy and windy, you can trust that God is continually "blowing you toward the promised land" and leading you. No matter what happens, everything will work together for your good. I loved that. Anyway, I hope you all have a great week! :)

The First of My Lasts

Hey! It's been a great week filled with the spirit and many finding opportunities. We are on the hunt for new investigators and have been trying to clean out the area book as well. We have contacted quit a few people said we could come back so that is good news :) We also got a call from a guy this week who said he was visiting from Utah and wasn't a member but had been taking the discussions. He will be here for two months and wants to continue taking the discussions! So that is cool and we will get to meet him this week :) 

We have really been praying and fasting to find new investigators and work more closely with the ward. So we have finally been receiving names from people to go visit and some people are asking us to do their visiting teaching with them so that is progress! It's coming along well. We teach a lot of recent converts and less actives as well, so we are having lessons, just not as many to non members as we would like. But hey, it doesn't matter who you are helping as long as you are inviting others to come unto Christ :) And as we help those people, then they will want to share it with their friends! So it all works out. The biggest miracle and focus right now has been just working together better. 

This week I also had my last zone conference ever....sad day. It was the worst because President made those of us going home stand up and then bear our testimonies at the end. So I hardly ever cry when I bear testimony or speak anymore (you know I used to all the time) and I feel that that is a blessing that God gave me while I am a missionary so that I wouldn't look like a drowned rat all the time with a puffy face! haha He knew that no one would let me in if I cried everytime I felt the spirit...which is like all the time. SO, he blessed me that I wouldn't cry so much. But the closer I get to the end of my mission, the more I feel that being taken away and it's the worst! haha I hate crying! But it's ok, it's going to happen a lot here in the next few weeks. So zone conference was really good and it was focused on being better teachers and really teaching by the spirit. There is an emphasis on Preach My Gospel. Elders tend to get caught up in a lot of deep doctrine and studying that while they are missionaries, and President feels that is causing us to not be as good of teachers as we should because in general we aren't focused on the basics and fundamentals of the gospel. So it was good to discuss getting back to the basics. I love just studying from the scriptures and doing the exercises in Preach my Gospel. It's something I will continue to do even when I get home :) (well i hope). So that was a really good meeting. We also talked a lot about technology. That is the future of the church and it is crazy to hear all the things that are happening! We are having a meeting this week that will explain more, but technology is the future my friends! So ya, it's been really good. 

We had a good lesson with one of our investigators on temples. He said he had been thinking of November 1st for his baptism, but he wasn't sure because it was so far away. He then said it had to be a special occasion so that he would remember it. I mentioned Easter and he said, "No!" I asked why and his response, "Cause I didn't think of it." haha. what a stubborn old man! I then told him that he would forget I mentioned it and then remember and it would be his idea anyway! haha. Super funny. But he came to church this weekend and stayed for all three hours! The Elders said he seemed to enjoy the lesson this week in priesthood much better than last time so that's really good! He signed up to feed us this week so we are excited for that. He's so adorable. 

Side note: we had dinner at someones house this week and we had hamburgers. We usually eat with the Elders too and one of the elders insisted that hamburgers with peanut butter and jelly is delicious! So we tried it. Peanut butter on one bun, jelly on the other, and then the hamburger patty in the middle! It was actually SUPER good. haha it tasted completely natural! It was crazy! I had never heard of that before, but it was super good :)

Anyway for my spiritual thought this week....I have been studying chapter 5 of PMG a lot this week and it is all about the Book of Mormon. I am also close to finishing the BOM again soon. I love it so much and have learned a lot from it. I get so much out of it, more than I even have before! I also read a talk by Elder Anderson called Trial of your Faith. They worked together really well for me this morning. I read a quote by President Ezra Taft Benson that said, "Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand." It had been talking about how the Book of Mormon can overcome any concerns that we or others may have. If we read the Book of Mormon with a sincere heart, we can know that it is true. When we know that is true, we know the church is true, that Christ is real and our Savior, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lord's church restored to the Earth. Then I read the talk about faith and it used that exact same quote. It talked about how we all have different trials and how something easy for one person, is a fiery trial for another. It's all because we have different weaknesses and personalities. So when we are going through hard times, we need to turn to the Book of Mormon to find strength, testimony, faith, and answers. We all are going to reach our breaking point sometime, where we question God or the church or our struggles, but then we have to decide whether we will continue to press forward and endure to the end, or if we will let that trial or question destroy us spiritually. I know how important the Book of Mormon is and I know that it is true with my whole heart. I promise that as you seek to for answers and strength form it's pages, that it can solve any concern or problem you have and help you get through any trial that comes your way.

"Like the intense fire that transforms iron into steel, as we remain faithful during the fiery trial of our faith, we are spiritually refined and strengthened." -Elder Anderson

Faith Leads to Action

Well, it's been another fast week. I seriously can't believe how fast the time is flying. I know, I know. I say that every time! But it really is picking up even more...if that is even possible. This week is a blur to me so forgive this terrible email...plus, I forgot my little sticky note that reminds me of what I did this week! There were a few cool things that I can remember off the top of my head though :) 

So last Monday I had been thinking during my personal study that I need to do better at using the scriptures to solve problems. When people ask me a question I need to do better at saying, "Well, lets look in the scriptures to see what these people did, etc" and help them find the answer for themselves instead of just giving them advice and talking at them. Well I prayed at the end of my studies that I would be able to do that better. Well, we went to a less actives home and were talking to them about the family proclamation and how they can come closer together as a family when they base their home on the teachings of Christ. Well at the end when we were about to leave, the father asked if we had any advice on what they could do in a certain situation with extended family. It wasn't really anything that I could answer as a missionary..it would have been more like advice and just being a good friend. However, I knew immediately that God was giving me an opportunity to practice what I had wanted to get better at and what I had prayed for that morning. Haha God works in mysterious ways! I tried to relate it to the scriptures...not sure what I said or how I did it, but it probably wasn't that great. However, it doesn't matter because I tried and I had an opportunity to apply something that I had wanted to work on :)

On Monday we also had a super fun zone activity. Last week we all made district shirts and we wore them to our activity. We went to a park and had a picnic as well as played party games! It was really fun and a great opportunity to get to know our zone better. I really enjoyed it. Plus our shirts are awesome! They are maroon with gold letters. On the front it says District Three in a Chinese looking font, written Japanese with English words. haha kinda funny. Then on the back it has our names and on a sleeve it has a phoenix. Super fun :) 

This week we have spent quite some time trying to organize our ward party that we will be having to focus on missionary work. However, the bishop doesn't want us to advertise it as a missionary workshop because then people won't come. So we are going to be having a luau! We are going to have dinner and some entertainment and then the workshops. It is going to be really fun hopefully. So we were going over our plans with the ward mission leader on Saturday morning. Every Saturday we go help clean the church, so we were having a quick meeting right after that. So we had a little miracle while we were there! As missionaries we had no idea where we could find entertainment...we have some Samoan families in our ward that we were planning on asking. Well we also were hoping the primary could sing a song to a ukulele to transition to the missionary stuff but we had no idea where or who could play a ukulele either (hence where the ward comes in). Anyway as we were leaving our meeting we look in the gym and there are some girls dancing the hula...haha then the Primary President walks in and says they are doing a performance in a couple weeks and that she is kind of over them and does it with them! Um...perfect!? Then while we are talking to her, in walks a girl with a ukulele! haha miracles! So, it might seem like a silly thing, but as missionaries we have been brainstorming and praying to know how we can make this a good experience and how it can all come together. So when all that worked out, we all just kinda sat with our mouths open...um yes! It was great and we were able to talk to the Primary President and see if that would be possible for them to perform! So slowly things are coming together. We hope the ward gets excited about it and that it all goes well! 

It was super awesome this week too because the lady who gave the lesson in Relief Society this week did it all about missionary work and had us go up to the front and she had everyone raise their hands who had inactive people on their visiting teaching list. Then she basically told all of them that they should be utilizing us and taking us out with them so that we can all be more effective and work together. It was super good. So we are really excited for this missionary training/party that will be coming up! It will be on April 11th, so I won't really be here to see the benefits of it, but I'm really excited for it nonetheless. 

My thought for this week...just have faith! Yup, it's that simple. God is aware of your goals and desires to grow. Just like when I was thinking that I need to be better about answering questions through the scriptures. I prayed that I would be able to get better at that and God gave me an opportunity to exercise my faith and grow. It can be the same with anything! If you want to be a better member missionary, pray for help and an opportunity to practice and become better, and if you have faith in yourself and in God, that he will help you, then you will receive an opportunity and you will grow and become better! The principle can be applied to anything. It just takes action on our part. Which the action comes when we have true faith. Faith leads to action. So, my invitation this week is to pray for a growing experience in whatever capacity that might be for you. Then, have faith that God will help you accomplish it. I know this church is true and that as we apply and live the principles of the gospel we can become more like Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. :)  

ps that reminds me...We had a huge lesson with one of our investigators about how he  needs to have faith and take action and pick a day to be baptized because God won't just all the sudden tell him a day to be baptized because that doesn't take faith! So later this week he told us that he was thinking of a day! He had the thought that he should maybe do it on his anniversary! yay!!!!!! He is making progress! He said he is still going to think about it, but even then, that is progress! Plus we are hoping he will actually pick another day, because his anniversary isn't until November...haha but either way he is taking the things we said and starting to apply it! It's the best! :)