Tuesday, April 29, 2014
April
28, 1983
LONGEST
WEEK OF MY LIFE
Holy long week.
Man oh man. Ha, we had Mission Leadership Council on Tuesday and
guess who I saw....that's right, Sista Bonnnnnn! We saw and she
started to cry. It was tender. I looooooooveeee that girl. We
caught up with all that is going on in Bozeman. A girl we started to
teach together got baptized and Danny's girlfriend is on date for May 10th to
be baptized! WOOOO! I am so happy. Seriously though, seeing her was the
highlight of my week. We were laughing and joking and catching up the
whole time. I am so thankful for Sister Bonn. I hope we get to be
companions again one day.
This week was very
similar to last week. A LOT of drama to deal with and A LOT of stress.
We had Mission Leadership Council on Tuesday and Wednesday we
had Zone Training and Thursday we went on exchanges. Thursday was
ROUGH. No lie, it was probably the hardest day I have dealt with since
being out. Just one thing after another kept happening on Thursday.
One of the companionships we went on exchanges with is having a really
difficult time and it has been really hard to keep everyone happy. It's
the hardest when no one is willing to change. They don't see a point in
having things work out and they can't see the good in their companion.
Our district leader ROASTED one of the Sisters. He just called her
out on all she was doing to hinder the companionship and she did not like it.
Not one bit. But it needed to be done. Thursday both Sister Session
and I just hit a wall. It was TERRIBLE. On top of this Sister and her
pride we had another Sister call us in tears. It just adds up. And
that really is what we want, we want the Sisters to call us. But when you
cover 16 sisters it can be a lot. We also got another call from another Sister
asking for exchanges asap. It also makes it difficult to work in our own
area and build it up. We were in our area for 3 days this week.
ROUGH STUFF! On top of all of that JAMES IS GOING CRAZY. UGGGHH! He
didn't call us back for like 4 days and when we went over there, he wasn't
home. SKETCH. We drove passed Gracie's house and he was smoking on
her porch. We pulled over and talked with him. He said he made some
mistakes that week by talking with Gracie. He came to stake conference
and told us that he was done with Gracie. That night he called us and said he
couldn't meet with us anymore and then out of nowhere Gracie's voice comes on
the line and she says James feels pressured and no longer wants to meet with us
and to leave him alone. It was cherry on top of the week. It really
was. UGH! I feel like one thing after another keeps happening and it's not
enough time to adjust and fix it. BAM BAM BAM. There is no time to
catch a break or a breath. You just have to learn to roll with it and do
what you can.
It was interesting
though because I was on exchanges with Sister Baird and Sister Barrera. Some of
my favorite Sisters. And when I was with them, all 4 appointments they had set
one day fell through AND they had an investigator drop them. After the
day I had had earlier I could not deal with more set backs. But I knew I
had to put on a good face and encourage and up lift these Sisters in their time
of need. So I tried to stay positive and honestly, although the day
sucked, we had so much fun. We would jam to some EFY song to lift our
Spirits and I didn't allow any of us to talk negatively about the day. Whenever
we wanted to say something about the day sucking, we said something about how
nice it was outside or how the day only could get better etc... I felt the
spirit so strong that day. Although I am unable to make decisions for the
people we work with, investigator or missionaries alike I could choose to be
happy. That night we taught a lesson at a less active's house and read
from the BOM. It was like I had never read that chapter before in my
life. New and amazing things stuck out to me that I had never noticed
before. I felt the spirit testify so strongly that the BOM was in fact
true. I feel as though since being in Missoula I have been relying on the
"arm of flesh" I have been relying on my own strengths and my own
abilities to lift the load and to work hard and I haven't felt so dependent on
the Lord. I was thinking back to when I came out on my mission and how often I
prayed. I was ALWAYS praying. I had a constant conversation with God, because I
was scared! Because I didn't know what I was doing and I knew I couldn't go
forth without the help of the Lord. The longer I have been out the more I have
be able get a better grasp of missionary work and missionary life and thus I
haven't felt that need to always rely on the Lord. I feel as though these
trials I have been facing the past couple weeks are a reminder to me that I
cannot and will not succeed without the help of my Father in Heaven. I
cannot lift these loads and carry these burdens without the strength of my
Savior. Although going through these trials is not easy and it is
draining and I feel weak. I am thankful because it has reminded me in whom I
have trusted. I came across in my personal reading, 2 Nephi 4. The psalm
of Nephi and I knew that it was not by happenstance that I came across that
chapter at that time. In verse 34 it says, " O Lord, I have trusted
in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the
arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the
arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh
flesh his arm. Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that
asketh. Yea my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up
my voice unto thee yea I will cry unto thee my God the rock of my righteousness.
Behold my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee my rock and mine
everlasting God Amen"
Right on Nephi. Right
on. I have learned a valuable lesson this week. I hope this week is
better and that the Lord is done chastening me. Hahaha I do love the BOM. When
no one else was there for me to talk to and learn from, I turned to the BOM. I
am thankful for it's teachings. I am so thankful to have the words of God so
readily available to me each and every day.
I love my Father in Heaven.
I know He has a plan for each of us and I KNOW he knows what we are going
through. He puts us through these trials and afflictions so that we are
able to be perfected and to become more than we were. They are hard. But Jason
once told me that in the first verse in the first chapter of 1 Nephi next to
the word afflictions the foot note says, blessings from God. And they
truly are blessings from our Father in Heaven. Mom, your story about the
current bush hit it on the head. Thank you Father, for loving me enough
to cut me down, for loving me enough to hurt me. I know that we can
choose to be molded and shaped during these times and if we do that we will
become more refined and more like our Savior. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL. I LOVE
IT.
This is the beginning
of a new week. I know that I can apply what I have learned this week into the
rest of my life.
ALSO!! I got to see
Rhenon today! Tender mercy of the Lord. I held back tears as I embraced her. I
LOVE THAT WOMAN! She is going to a treatment center here. All of her own
freewill. She is such an amazing woman. We get to see her regularly and
have the opportunity to read from the scriptures with her.
I love you all so
much! Mom, I am so excited for you and your new calling. YOU WILL ROCK IT! I
know it. You are what the ward and those Sisters need. Hopefully it isn't
as dramatic as helping these Sisters....goodness gracious. Anyway. You
all are amazing and I LOOOVE YOU!
Loveeee,
Sister STRONGGGG
Moline
Monday, April 21, 2014
April 21, 2014
HOLLA FOR YA DOLLA
HONEY BOO BOO!
Another speedy fast
week. I feel like I was just here emailing. Not going to lie a few days
this week were pretty rough and were difficult. But I am glad they are
done and gone and over with. Ha, this week we have mission leadership council
and guess what.....Sister Bonn was transferred to Lovell WY to be a Sister
Training Leader! WOOT WOOT! That means I get to see her tomorrow. HOLLA
HOLLA! I am so excited. I love her.
The reason this week
was kinda difficult was because this week our phone was ringing off the hook
with Sisters. Each companionship called us at least once needing
guidance, or help with their companionship. It was so draining. What
got me was on Thursday we got a text from one of the sisters saying
she needed to talk to us asap. We met up with her and before we even sat down
she was in tears. It braeks my heart to see these Sisters that I love so
much so unhappy. This particular sister I met the day I entered the
field. She goes home in 4 weeks and is a legend in this mission. I
have never met anyone so with the Spirit and so unbelievably strong.
Her testimony is one that I will always look to and admire. I was nervous about
being her STL because she has been STL for a thousand years and for her last
2ish transfers was released to just focus on the work. But her companion
right now is someone that has struggled with depression for her entire mission
and has a hard time wanting to be here. But she just cried to us telling
us she didn't know what to do anymore to help her and she was afraid she
wouldn't be able to make it. She was afraid of quitting. Listening
to her really scared me. Like a lot. I am sitting across from one
of the most trusted and loved Sisters in the mission. Someone absolutely
EVERYONE loves and she was afraid of quitting, of not doing what the Lord wants
her to do. I always thought the longer you are out the better handle you
have on missionary work and mission life. But seeing someone going home
so soon struggle, scared me. But she has so much faith and so much trust
in her Lord and Savior. I felt very inadequate at that moment because I
didn't know what to say or do to help her. I love all of these Sisters so
much and I want to fix all of their problems and have them all LOVE missionary
work and LOVE bringing souls unto Christ and LOVE seeing people change and use
the atonement. But there are some that haven't felt that way their entire
mission. It's rough. I had a moment this week where I felt really
defeated and weak. I felt like this calling was getting the best of me. But I
can't think that way, because nothing positive comes from it. Sleeping is a
beautiful thing and I woke up the next day and was ready to take on the
world. I am fine now, and I know through the Lord that I can help these
Sisters. I can accomplish all He wants me to with His help. I know that without
a doubt.
Something that really
irritated me was a certain companionship in my zone. One of the Sisters
is a work horse. She is so obedient and works harder than any missionary
I have ever met. She doesn't get along with her companion and when we
were talking to her about it she said that back home she would never associate
or be in the same room with someone like her companion, and " I wouldn't
even touch her with a 10 ft pole" Sister Session had to hold me back
from smacking that sister in the face. I could not believe that those
words came out of her mouth. It disappoints me to hear missionaries
profess their love of the Savior but yet treat their companion like dirt and
with little to no respect. The problem I have realized with many
companionships is they always say, they do this, they do that, I can't stand
this, when they do that yadda yadda yadda, and never do they think about what
they could do. How they could change. OR EVEN TALKING WITH THEIR
COMPANION. NO ONE EVER TALKS. JUST COMMUNICATE! UGH! I was really
disappointed to hear this Sister talk about her companion that way. Her companion
is a little different and has different interests than most people....who
cares. Roll with it. Learn to love it. Anyway that was my rant.
Miracleeee! We have
been trying to contact a 20 year old less active male in the ward for a million
years and finally got in contact with him and set up a return
appointment. We had a really good conversation with him and he said he
was willing to meet with us again! WOOT WOOT! I gave him a hard time for not
texting us back so he has been texting us. WOOT WOOT! Right on muh brotha! Its
a small miracle, but a miracle none the less.
ANOTHER MIRACLE! So we
tried contacting another part member family. The husband is a member, the wife
is not. We caught him one night and he said to come back on
Wednesday when he is off work at the library. The library? We
are always at the library! So we did some facebook creepin and found out all
this creepy information about him, like where he is from, his family, where he
went to school, yadda yadda and then we totally creeped on him in the library.
I saw him working and shelving stuff. Being a missionary is the best. You have
an excuse to be the ultimate creepster. Anyway, we went back and he let
us in no problem and said he wanted us to come back! YES! Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuu
Sadly one of our
investigators dropped us. But I am not backing down till she says it to my
face. She texted us. hahahaha not so fast lady. We will
figure something out.
Also, we taught a new potential this week at a members home. She is 15. The lesson was kinda weird.....but we will see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed.
I LOVE THIS WARD! The members here are awesome. I can think about 4 or 5 families that I am just obsessed with. The Doddemas are wonderful as well as the Penroses and Garretts and Larsons and Stevens and Braggs and EVERYONE. So awesome. And the bishop here is such an amazing man. He works so hard and cares so much about the work going on in the ward. I love it here in Missoula. I thought I could never love any place as much as Bozeman, but Missoula is getting there.
Also, we taught a new potential this week at a members home. She is 15. The lesson was kinda weird.....but we will see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed.
I LOVE THIS WARD! The members here are awesome. I can think about 4 or 5 families that I am just obsessed with. The Doddemas are wonderful as well as the Penroses and Garretts and Larsons and Stevens and Braggs and EVERYONE. So awesome. And the bishop here is such an amazing man. He works so hard and cares so much about the work going on in the ward. I love it here in Missoula. I thought I could never love any place as much as Bozeman, but Missoula is getting there.
So James. James is
fantastic in every way. He is so excited to receive the priesthood.
Seriously, every time we go over there he just tells us how much he loves the
gospel and teh church. He prayed before we left his house last night and that
prayer was one of the most sincere prayers I have ever heard. He is one
special man. To answer your question Dad, he and Gracie are getting a
divorce......I may or may not be really happy about it.
We got a new
missionary in our zone from Arlington! WADDDUPPPP!! Texas pride babyyyyyy
Dad, it sounds like
you rocked Youth Conference. I totally knew you would. You are so good with
people. And that seems like it would have been a tough topic. AND I
LOVED THE PICTURES!!! Ha, they are great. I have been showing all of the
missionaries here. You are a legennnndddd.
Easter
was amazing. Sister Stevens made us an Easter basket and we went to have
Easter dinner with some of my favorite families. It really is an amazing
thought to think about how one man died for us. It's hard to fathom
that. But I love that video on lds.org, the Because He Lives video. It
is Because of what Jesus Christ did that we have a chance. I have a
chance to live with my Father in heaven again. There is nothing more
important to me than making it back to my Father in Heaven. Because of
the Atonement, we have hope. I was reading a talk by Elder Holland and
he said that it wounds our Savior when we do not have the faith or the belief
that His Atonement applies to us. Something like that. I know that
the Atonement can heal. I know that the Atonement can change us and make
us better than we were. I am thankful for that aspect of the gospel. WE
CAN CHANGE. We can become more and we can reach our divine potential
through the Atonement. I love my Savior and Redeemer. I am thankful for
this that plan that allowed us to come to this earth to learn and achieve
through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for not only the Atonement
of Christ, but for the resurrection. Like Elder Uchtdorf said, this life
doesn't have endings, but always new beginnings. I am thankful for
this opportunity that I have on my mission to learn and to grow and to apply
the Atonement.
I love you all so much.
I love you all so much.
I am thankful for your
support and love.
3 weeks until I get to
call hommmmmeeeee :)
Sure Love Ya! Molines
Rock! Missionaries Rule!
Siiisssttaaa
Siiiissttaaaa
April
14, 2013
JAMES
IS A BAPTIZED MAN! HOLLA HOLLA! AH! I could not even contain myself on
Saturday, I was so excited. Friday night we went over to his house and
had a lesson with the member we live with and James just bore his testimony
about prophets, the BOM and the gospel. He talked about how his life has
changed since I invited him to come to church and he will never go back to his
old life. Sister Stevens cried as he expressed his love of the Savior. As
I sat there and listened to him speak I was just overcome with the Spirit
knowing how prepared this man was. I was thinking about how we even got to this
point with him and it was a testimony to me that I am just acting as an
instrument in the Lord's hands. It is definitely not me nor will it ever
be my doing. I just do what I am told.
The baptism went
great. A man in our ward who is a convert suffered from being an
alcoholic and a smoker most of his life. He has a lot of health issues
and has a hard time coming to church, but he came to James's baptism to show
his support and they immediately hit it off. I am so grateful for him.
Sister Session and I sang "Where you Stand" and it went pretty
well. James was so excited when he got into the font that he started
squatting in the water trying to dunk himself. Hahaha, luckily Brother
Stevens caught him before he went all the way. After he was baptized
James came out of the water with a HUGE smile on his face and gave a huge hug
to brother Stevens. We had a lot of ward memebers come to support.
IT WAS AWESOME. I went up to him after to shake his hand and he
pulled me into a huge bear hug. Hahahahaha oh James. How I love
you. After church yesterday he told Sister Session and I that in
Priesthood they were talking about how we need to increase our numbers and
bring people to church. So James asked us for some pamphlets because the
Farmers Market is about to open and he wants to go invite people. JAMES I LOVE
YOU! YES, PLEASE, TAKE ALL THE PAMPHLETS. It is amazing to see the fire
and the light and change he has inside of him. Oh missionary work. You
rock.
I almost forgot!
Transfer calls were last night and I am staying with Sister Session. Not a
whole lot of changes were made here which is gooooooood.
Luckily the days have
been staying beautiful! The sun has been shining and the sky has been blue,
blue, blue, blue. I LOVE IT! Things are slowly turning green and I am so ready!
Hahaha People are bringing out their motorcycles and bikes and riding away.
If you want a place with a ton of out doorsy things to do....Missoula is
your place. Also if you are really into drugs and not showering, Missoula is
also your place.
We got to meet with
one of our most recent converts this week, Angie, and I came right after she
was baptized so I had her tell me her conversion story. She went to
school in Utah and all of her roommates were LDS but she had absolutely no
interest at the time. She met a guy who was an RM and he gave her a
little BOM with his testimony and favorite scripture in it. She said she
took it because she thought he was really cute but stuck the book in a drawer.
She said everywhere she moved she always brought it. And she
doesn't know why. She couldn't bring herself to throw it away and somehow it
always ended up in her bags. Fast forward, she gets married to an
inactive member and has a little baby and is stressing like no other. She
is unpacking and comes across the BOM and opens it for the first time and reads
the RM's favorite scripture. She said she felt so much peace and hatt
everything was going to be okay and work out. She called the guy that
gave her the BOM and said she wanted to meet the missionaries. It just
goes to show that we need to get things into people's hands! They might not act
on it right away or act interested but you never know what having something in
their home or in their hands can do for their future.
We also got to teach a
man on Wednesday named Chris. The Sisters before us ran into him at a bus
stop and said that he would be willing to have the missionaries over.
Turns out he is not in our area.....UGH! But the lesson went really well.
He has a lot of the same issues as Rhenon and is working hard to change
and turn his life around. He has been texting us...ALOT and giving us
nicknames. I’m Dallas cheerleader and Sister Session is Queens NY
girl.....so we are passing him on to the Elders tonight. Hahaha
Other than James this
week, nothing to extraordinary happened. This week went by super fast and
Sister Session and I are working our tails off trying to find people.
It's hard, but I know that there are people here.
I loved hearing about
Saryn's rock solid testimony and about Mormon prom....ohhhhhhh Stephen Johnston
you young son. Ha, But Syringe, you looked like a babe! WOOT!
I love you and miss
you all! Montana is wonderful, the mission is wonderful, the gospel is
wonderful. I love it!
I love you all so
much! Talk to ya lataaaaaaa!
Sister Mo
Sunday, April 20, 2014
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April
7, 2014
OH
myyyy goodnessss! I love conference so much! SO MUCH! I felt so close to all of
you as I watched it knowing that I knew exactly where you were and what you all
were doing brought me a lot of comfort. When Sister Stevens in the Sunday
session quoted Isaiah 41:10, I could just see mom and Saryn quoting it right
along with me and Sister Stevens. It brought a little tear to my eye. Like a
little baby. But I just loved it. We met with James on Friday and invited
him to the member’s home we stay at to watch it. James was so excited.
He said he could not wait to hear the prophet speak and that he had
always heard about the prophets from the Bible but that he had never considered
that there could be a prophet on the earth today. He stayed awake and
listened all of Saturday and even went to the Priesthood session with the
member we live with, Brother Stevens. After Priesthood he was interviewed
by our District Leader to be baptized and he told Elder Beck, I have a lot of
friends that don't allow me to become the person that God wants me to be, so I
am going to follow the council of the prophet and , "GET OUT"
AH! Oh James, I love you. But conference really was wonderful.
Can you believe that there are 142 operating temples around the world and
by 2015 we will have 170....Brother Stevens said when he was growing up that
there were only 13 temples. It is amazing how the church has grown.
Elder Holland laid down the law....as usual. BUT I LOVED IT! He talked
about how if you haven't already you will be called upon to defend your faith.
I am ready. The mission has showed me that there is nothing else
that matters but this gospel and where we stand with the Lord. I loved how it
was said, that thinking, What would Jesus do will not always bring a popular
response. He talked about how the true and restored gospel is on the
earth today and we are members of it. Live it. I was reading a talk this
morning my Elder Ballard, my man, and he said, "All of us should
constantly think about the Savior giving His life for us. We must never
forget that He suffered rejection, humiliation, unspeakable agony, and
eventually death in order to save you and me and the whole world from sin.
Can any one of us go before Him in some future day and say that we didn't
share the gospel with others and help others come to the missionaries because
we were too busy, or too shy, or for any other reason?" Obviously he
was talking about missionary work but it made me think of the gospel in
general. After all Christ has done for us can any one of us go before Him and
say that we were too afraid to stand up for our beliefs? That we didn't
want to offend anyone? Or that we just plain didn't care? In the grand
scheme of things it matters where we stand with Christ and His gospel not with
where the world stands and changes. I was talking to Sister Stevens and she
said that all the easy things in the gospel have been done, only the hard
things are left. Bring it on.
I cannot wait to get
the Ensign and read all of the talks and mark it up. So many wonderful
words were shared and it really made me think how incredible this gospel is and
how precious it is. What Joseph Smith did was the most important act in the
history of the world and it will never be repeated again. Let us be
grateful and show our appreciation for all that has been sacrificed so that we
can have the gospel in our lives now.
So the beginning of
the week started out pretty rough. We went over to James's house to have
a lesson with a member and when we got there Gracie was sitting on the steps
outside his house....dun dun dun. She approached us and said that James's
cousin came over that day and told him that if he joined the Mormon church he
would not only be disowned, but he would be thrown out from his tribe and never
be allowed on tribal land again. She asked us to stop calling and to not
return to his home. I asked if we could talk to him directly and she said he
was really upset and was having alot of anxiety and asked her to talk to us.
STAB IN THE HEART. I was with Sister Drama at the time and I did
everything I could not to break down and cry. We keep getting told that
Missoula is going to explode that we just need to have 130 more baptisms and
there will be a temple built here. We keep getting told that the work will
pick up and people are just waiting to hear our message. After that
moment I lost all of my faith. James is our ONLY progressing investigator
and even then he dropped us. We made some pretty lofty goals as a zone
for baptisms this transfer and after the conversation with Gracie my heart
sunk. I had to put gas in the car and shed a few tears, wiped them away
and went back to work and taught a member lady that was having a really
difficult time. Sister Session and I and Sister B and Sister Baird all
fasted for James and that day he called me and Sister Session and told us he
needed to talk to us. FASTING WORKS MUCH FAMILY! All four of us went over there
and James had no idea what we were talking about. Gracie had made up the
whole thing. THE WHOLE FREAKING THING! He had had a rough week with
Gracie and his friends and all their drama and he slipped up and drank.
He said he was so embarrassed that he did that, so he didn't call.
OHMYGOSH. I wanted to die. I was so happy to hear that he still
wanted to be baptized and he even said that his cousin came over to tell him
that he needed to get away from Gracie and that he was happy that he was
finding religion in his life. James told us that he had filed for divorce
and wanted to be baptized on the 12th. HALLELUJAH! I left that meeting
feeling so ashamed for what I had felt earlier. We even got a call from a
member that night that had someone that wanted to be taught. The Lord is
so stinken aware. I am a little baby girl. Sometimes the Lord takes
us low so he can bring us even higher. I came away from that knowing that
my faith could use more work and that in times of trial is that how I am going
to react? Without faith and hope in the Lord that he can and will
provide? I AM CRAZY! He will! And I know he will. I am so thankful
for my Lord and Savior and my Heavenly Father that DO NOT LEAVE US ALONE. They
know us and they know our circumstances and they will provide as we are doing
their will and keeping the commandments.
Last week I went to
the Bison Range. WOOOTT WOOT! Montana fun! Ha, it was fun. Bison
were in the road. I wanted to touch one so bad, but the ward missionary,
Sister Bragg wouldn't let me. It was funny because the next day Sister
Drama found 3 ticks! AH! super disgusting! Also, update on her. She got a call
from president and got transferred on Wednesday to White Fish and was told by
President that if she can prove herself and get along with her companion for a
month she will be reassigned to a Spanish speaking mission. She is really
excited and can do it. I totally have all the faith in the world that she can.
For the past couple
weeks Sister Session and I have been going around to all of the members and
bearing our testimonies of Joseph Smith and the Restoration and have given the
families a Restoration pamphlet and challenged them to give it to someone
within the week and we would come back the next week and follow up. Ha,
only one person has done it. COME ON PEOPLE! So here is my challenge to you
familia. Get a pamphlet from the Sisters in the ward, they have a million
in their trunk and pass one out to someone this week. D&C 84:88 says,
"And whoso receiveth you there will I be also, for I will go before your
face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in
your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." This
is the most important work on the face of the earth. The Lord is going to
be with you and send his angles to surround you and bear you up 100%.
This gospel is true! I
love it! And I also love that Montana is getting warmer and getting green! I
love being in Missoula and know that this is where the Lord needs me at this
time. I trust in the Lord and have faith in His plan for each of us.
He loves us and knows us.
I love you all! Until
next weeeeeeek!
Peace and blessings my
child.
Sister Molisky
3-31-14
Howdy from Montany,
Yes, yes, I am now a
true Montana man because I went hiking. Ha, It was really fun, I never
understand why people like hiking, cause it just causes pain! But the view was
worth it! I want to do it again when everything is green! Missoula is
surrounded by these gorgeous mountains and they are just breathtaking! AH! I
love them.
So the family that I
live with, the Stevens are my favorite. They are in their 60's and all of their
kids are grown and gone. But Sister Stevens is my hero. I want to be her when I
grow up. I have never met someone with such incredible faith. She is a
convert to the church and is so solid. She is so in tune with the promptings of
the spirit and knows what it is the Lord wants and needs her to do. Her
son died when he was 25 from a hiking accident and all of her kids have gone
inactive, but she has all the faith in the world that they will one day
return. I wish I could explain it better. Basically, she rocks. She
said something that really stuck with me, but she said taht we will not be
judged until we have all been taught the gospel perfectly. Do we really believe
that the gospel can be taught perfectly in this life? It strengthened my
understanding of my Heavenly Father. That he will do anything to get us
to come back home. He wants us to come back so badly.
So our ward has begun
a 40 day fast for missionary work. We pass around a calendar at church
and families in the ward sign up for one day to fast together for missionary
work. It has been awesome! The first day that we started, we saw so many
miracles! FASTING IS THE BEST! I have gained such a strong testimony of fasting
on my mission. If I could fast for the rest of my life and still survive, I
would totally do it. But, Sister Session and I have been praying to find
more people to teach but we just not had a whole lot of luck. We decided
one day to go find a Mr. Gregory Berry on our less active list. So we went and
a woman answered the door and I instantly knew we would be best friends because
she was in her 60's and wearing this crazy cheetah print shirt. hahaha
she was so so so sweet and friendly to us. Apparently Gregory Berry passed away
2 years ago and they common law married. She saw that we were with the
LDS church and invited us in and gave us cookies and milk and I fell in love
with her. Hahaha it had been so long since we had had someone invite us
in. She said that she loves our Bishop because he helped out a lot with
the funeral and that she has been meaning to come to our church to pay respects
to her little common law hubby. We chatted for a bit and shared a
scripture and prayed with her and she just ate it all up. She said we had
to come back and that she wanted to go to church with us. SCOREEEEE!!! LOVE
IT! Sadly, she got the flu and couldn't come to church but she said she
wants us to come by this week. :) Right on Marsha....I don’t think you know
what you have just begun.
But, we were able to
go over to the family that fasted that day and tell them about all the miracles
we saw because of their fasting. Really neat.
Friday, Sister Drama
had another episode that was kinda cray cray. Basically her and her
companion were not getting along and when her companion refused to take her
home while they were driving she slammed the gear into park in the middle of
the street. So naturally President called for an emergency exchange. So I am
currently with Sister Drama and Sister Session is with the companion (who knows
Lindsay Shwendiman from West Virginia!) President told her that he talked
to the mission council and if she can show that she can go a month without any
issues she could be reassigned to another mission, possibly Spanish
speaking. Honestly, things have gone great. We have taught some solid
lessons and had a ton of fun together. The thing is you just have to know how
to handle people's different personalities and know how to present ideas.
Her and her companion are two VERY different people. And as I have met with her
companion I could see how she could rub her the wrong way. She is a sweet
sweet sister and is very good with people (just not companions haha) and
missionary work. That doesn't justify her actions and how she may react to the
situations she is put in. Because the way she reacts is a little
extreme....a lot extreme. But I haven't had any issues at all....that
could also be because I am her Sister Training Leader...but either way things
are going well. For instance, I FAIIILLLL at just talking to random people on
the street. FAIL FAIL FAIL. I love teaching and meeting people, but when
it comes to random contacting I am one awkward fellow. But the other day
we went to find a less active man and as we got out of the car we saw a man
sitting on the side of the road in the rain by himself, just getting soaked.
And Sister Drama was like, "we need to talk to him". So she marched
right up and just started to talk to the guy and getting to know him and so sly
like brought up the church and gospel. Turns out the guy was baptized into the
Mormon church but hasn't been active for years. We invited him to church, gave
him our card and poof! The deed was done. I was so impressed with her
willingness to follow the Spirit. I have learned a lot from her and am
thankful we haven't had any issues. I do have to say though, I love her. I
really love her. She may be kinda cray, but I love her.
Update on JAMES: James started the stop smoking program and hasn’t smoked for 4 whole days! What a star! He is still having issues with Gracie and called us Sunday and said he wouldn't be able to go to church because Gracie's mom is having an estate sale and was needing help. We set up a time for us to come over that night and have a lesson with him and when we came in he looked so upset and immediately before we could even sit down said, "Sister's I sinned today." The poor guy was with Gracie and when she had a cigarette he couldn't stand it and had a cigarette. He said he was so mad at himself that when he came home he ripped off the motivational signs we put up for him and his "Declaration of Independence from Smoking" It broke my heart to see him so angry with himself. He said if he hadn't missed church he wouldn't have been put into that situation at all. He said he learned his lesson and will never miss church again. COULD YOU BE MORE WONDERFUL JAMES?! I THINK NOT. AH! We reassured him and read the scriptures with him. Oh, James. You are awesome. I just hope the adversary (in the form of freaking Gracie) goes away. Because he can't be baptized until we have her consent! He said he is going to talk to her this week about it and ask her if he can be baptized. But he said he wants to do it at marriage counseling because a there will be a referee.....hahhahahahah
Today
Sister Bragg our Ward Mission Leader's wife is taking us to Ronan to go Bison
watching! WOOT! WOOT! Hahaha that will be an adventure! I am excited to go see
me some Bison. Haha
The relief society
broadcast was sssssooooo gooooood! I loved it so much. I loved having all the
women of the church there. 8 and up. That was really neat. I have to say
conference is my favorite time of the year. Especially on a mission. But
at the Relief Society Broadcast I was overcome with the spirit testifying to me
that this is the true and living gospel on the earth again. I could not
doubt. I never have, but I think sometimes you kinda go through the motions,
but that just reconfirmed my testimony. That the men and women that spoke
were men and women called of God. And I may not understand everything and I may
not know everything but I know that God knows and that is enough for me. I
don't know how you could watch conference and not have the spirit touch your
heart and testify to you that the words spoken are of God. Crazy Crazy.
Also that little violinist girl was crazy. hahaha LOVE YOU ALL!
Until next week! Also
next week I hit my 7 month mark! ITS GOING BY SO FAST!!!
loveeeeee
Sister Montana Moline
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