June 26, 2012

Hello Family!!!

It's so GOOD to hear from all of you, man you guys are the BEST!!! :)
I have so much to tell you today. . . .. So here goes! First of all,
Di- I got your tape! Ha ha, I am glad that you are SO happy! Here is
the thing though- there is a MAJOR case of jealousy going on right
now. . . . but I'm only slightly bitter about it! ;) Mom I really
loved the Blog posts that you shared! You are such an inspiration! You
should print them off for me and snail mail them so i actually have
time to read them instead of just skimming over them! Hannah- I'm
hearing ya! Let's stick together on this one! ;) P.S. I basically
LOVED your new embarrassing moment, BA HA HA!! You are so stinking
funny! Rach- this boy sounds like fun! Brownie points are always good
so keep it up! ;) If he tries anything though, I expect to hear all
about it on the tape, just like Di! <3 Last week we had more time to
write letters but I'm not sure how much time we will have this week-
we'll have to see how it goes! :) Oh yeah- I'm SO glad that you got to
meet Bro Elms!!! Isn't he great!?!?!? ( I have more to write about
that but I think I will send that in the snail mail home!:) )

So, this week has been so good!!! We are doing exchanges tonight with
the Saline sisters. I'm going to Saline and S Thompson is staying
here. She will be the senior comp so she gets to drive, lead out and
all of that good stuff!!! I'm not gonna lie- I'm a little nervous, but
I'm sure that she will be great! :) (After all, She learned from the
best right!?!? LOL, JK!!!!!) Any ways, I feel like we are finally
starting to be able to teach better in unity! We had some really great
lessons this week and I feel like we were BOTH able to teach instead
of S Bishop talking the whole time and S Thompson volunteering to say
the prayer. We have been studying boldness and trying to incorporate
that more in our teaching- it's been helpful for the most part, but
then I feel like it's hard for us to draw the line between BOLD and
ARGUMENTATIVE. Ahh, Ha ha! I don't know! I guess I will just keep
praying and I know Heavenly Father will help us to figure it out!

Sad story of the week: WE LOST OUR PHONE!!! :( Ha ha, we must have
accidentally left it on one of the benches at the Diag and didn't
realize that we didn't have it until we got home. . .. yeah that was a
lovely conversation with President Holmes! Ha ha, He was super nice
and we were able to get a new phone the next day so it wasn't too big
of a deal- we just lost ALL of our contacts and had to start again
from scratch! But, I'm not bitter! ;) 

We had the MOST amazing experience. We contacted into this kid named
Trevor. He was interested, but had to study for a final the next day.
But agreed to meet with us the next evening. The next day as we met
him and taught him about the Restoration, the spirit was SO strong!!!
As we talked the spirit confirmed the truth of what we were teaching
and the WHOLE lesson he had this HUGE smile on his face! At the end we
asked him how he was feeling and he was like, "I don't know why i
haven't ever heard any of this before!!! It makes SO much sense! I am
so excited to read this book for myself! My family is all really
religious and I'm sure they would love to hear this too!" I think that
was possibly one of the BEST lessons that S Thompson and I have ever
taught. It was the most amazing feeling!!! Here is the thing: He just
finished up the spring semester so he was leaving the next day to go
home for the summer!! BUMMER, right?!?!? But we found the address for
the church in Traverse City and we are going to try and have the
missionaries up there continue to teach him and hopefully his family!
:)

Another sweet miracle: We have seen this guy all over campus doing
Par-Cor. It's the most interesting thing I've ever seen! He describes
it as "Seeing an obstacle and using your body to be able to overcome
it." We stopped him the other day and told him about how the gospel
does that SAME thing for us- it helps us to overcome obstacles. But
that the best thing was that God had restored the fulness of his
gospel through a living prophet on the earth today to teach us exactly
what we need to do to have his help in overcoming those obstacles, he
just kind of stared at us and was like, "REALLY!?!? Why haven't I
heard of this??" We fixed that real quick!! Ha ha! His name is Ivan
and he is from Russia. He has had a really hard life, but it's amazing
to see how God has prepared him and put him in our path so that we can
teach him more about the gospel! He is so golden! We are super excited
to continue teaching him!

Okay- so one more miracle and then I better get going! We were out
contacting on Saturday and we ran into this girl named Anny. We have
talked to her before and she said she wanted to come to church with
us. We gave her our card with the address to the church and our
address. But then on Saturday when we ran into her again, she said she
hadn't been able to find the church. We offered her a ride and she
said she would love to come!!! It was so amazing! We had NEVER taught
her before, she doesn't speak very good English, had no idea what to
expect at church and got a ride from a complete stranger, BUT despite
all of those obstacles- Sunday afternoon rolled around and Anny made
it to church!!!! Ha ha!! IT was great!! In the meet the Bishopric
meeting AND in Relief society she expressed how happy she was, how
much she loved church and how she was, "Going to be here EVERY
Sunday!" :)

This week has been such a testimony to me of how this is God's work-
he has truly been guiding us and helping us to find his children that
are ready to hear and accept his plan of happiness!!! It's the BEST!!!

I love you all SO much!!! Keep up the good work!! My prayers are with
you that you will all survive the last few days of Pageant! :) Just
know how much I love you!!! You guys are the BEST!!

Love,

Sister Bishop

June 19,2012

Hello Family!!

I just barely went and got the package you sent- you guys are the
greatest!!! :) I loved the "Fishy crackers" and swedish fish, I
haven't looked at the pictures yet or read the letters (Except for the
one of Di and Spense- He he that was a GOOD one! ;) ) But thanks so
much! I really do have the BEST family ever!! :) I am really excited
to go home today and read all your letters and listen to the tape!!!!
:) :) :)

So, this week has been really good! It is finals week again so we have
struggled a little with a lot of our investigators leaving, but we
didn't let that slow us down at all. We had some really great
experiences:

First we have been teaching an Asian girl named Kate. She is super
sweet and genuinely interested in learning about the gospel but we
have had a hard time getting her to open up to us. She is so quiet and
shy and so when we ask her questions her answers are very basic and
don't really give us anything to go on! We have been really praying
about how to help her and this week we were able to find the perfect
fellow shipper for her! :) I LOVE it when that happens! We asked
Elizabeth Downie to come with us- She is super great and a RM. She
went to Texas I think. . . any ways so she really knows how to teach
and is really good to just jump right in and testify to help us teach.
We had planned to teach Kate the Gospel, but as we were following up
we found some concerns about prayer. We ended up reading a little from
the Book of Mormon, and then really testifying to her of our Saviors
love for her. The whole lesson was amazing! We were able to teach her
about how much God loves her and will answer her prayers. The most
beautiful thing happened- I felt prompted to open to Alma 7:11-12 and
really testify that Christ knows how to succor each of us. As I did
that, she spoke up about another part of those verses. She said, "Wow!
I really like how it says here that He overcame death! I had a very
good friend of mine die in a car accident recently and this is very
comforting." With just those 2 little sentences we were able to really
teach Kate about God's love instead of teaching a lesson on the
gospel! Teaching people, not lessons is so awesome!!!! It still amazes
me how God prepares these people and helps me to love them. That was
the whole focus of that lesson- and it was such a neat, powerful
experience! :)

Next miracle: We were able to get Clara at church yesterday!!!! YAY!!
Clara is a PhD student at U of M. She is SUPER duper smart and very
devoted to her Episcopalian religion. She wanted a copy of the Book of
Mormon to read and study so that is how we started teaching her. We
have had to learn how to be really bold with her and just say it how
it is- straight forward and plain. It's been such a learning
experience for me. She is intimidating, but it had strengthened my
confidence in the power of my calling and the promise that the spirit
will be given us in the VERY MOMENT what to say! :) That seems to
happen quite frequently during our visits for which I am very
grateful! She has been wanting to come to church for a while now and
finally this week her schedule allowed her to be there. It was such a
miracle cause it was pouring rain and Sacrament had already started,
and she wasn't there! I felt like we needed to go out to the foyer so
that's exactly what we did. As i watched out the front windows this
little green car pulled up and out jumped Clara- soaking wet and a
little frazzled cause she was running late, but she made it!! :) I
cannot even describe the feeling of relief when I saw that little car
pull up and know that she MADE IT!!! Such Joy!! :) She really seemed
to enjoy sacrament and the Bishop talked with her for a few minutes
afterward so I felt like it was a good experience for her. It was
really neat too cause the Bishop offered to come and teach her with us
after we told him some of her concerns! What a great experience!!!

Alrighty- so next miracle!! We have had a great week with finding
fellow shippers for our investigators. We were teaching Hunaid last
night and we asked Kendall to come with us. We thought they would
really be able to connect and Kendall is always willing and helpful.
So we started the lesson and Kendall jumped right in to help us teach.
Every time after Kendall would say something Hunaid would look at
Sister Thompson and I and say, "Wow, He is GOOD!" Ha ha, that happened
the whole night, until eventually instead of asking US his questions
he would say, "Wait, can I ask a question?" . . . . Then he would
TURN, LOOK straight at Kendall and ask his question! Ha ha! It was
really powerful though. I felt like we were able to really identify
some of his concerns and help him see how living the gospel is so
important! It was really great!

We have really been trying to work with the ward more- we are redoing
the ward mission plan so that the mission committee, and all the other
auxiliaries can work together more effectively and efficiently. And I
feel like getting members more involved in the teaching and fellow
shipping of our investigators is definitely a step in the right
direction.

We have our Mission Tour tomorrow! We are really excited! I don't have
to play the piano this time either- ha ha! Maybe after the last
experience at Zone Conference they decided to let someone else try and
share their talents! ;) In the mean time I will keep practicing on our
little key board at our apartment and try to let my light so shine
that way! :)

Brother Elms should be in Utah now!! He is supposed to call you and
try to meet sometime in the next few weeks or so. He's great! You'll
love him and his family! <3 Also, did you ever get the package from
Rachel Suggs?? :) Thanks for taking care of my account Mom! :) You're
the best!!!

Di- I still don't know what to think of this BOY!?!?!? Ha ha- he
better be SO good! (And Hannah- you and I will keep praying, okay?!?!
;) ) LOL, JK!!!

Pageant starts this week- sounds like lots of good times! I love you
all super mucho and hope that you all have a wonderful week!!! :)

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO DAD!!! YOU'RE THE BEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WIDE
WORLD- I LOVE YOU THE BESTEST!!!!

Lots and lots of love,

Sister Bishop

June 11,2012

Hola!!!

Transfer Calls are in AND . . . . Sister Thompson is STAYING and
Sister Bishop is STAYING!!! Wow!! I can't believe it! I thought for
sure that there would be some sort of changes. I kind of knew that I
would be staying, but I thought for sure that S Thompson was outta
here! I guess I not really too surprised though, I think next transfer
there will be a lot of changes with all of the sisters! :) The last
few weeks we have been getting a long pretty well though. I think I am
trying to relax a little more I'm really trying to laugh and have more
fun each day. This IS missionary WORK, but my goal is to find JOY in
the journey! :) Every night this week we have taken turns telling each
other bed time stories! Ha ha, we are such dorks, but it is fun! I
feel like we are getting to be better friends- it helps a lot when you
are friends with the person that you are with 24/7! :)

This week was so crazy! We finally met with Mackenzie again this week!
It's been a few weeks because she has been going home to deal with
family issues every weekend. It's been really tough for her cause her
Mom left again, this time for good. What a hard thing- It makes me so
grateful for the gospel and how it strengthens our families and helps
us to stay together forever!!! Mackenzie was really struggling a few
weeks ago, but this time she was SO much better!!! :) She was happy
and talking and laughing, she is still reading the Book of Mormon. I
think the biggest hang up is that she hasn't been praying and can't
come to church. When she does all of those things, I know it won't
take her long to realize that the gospel is exactly what she is
looking for. . . It was her birthday on Saturday, so we called her
and sang her happy birthday- it totally made her day! :) I think that
is one of the greatest blessings about being a missionary! Every day
you have the opportunity to share the gospel- to make people HAPPY-
with so many of God's children! When they accept it and change their
lives, that happiness continues to grow and heal their broken hearts!
It's such a miracle to witness every day!

This week we had a tender mercy. (Well we had many, but this one was
so unexpected!) I wrote you about Hunaid last week- the Indian guy who
is sincerely searching for truth. Yeah- so we called him on Saturday
to invite him to church, but he didn't answer. We left him a message,
but he NEVER calls us back! Even if he does we never get his calls
cause they come in at like 3:00 in the morning and our phone is off
and we are asleep! Any ways, we were out contacting and ran into him!
We invited him to church and he gave us the usual reply, "Yeah! Sure,
no problem!" (With the AWESOME Indian accent! ;)) We arranged a ride
for him, but it was kind of hard cause he didn't want to give us his
address. He said he would meet by a little cafe on campus. Funny thing
is, we couldn't be there cause we had ward council, he had no idea who
was giving him a ride and she had no idea who to look for! Ha ha, it
sounded like a long shot that he would actually make it to church, but
we worked it out as best we could and left the rest of it to Heavenly
Father. Well you can't imagine my surprise when Sunday morning rolled
around and Hunaid actually showed up at church!!!! I just about fell
of my chair! Ha ha! I was SO HAPPY!!! He had a pretty good experience.
. . . he thought that Sacrament was boring (it was high council
Sunday) and didn't care too much for Sunday school, but he LOVED
priesthood! We found him a really good friend to sit with and that
helped a lot! We met with him later that evening and extended a
baptism invitation, now he is on date for July 15!!! Keep Hunaid in
your prayers! He still has a lot to learn, but Heavenly Father has
prepared him! :)

We also met with Erica this week, she is on date to be baptized next
Saturday. She has only been to our ward once, but she has gone to the
Ypsi ward a few times. We are really trying to get her out to
activities and involved with the ward. She is struggling with
recognizing her answer, so we are really praying that her heart will
be softened and she will recognize the spirit this week so that she
can make her baptism date. Any prayers on her behalf would also be
appreciated! :)

I finally got in touch with Bro Anderson this week! (He's the WML that
introduced us to Danielle before she passed away.) They have not had
any contact with Danielle's family and they don't even know where they
live- so NOTHING in being done about getting her temple work done!
AGGHHH!! It's slightly frustrating, but I am going to try and get them
some info this week so hopefully we can get it all taken care of soon!
:)

 I love all of your stories and your testimonies- they
are such an evidence to me that the gospel really is true! Heavenly
Father loves each of us so much!! I didn't get the letters from Dad
and Jake or one from Ben about his talk, but they might be coming this
week?? Maybe I will get them today! :)P

Everything here is going pretty good! I sent you a tape on Thursday,
so you should be getting it soon! There are some good stories on
there!! Ha ha! I hope you enjoy it! Well family- I better get going! I
love you all super mucho!!! Keep choosing the right, being good
examples and all the rest of that good stuff!! :)

Love you guys the BEST!

Love,
Sister Bishop

June 3,2012

Dearest Family!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Reading your letters, it's so good to hear that you
are all still alive and . . . . okay?!?!? Ha ha, I guess okay is a
good word- after the description of the tractor experience it sounds
like Tootie and Goose's guardian angels are working over time! Thank
goodness that we DO have guardian angels!! <3 So, we are w-mailing
late again today cause we switched our p-day to go to a baseball game.
. . well then all of the elders ditched the idea and switched their
p-day back to Monday last minute! LAME!!! (Ha ha, not that i was all
that excited about the baseball game any ways though. .. it was just
another chance to go to the city! ;) ) But of course by then, we had
already scheduled appointments for today so we are sticking with
Thursday!

So, this week has been a really good one! With all of our new
investigators, there were some that dropped us- we kind of expected
that, but it's still kind of a bummer! We had some really cool
experiences though. WE are teaching this Asain named Yunxuan. He is
SUPER fun to teach!!! He is really really smart and it doesn't take
him very long to process things. (There are some stories about him on
the tape that I'm working on. . . SO FUNNY!!) Any ways, he was a
miracle in the first place because HE CALLED US!! We had contacted
into him but he said he just got a new phone and couldn't remember his
number. . . good excuse right?!!?? That's what we thought. But we set
up an appointment any ways and had faith that he would show up. Well
Saturday afternoon rolled around and it was POURING rain! Ha ha, we
were drenched!!! So, the phone started ringing and it was a random
number that we didn't have saved. I answered the phone and it was
Yunxuan!!! He was calling to make sure that we would still be on
campus even though it was raining like crazy!!! We assured him that we
would be there, said a quick prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father
and met up with him about an hour later. Usually with Asian's we teach
the Plan first, it seems to make more sense to them that way. Like I
said, he is super smart and as we teach him he asks us questions then
restates everything we say! It's so wonderful!! ha ha, He is like the
ideal investigator! So, we met with him again this week and taught the
Restoration, by the end he was just kind of in awe and said, "This is
so AMAZING!! When did you say church was again? Can I come and check
it out?" :) He had other commitments and couldn't make it on Sunday,
but he promised to be there this week! :) He is so golden- I am so
excited to continue to teach him!

Another miracle this week was with an investigator named Hunaid. (With
all these funny names you can kind of get a taste of how diverse it is
here in Ann Arbor! Today we figured it out, we are pretty sure that we
have talked to at least 1 person from each of the continents. . .
except Antarctica!!! Ha ha, we are still looking for that one! :)) So
Hunaid is sincerely looking for truth and has been looking for his
whole life. The first time we met with him, he was so full of
questions that we spent the whole time addressing those! But this
time, we got to actually teach him the WHOLE restoration! As we got
into in and shared our testimonies he got really quiet and really
intent on everything we said. At the end i asked him what his thoughts
were. He said, "I feel so relieved, that this could actually be true!"
We invited him to be baptized after he had gained that knowledge for
himself, i loved his reply! All he said was, "Of course! I would have
to!" :)

So some quick little funny stories: We were out contacting and one of
our approaches we say: "We are representatives of Jesus Christ and we
are sharing a message today about. . . . ." So I stopped this guy, he
looked at my name tag and said, "I guess since you are a
representative of Jesus Christ, I can give you a few minutes!" Ha ha,
it totally threw me off for a minute- I wanted to be like, "Hey!!! You
stole MY line!" :)

It was sad to hear about Jessica- I would love to write her a letter
for encouragement, if you could send me her address, I could at least
give it a try! :) Oh yeah!! So you guys totally HAVE to call Rachel
Suggs!!! :) She is back in Utah now at BYU. Her number is
916-290-2937. She is really great!! I LOVE this girl! You should call
and invite her to the Pageant! (And she has a little package for Di!
;) It's nothing big, so don't get jealous, but i hope you like it
friendly!! He he he!)

Speaking of Pageant, it sounds like you guys got ALL of the parts! Ha
ha, that's gonna be fun trying to figure out everyone's schedules! :)
Sounds like fun- sounds like pageant every year! ;)

Oh, I wanted to ask you to continue to pray for ALL of the
investigators that i have written about lately! I will try to get this
tape done and sent off soon, but I'm not making any promises how soon!
Also please pray that I will be able to get in contact with Danielle's
family and be able to get her temple work done! I feel like I'm stuck
between a rock and a hard place with that one, and I'm not sure how to
figure it out. .. . but prayers are always helpful! :)

Transfers will be next week- so this Saturday we find out if either of
us will be leaving. I really feel like I'm going to stay and S
Thompson will be leaving. . . but of course I'm ALWAYS wrong! :) But
at zone conference I had the impression that I might be serving with S
Vanisi! That would be sweet!!! But i really don't want to leave Hill
Street!! I love it here!! We have 3 people on date to be baptized this
month: Ericka, Aaron and Tim! I will tell you about them on the tape!
:) But good things are happening- I love it here! :)

Well family! I really have to go! I love you all SO VERY MUCH!!! I
think about you all the time and pray for each of you every day! :) I
have been so blessed to have you all in my life- you really are the
GREATEST family ever!!!! :)

Love you all Bunches and bunches!!

Love,
Sister Bishop.