Hello Family!!!!!
How are you all!?!? Oh man, I miss you guys SO much!!! ;) You're the
greatest! This week has been SO incredible! My new little companion's
name is Sister Decker. She's from Riverton, UT-- SHE IS THE
GREATEST!!! I LOVE her SO much!!!! HA ha, I feel like this week has
flown by! I love how we have just really been able to click. She is a
hard worker, excited to be a missionary and not afraid at all to jump
right in! Her first day here we got back to our apartment about 2:00
after transfer meeting we did a little planning session and headed out
to the Institute we had a couple of lessons lined up and she just
jumped right in! Oh my goodness, I think this might possibly be the
easiest "training" any missionary has ever done! :) She is an awesome
teacher and like I said, we are already best buds! <3 We have to work
on eating (She has a little trouble keeping things down sometimes, but
I think that's mostly just stress. Cause after the first few days, it
was all better.) We also have to work on getting to bed on time! Ha
ha, we like to sit there after we are done planning and giggle and
talk while we write in our journals and then when we look at the clock
and realize it's almost 11:00 and we still haven't written more than a
few sentences! Ha ha! Oops!! It's a work in progress! When we take
longer than our 30 mins on daily planning SHE MAKES ME do push ups! Ha
ha, turn about it fair play, I guess!?! I've got really good at speed
planning on the last few steps- but of course very spirit guided,
prompted speed planning! :) I'm pretty sure the next 12 weeks are
gonna fly by and then She will train and I will be transferred. . . .
that's just my guess and you know I'm always wrong! But she is THAT
good! We'll just enjoy our time together while we have it though, work
hard, do our best, laugh a lot, take some silly pictures and save some
souls!!!
Speaking of saving souls . . .. HUNAID GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!!!!!
YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!! It was SO great! We met with him Wednesday
and he was like, "Yeah man! I'm ready! I'm so ready! Let's do the
baptism thing!" Ha ha, so we called April (our WML) and Bishop and
they gave us the green light! We got the interview all scheduled,
Kendall kept track of Hunaid all week and Saturday we met, taught him
a few last minute things and he passed his interview! His baptism was
one of the most amazing spiritual experiences that I've ever had!! I
gave a talk on baptism and honestly I couldn't even tell you what I
said. I just stood up there and Heavenly Father told me exactly what
Hunaid (and everybody else there) needed to hear! As I opened my mouth
and the spirit testified, I looked around and everybody there was
smiling and nodding their heads. But the BIGGEST smile was of course,
plastered all over Hunaid's face! He couldn't stop smiling the entire
time!! It was SO cool to see him from day one, clear through his
baptism day!! After it was all over we asked him, "Hunaid, how do you
feel?" At first his response was a little disappointing, "I feel
nothing! Absolutely nothing!. . . . . Well, I do feel one thing: When
I went down in the water, I just wanted to have that feeling over and
over again! I wanted to tell Kendall, 'Hey, put me under again!'" Ha
ha!!! It was so great! The whole service was just the best! I'll tell
ya a little more about it in my snail mail today. . . If we have time
to do snail mail! ;) I'll do my best!
So, other cools story: I'm not sure if I've told you about Daniel yet.
He is the Chinese Christian that has been at church with us for the
last few weeks. Well, he is doing GREAT!!! We really want to give him
a baptism date this week and that's our plan! We've felt really good
about it all week! He came to the mission fireside this Thursday and
we watched the Testaments. He was on fire!!!! He was sitting by Sister
Decker on the way home and couldn't stop talking about how cool it was
that the guy got to see Jesus- but and I quote, "The BEST part is,
that you don't have to SEE Jesus, cause you can FEEL him and I felt
him SO strong as we watched this movie tonight!" Best day of my
life!!! Ha ha, I've had a few of those this week! Our biggest concern
with Daniel is that he is going to to China on August 12, so we'll
baptize him, teach him everything and send a brand new convert back to
china to spread his fire there! We're hoping and praying that it will
all work out! But definitely keep Daniel in your prayers this week! :)
Alright, so one super funny story and then i better get going! We were
out at the diag waiting for a potential to show up. As we were sitting
there we see these 3 big black guys walking through. They saw us and
started walking toward us. . . I'm not gonna lie, I was just a little
scared. (Especially when I saw the bag they were carrying FULL of
empty beer cans!) They walked or rather staggered up to us and asked,
"Well Ladies, What's the good word you are out spreading today??" I
couldn't help it, this was going to be way too much fun! I
enthusiastically threw my arms out in the air and shouted, "JESUS
LOVES YOU!!!!!" They LOVED that!! Ha ha! Next thing I know they were
telling us their life stories and how they KNEW Jesus loved them!!! Ha
ha! To make a long story short. . . . (We'll be sure to put this one
and all the details on the tape!) We taught them about the BOM, gave
one guy a copy and even prayed with them! Right there in the middle of
the diag, 3 big, black, drunk guys and two little sister missionaries,
holding hands (Us trying not to laugh) while one of the guys prayed!
Oh man!! It was the greatest!!!! I learned that Jesus really DOES love
everyone! I hope that the next day when they were sober they remember
that and can find some help! It was fantastic though! :)
Well, Family! I love you all SUPER DUPER MUCHOS!!! :) Keep smiling,
choose the right and all the important stuff and NEVER FORGET WHO
LOVES YOU!!!!!!!
Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Bishop
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
July 23, 2012
Dearest Family!!! Hello!!!!
Big fat heart and lots and lots of love!!!! :) I miss you guys so
mucho!!! But, that's okay cause there are some really exiting things
happening in Michigan! So, first things first!!! Transfer calls are in
and. . . . . (Drum roll please!) Ha ha! I am STAYING!!!! And Sister
Thompson is being transferred!!!! AHHH!!! Craziness, right!?!?
Actually that was all kind of what I expected, and honestly so was the
next bit of news: I'M TRAINING AGAIN!!!! Ha ha!! After transfer calls
we were sitting there chatting and Sister Tingey called us. She wanted
to know who the sister would be that is coming to Hill st. When we
told her we would find out on Tuesday, she was all disappointed but
then she was like, "Well Sister Bishop, maybe you could be the one to
train the new missionary! You did such a wonderful job with Sister
Thompson, it wouldn't surprise us at all if President called you to be
the trainer." ha ha, I just kind of laughed it off, but then the
spirit kind of whispered, "Wait until morning and we'll see who is
laughing then!" Ha ha! (President Holmes calls everybody Sunday
morning for leadership callings like trainers and district leaders,
etc.) The other funny thing was that all day we had some questions we
needed to ask President, but I just kept thinking, "don't worry about
it, He's going to be calling YOU!" Ha ha, Isn't it great how Heavenly
Father works with us and prepares us to be successful! I'm super
nervous right now!!! (Actually scared out of my mind!) But I know that
with Heavenly Father is going to be right there to help me be
successful and to help Sister DECKER! Be successful too!!! :) <3 It's
nice this time to stay in my area where I already know the ward and we
have our awesome investigators- so we are already at an advantage! ;)
It's going to be great! I'm super duper excited to have a new
missionary and see all the miracles and faith that accompany this
special calling to be a trainer! It's humbling and comforting to know
that Heavenly Father and President Holmes both trust me enough to let
me do this! Whew- no stress, right!?!? All weekend the verse in Psalms
46 keeps running through my mind, "Be still and know that I am God!"
For me the being still means to work hard and do my very best so that
I can trust in the promises that God has made- that's one thing I can
ALWAYS count on! God will always take care of me! <3
So, other exciting news: we had a FANTASTIC week this week! S Thompson
and I made it our goal to make our last week together the VERY BEST,
and it was! :) Things didn't always go as we had planned, but we did
our very best and worked our very hardest and there were SO many
miracles! :)
First was Hunaid- It's amazing to see the changes he has made-or that
the gospel has made in his life! I remember the very first time we met
him, out contacting! It was stormy and late and we had like 3 minutes
before we had to head back to the car to be home on time. We decided
that we could do one more quick walk around the diag and see if there
was anyone to talk to. (It was stormy, so there weren't very many
people out!) But as we started walking, this guy came around the
corner. We stopped and talked to him, he was interested in learning
more, so we got in contact info and set an appt. Well, he didn't make
it to his appt, but Heavenly Father knows who is ready to accept our
message and so we ran into Hunaid a few days later- still he was a
no-show! But then the 3rd time is the charm! We ran into him and this
time instead of setting up an appointment, we sat down right then and
there and taught him the restoration! That lesson was interesting! He
was so skeptical, but agreed to read the BOM and meet with us again.
The next meeting was much better and we retaught the restoration, this
time he just sat and listened and didn't try to argue. That week he
made it to church and even though he said it was totally boring, he
kept coming! Through the weeks we've met and taught him, helped him
build friendships in the ward and this "Change of heart" is becoming
very apparent! We usually have to call him to remind him to get up on
time for church, but this week his phone was out of minutes, but still
he was there, this time for the 2nd week in a row! He told us when we
met with him last night how "I'm a good person now! I've been to
church 2 weeks in a row, I'm reading my Book of Mormon between our
lessons, I pray everyday AND I'm keeping the commandments!" It was
potentially one of the happiest moments of my life!!! :) We invited
him to be baptized and he accepted, he said, "Now I am really ready!"
And now I really believe him! :) So, he is praying about what day- I
think he might choose next Sunday, so we might have a baptism this
weekend with my new sister! <3 What a great way to start our your
mission! If not this week, it will be soon! :)
We also had a really neat experience with Nick this week. He is the
one that was baptized when he was like 11, but didn't feel that those
covenants were valid for lots of different reasons. We talked to
President about it and after checking it out himself he informed us
that re baptism wasn't necessary. Nick text-ed us and wanted to know
what we had found out, and we knew that we had to be completely up
front and honest with him. We were just a little nervous because we
knew how badly he wanted to be re-baptized. We told him exactly what
we had found out, and then he never text-ed or called us back. I was
SO nervous! He had come SO far and I didn't want that to be something
that would push him away. Thank goodness for the spirit!! :) We felt
like it would be okay and not to worry about it, until the next
morning I really felt like we needed to call him and check on him. So
of course we did and he sounded great! He was reading his BOM, getting
ready for church and excited to see that that night! (That in itself
was an answer to several prayers- both his and mine!) It was such a
relief! So he came to church, everything was a perfect set up for our
lesson that evening and we had our EQP, Patrick there with us. As we
talked about the gospel and explained all of the steps necessary to
return to live with God agian, there was such a peaceful feeling that
entered the room. We explained the purpose of the Sacrament and how
through that ordinance we can be cleansed, sanctified and renew our
baptismal covenants- no matter how long it has been since we made
them! :) It was amazing! I was SO grateful to have Patrick there. Nick
was really touched and excited to have this "baptism of fire" every
Sunday and through out the week as he continued to repent and exercise
his faith to invite the spirit more into his life! Once again it was a
testimony to me of how the gospel changes people! It makes bad people,
good and good people, BETTER! Nick loves beer and works in a brewery,
but since he has started to come back, he hasn't had a single drink!
(That's just one of the little things!) There are SO many blessings
that come from living the gospel!
Wow- this is getting really long and of course I am running out of
time! But I will try to get a snail mail off today- i should have
plenty of time while S Thompson is packing!! Ha ha! ;) But my address
will be the same, so you can ALL write me a letter this week and use
the same address in Hill St! ;) Love you all SUPER MUCHOS!!!
Love,
Sister Bishop!
Big fat heart and lots and lots of love!!!! :) I miss you guys so
mucho!!! But, that's okay cause there are some really exiting things
happening in Michigan! So, first things first!!! Transfer calls are in
and. . . . . (Drum roll please!) Ha ha! I am STAYING!!!! And Sister
Thompson is being transferred!!!! AHHH!!! Craziness, right!?!?
Actually that was all kind of what I expected, and honestly so was the
next bit of news: I'M TRAINING AGAIN!!!! Ha ha!! After transfer calls
we were sitting there chatting and Sister Tingey called us. She wanted
to know who the sister would be that is coming to Hill st. When we
told her we would find out on Tuesday, she was all disappointed but
then she was like, "Well Sister Bishop, maybe you could be the one to
train the new missionary! You did such a wonderful job with Sister
Thompson, it wouldn't surprise us at all if President called you to be
the trainer." ha ha, I just kind of laughed it off, but then the
spirit kind of whispered, "Wait until morning and we'll see who is
laughing then!" Ha ha! (President Holmes calls everybody Sunday
morning for leadership callings like trainers and district leaders,
etc.) The other funny thing was that all day we had some questions we
needed to ask President, but I just kept thinking, "don't worry about
it, He's going to be calling YOU!" Ha ha, Isn't it great how Heavenly
Father works with us and prepares us to be successful! I'm super
nervous right now!!! (Actually scared out of my mind!) But I know that
with Heavenly Father is going to be right there to help me be
successful and to help Sister DECKER! Be successful too!!! :) <3 It's
nice this time to stay in my area where I already know the ward and we
have our awesome investigators- so we are already at an advantage! ;)
It's going to be great! I'm super duper excited to have a new
missionary and see all the miracles and faith that accompany this
special calling to be a trainer! It's humbling and comforting to know
that Heavenly Father and President Holmes both trust me enough to let
me do this! Whew- no stress, right!?!? All weekend the verse in Psalms
46 keeps running through my mind, "Be still and know that I am God!"
For me the being still means to work hard and do my very best so that
I can trust in the promises that God has made- that's one thing I can
ALWAYS count on! God will always take care of me! <3
So, other exciting news: we had a FANTASTIC week this week! S Thompson
and I made it our goal to make our last week together the VERY BEST,
and it was! :) Things didn't always go as we had planned, but we did
our very best and worked our very hardest and there were SO many
miracles! :)
First was Hunaid- It's amazing to see the changes he has made-or that
the gospel has made in his life! I remember the very first time we met
him, out contacting! It was stormy and late and we had like 3 minutes
before we had to head back to the car to be home on time. We decided
that we could do one more quick walk around the diag and see if there
was anyone to talk to. (It was stormy, so there weren't very many
people out!) But as we started walking, this guy came around the
corner. We stopped and talked to him, he was interested in learning
more, so we got in contact info and set an appt. Well, he didn't make
it to his appt, but Heavenly Father knows who is ready to accept our
message and so we ran into Hunaid a few days later- still he was a
no-show! But then the 3rd time is the charm! We ran into him and this
time instead of setting up an appointment, we sat down right then and
there and taught him the restoration! That lesson was interesting! He
was so skeptical, but agreed to read the BOM and meet with us again.
The next meeting was much better and we retaught the restoration, this
time he just sat and listened and didn't try to argue. That week he
made it to church and even though he said it was totally boring, he
kept coming! Through the weeks we've met and taught him, helped him
build friendships in the ward and this "Change of heart" is becoming
very apparent! We usually have to call him to remind him to get up on
time for church, but this week his phone was out of minutes, but still
he was there, this time for the 2nd week in a row! He told us when we
met with him last night how "I'm a good person now! I've been to
church 2 weeks in a row, I'm reading my Book of Mormon between our
lessons, I pray everyday AND I'm keeping the commandments!" It was
potentially one of the happiest moments of my life!!! :) We invited
him to be baptized and he accepted, he said, "Now I am really ready!"
And now I really believe him! :) So, he is praying about what day- I
think he might choose next Sunday, so we might have a baptism this
weekend with my new sister! <3 What a great way to start our your
mission! If not this week, it will be soon! :)
We also had a really neat experience with Nick this week. He is the
one that was baptized when he was like 11, but didn't feel that those
covenants were valid for lots of different reasons. We talked to
President about it and after checking it out himself he informed us
that re baptism wasn't necessary. Nick text-ed us and wanted to know
what we had found out, and we knew that we had to be completely up
front and honest with him. We were just a little nervous because we
knew how badly he wanted to be re-baptized. We told him exactly what
we had found out, and then he never text-ed or called us back. I was
SO nervous! He had come SO far and I didn't want that to be something
that would push him away. Thank goodness for the spirit!! :) We felt
like it would be okay and not to worry about it, until the next
morning I really felt like we needed to call him and check on him. So
of course we did and he sounded great! He was reading his BOM, getting
ready for church and excited to see that that night! (That in itself
was an answer to several prayers- both his and mine!) It was such a
relief! So he came to church, everything was a perfect set up for our
lesson that evening and we had our EQP, Patrick there with us. As we
talked about the gospel and explained all of the steps necessary to
return to live with God agian, there was such a peaceful feeling that
entered the room. We explained the purpose of the Sacrament and how
through that ordinance we can be cleansed, sanctified and renew our
baptismal covenants- no matter how long it has been since we made
them! :) It was amazing! I was SO grateful to have Patrick there. Nick
was really touched and excited to have this "baptism of fire" every
Sunday and through out the week as he continued to repent and exercise
his faith to invite the spirit more into his life! Once again it was a
testimony to me of how the gospel changes people! It makes bad people,
good and good people, BETTER! Nick loves beer and works in a brewery,
but since he has started to come back, he hasn't had a single drink!
(That's just one of the little things!) There are SO many blessings
that come from living the gospel!
Wow- this is getting really long and of course I am running out of
time! But I will try to get a snail mail off today- i should have
plenty of time while S Thompson is packing!! Ha ha! ;) But my address
will be the same, so you can ALL write me a letter this week and use
the same address in Hill St! ;) Love you all SUPER MUCHOS!!!
Love,
Sister Bishop!
Monday, July 16, 2012
July 16, 2012
Hello Family!!! :)
It's so good to hear from all of you!!! I really love Preparation day
just cause I get to e-mail all of you, it's like the highlight of my
week- besides doing missionary work of course! ;) Ha ha! Life is
good!!! It's week 6 of the transfer so that means that transfer calls
will come in on Saturday night! S Thompson is absolutely positive that
she is leaving! :) I am pretty sure that something will happen. . .
we have been here together for like 4 and 1/2 months and there are a
lot of sisters that have also been in their areas for 4-6 months. So
the more we talk about it, the more positive I am that this is going
to be a big transfer meeting for all of the sisters! It's exciting a
little bit stressful and super nerve wracking! I think it's so funny
that Mom in your e-mail today talked about the different challenges
that we have with each of our companions. I was thinking back over the
last 4 months, what I've learned from S Thompson, the struggles we
have had, but mostly the good things that have happened and all of the
miracles that we have seen! It's been a good couple of months! <3 But
I do think that Heavenly Father has some new plans in store for both
of us. . . and whatever that may include we are excited to see what
happens! The best part is, that I really don't have to worry about it!
I know that this is God's work and that he won't give me more than I
can handle! ;) It makes me excited to see the climb ahead and know
that he will be my guide-ALWAYS! <3
This week has been one full of miracles! I love this!!! We are
teaching this sweet little Chinese girl named Yiwen. She is absolutely
adorable!!!! We had a super powerful lesson with her this week about
the life of Christ. We knew she didn't have any religious background
and therefore no knowledge of Christ. So as we pondered on how to
teach her we turned to the resources that are available to us. Our
first thought was to read with her from the BOM, that was good, but
not quite what she needed. Then after struggling for a little while I
remembered all of the DVDs that we have in our closet. I went to see
what was there and found the answer to our prayers: the Finding Faith
in Christ DVD!!! We talked about it and really knew that was exactly
what she needed! We had the Relief Society President (Stephanie) at
the lesson with us and afterwards we read from 3 Nephi when Christ
invites the people to "Come unto Me!" It was so amazing!! The spirit
was so strong- when we asked Yiwen how she was feeling she told us it
felt like she was right there with the people seeing the miracles
happen! :) We were able to really testify of the reality of our Savior
and promise her blessings of peace, joy and direction in life as she
came to experience more of God's love for her! It was so amazing!!! We
wanted to give her a baptism date, but it didn't feel right that time.
We are planning to do it tomorrow though, so pray that she will feel
the spirit and accept!!! It was also really sweet cause yesterday in
church we had a lesson in RS about missionary work and Stephanie
shared a little bit about the experience that she had with us and
encouraged the other sisters to come out with us! :) Our ward is so
wonderful! I really, really love them! <3
We have been struggling a little to teach our Less Actives/ Recent
Converts (LARC'S) but this week we decided we were going to make it
happen. We picked a few people to focus on and set appointments to
meet with them. It was really great- I think that sometimes we forget
that we are here not only to teach investigators but also to
strengthen the members! We have a RC named Ha. She was baptized in
October and has been doing very well! But then she went home to
Vietnam to visit her family for a few months and when she came back
she was really struggling. We met with her this week though and had a
really, really amazing lesson! She totally opened up to us and asked
us if our faith ever wavered?? We talked a lot about faith, how
sometimes God gives us trials and we just don't know how we will ever
make it through, but as we continue to exercise faith by reading the
scriptures, praying for help and guidance and going to church to renew
our covenants- that eventually the clouds lift and we see the path a
little more clearly! She shared how she was struggling because she
wanted her family to accept the gospel so bad, but they aren't. It was
really hard for her, but I felt like (Thanks to the guidance from the
spirit) we were able to share exactly what she needed to hear! What a
beautiful reminder to me of my work as a missionary! And what a great
reminder of how important having the spirit is! :)
Okay- so I have the greatest story ever!!! Ha ha! This is awesome!! We
were out contacting the other day and this guy walked up behind us. He
was walking a little faster than us so pretty soon he was ahead of us.
S Thompson and I both felt like we needed to talk to him, but didn't
know how to do it without chasing him down!! (We try NOT to chase
people down cause then they just think that we are crazy!! LOL) So I
said a little prayer and asked for help to be able to talk to this
guy! Then the miracle happened: HE SNEEZED!!!!! :) Now, this was no
ordinary sneeze! This one would have put Dad to shame! ;) Ha ha! But
when he sneezed we quickly caught up to him and I said, "Bless You!"
He looked and us, and said, "Wow!! Ha ha! Thanks! I think that was
probably the BIGGEST sneeze of my whole life!" Ha ha! So we walked
with him for a few minutes and he started asking US questions. He said
how he had a friend on a mission and how he had heard about the BOM
and always wanted to read it and learn more about it- but had never
had the opportunity! I just started laughing- what a coincidence,
right!?!?! We told him that is EXACTLY what we do! He couldn't believe
it!!! He was so excited!! We set up an appointment for Saturday and
when Saturday rolled around he was there! We had a great lesson with
him and he accepted and As you, will you! He promised to read and pray
and even come to church next Sunday! He was so excited to go call his
friend and tell him everything that he had learned about! It was so
amazing!! God guides us every single day- so, so great!! :)
We also met with Hunaid and Kendall of course! ;) It was such a great
lesson! We decided that we needed to read with him because he hasn't
been reading. But we also needed to teach some of the commandments. We
decided to go with Abinadi- it's a great story AND has the
commandments. When we first started Hunaid told us, "This is so
boring! I want something new! I already know all of these things- WHY
are you making me read this!?!?!" We just kept reading and promised
that he would learn something if he would give it a chance! Well, as
we continued to read and discuss he got more and more quiet. . . the
complaints stopped and when it was his turn to read he didn't try to
get out of it. We were about half way through when we had to stop
because we had to get home for the night, but he had been reading
ahead and finished the chapter!!! When we asked what his thoughts were
he told us, "This is such a GOOD chapter!!! Why haven't we read this
one before? Why didn't you tell me there were good stories in
here!?!?!?" Ha ha! We HAD told him all of those things, but he had to
experience it before he would actually believe us! ;) So, finally I
think we can get him to read on his own and really be able to
experience and love the BOM. He still isn't ready to commit to
baptism, but he's coming! :) Keep him in your prayers! He will be
there faster than he will ever realize!
I have SO many stories to tell you!! But I'm all out of time! I will
try to get a snail mail off today! :) I can't believe Emily Olson is
coming home so soon!! That's super exciting!!! :) And Stephanie Barton
is home too!! WOW!!! :) Those are two of the very best sister
missionaries ever!!! You'll have to give them both a big hug for me
and tell them how amazing I think they are! <3
Di- I must have written down your address wrong! I put apt 3 instead
of 43! Sorry!!! Hopefully those letters will find you! :)
Thanks for the letters and pictures!! The peaches and the rest of the
package all made it safely!! THANKS!!! I made a peach smoothie for Bro
Elms and the Tingey's and they all really enjoyed it!! My other
favorite thing was the Pageant book!!! I could have sat there all day
staring at it and picking out everyone I knew!! I'm pretty sure I
found everybody except Rach, Dad, Jake and Hannah! :) I showed it to
EVERYBODY!!! Ha ha, nobody enjoyed it as much as I did though!!! :)
Thanks again- you guys really are the BEST EVER!!!
BIG FAT HEART!!!
Love you tons!!
Love, Sister Bishop!
It's so good to hear from all of you!!! I really love Preparation day
just cause I get to e-mail all of you, it's like the highlight of my
week- besides doing missionary work of course! ;) Ha ha! Life is
good!!! It's week 6 of the transfer so that means that transfer calls
will come in on Saturday night! S Thompson is absolutely positive that
she is leaving! :) I am pretty sure that something will happen. . .
we have been here together for like 4 and 1/2 months and there are a
lot of sisters that have also been in their areas for 4-6 months. So
the more we talk about it, the more positive I am that this is going
to be a big transfer meeting for all of the sisters! It's exciting a
little bit stressful and super nerve wracking! I think it's so funny
that Mom in your e-mail today talked about the different challenges
that we have with each of our companions. I was thinking back over the
last 4 months, what I've learned from S Thompson, the struggles we
have had, but mostly the good things that have happened and all of the
miracles that we have seen! It's been a good couple of months! <3 But
I do think that Heavenly Father has some new plans in store for both
of us. . . and whatever that may include we are excited to see what
happens! The best part is, that I really don't have to worry about it!
I know that this is God's work and that he won't give me more than I
can handle! ;) It makes me excited to see the climb ahead and know
that he will be my guide-ALWAYS! <3
This week has been one full of miracles! I love this!!! We are
teaching this sweet little Chinese girl named Yiwen. She is absolutely
adorable!!!! We had a super powerful lesson with her this week about
the life of Christ. We knew she didn't have any religious background
and therefore no knowledge of Christ. So as we pondered on how to
teach her we turned to the resources that are available to us. Our
first thought was to read with her from the BOM, that was good, but
not quite what she needed. Then after struggling for a little while I
remembered all of the DVDs that we have in our closet. I went to see
what was there and found the answer to our prayers: the Finding Faith
in Christ DVD!!! We talked about it and really knew that was exactly
what she needed! We had the Relief Society President (Stephanie) at
the lesson with us and afterwards we read from 3 Nephi when Christ
invites the people to "Come unto Me!" It was so amazing!! The spirit
was so strong- when we asked Yiwen how she was feeling she told us it
felt like she was right there with the people seeing the miracles
happen! :) We were able to really testify of the reality of our Savior
and promise her blessings of peace, joy and direction in life as she
came to experience more of God's love for her! It was so amazing!!! We
wanted to give her a baptism date, but it didn't feel right that time.
We are planning to do it tomorrow though, so pray that she will feel
the spirit and accept!!! It was also really sweet cause yesterday in
church we had a lesson in RS about missionary work and Stephanie
shared a little bit about the experience that she had with us and
encouraged the other sisters to come out with us! :) Our ward is so
wonderful! I really, really love them! <3
We have been struggling a little to teach our Less Actives/ Recent
Converts (LARC'S) but this week we decided we were going to make it
happen. We picked a few people to focus on and set appointments to
meet with them. It was really great- I think that sometimes we forget
that we are here not only to teach investigators but also to
strengthen the members! We have a RC named Ha. She was baptized in
October and has been doing very well! But then she went home to
Vietnam to visit her family for a few months and when she came back
she was really struggling. We met with her this week though and had a
really, really amazing lesson! She totally opened up to us and asked
us if our faith ever wavered?? We talked a lot about faith, how
sometimes God gives us trials and we just don't know how we will ever
make it through, but as we continue to exercise faith by reading the
scriptures, praying for help and guidance and going to church to renew
our covenants- that eventually the clouds lift and we see the path a
little more clearly! She shared how she was struggling because she
wanted her family to accept the gospel so bad, but they aren't. It was
really hard for her, but I felt like (Thanks to the guidance from the
spirit) we were able to share exactly what she needed to hear! What a
beautiful reminder to me of my work as a missionary! And what a great
reminder of how important having the spirit is! :)
Okay- so I have the greatest story ever!!! Ha ha! This is awesome!! We
were out contacting the other day and this guy walked up behind us. He
was walking a little faster than us so pretty soon he was ahead of us.
S Thompson and I both felt like we needed to talk to him, but didn't
know how to do it without chasing him down!! (We try NOT to chase
people down cause then they just think that we are crazy!! LOL) So I
said a little prayer and asked for help to be able to talk to this
guy! Then the miracle happened: HE SNEEZED!!!!! :) Now, this was no
ordinary sneeze! This one would have put Dad to shame! ;) Ha ha! But
when he sneezed we quickly caught up to him and I said, "Bless You!"
He looked and us, and said, "Wow!! Ha ha! Thanks! I think that was
probably the BIGGEST sneeze of my whole life!" Ha ha! So we walked
with him for a few minutes and he started asking US questions. He said
how he had a friend on a mission and how he had heard about the BOM
and always wanted to read it and learn more about it- but had never
had the opportunity! I just started laughing- what a coincidence,
right!?!?! We told him that is EXACTLY what we do! He couldn't believe
it!!! He was so excited!! We set up an appointment for Saturday and
when Saturday rolled around he was there! We had a great lesson with
him and he accepted and As you, will you! He promised to read and pray
and even come to church next Sunday! He was so excited to go call his
friend and tell him everything that he had learned about! It was so
amazing!! God guides us every single day- so, so great!! :)
We also met with Hunaid and Kendall of course! ;) It was such a great
lesson! We decided that we needed to read with him because he hasn't
been reading. But we also needed to teach some of the commandments. We
decided to go with Abinadi- it's a great story AND has the
commandments. When we first started Hunaid told us, "This is so
boring! I want something new! I already know all of these things- WHY
are you making me read this!?!?!" We just kept reading and promised
that he would learn something if he would give it a chance! Well, as
we continued to read and discuss he got more and more quiet. . . the
complaints stopped and when it was his turn to read he didn't try to
get out of it. We were about half way through when we had to stop
because we had to get home for the night, but he had been reading
ahead and finished the chapter!!! When we asked what his thoughts were
he told us, "This is such a GOOD chapter!!! Why haven't we read this
one before? Why didn't you tell me there were good stories in
here!?!?!?" Ha ha! We HAD told him all of those things, but he had to
experience it before he would actually believe us! ;) So, finally I
think we can get him to read on his own and really be able to
experience and love the BOM. He still isn't ready to commit to
baptism, but he's coming! :) Keep him in your prayers! He will be
there faster than he will ever realize!
I have SO many stories to tell you!! But I'm all out of time! I will
try to get a snail mail off today! :) I can't believe Emily Olson is
coming home so soon!! That's super exciting!!! :) And Stephanie Barton
is home too!! WOW!!! :) Those are two of the very best sister
missionaries ever!!! You'll have to give them both a big hug for me
and tell them how amazing I think they are! <3
Di- I must have written down your address wrong! I put apt 3 instead
of 43! Sorry!!! Hopefully those letters will find you! :)
Thanks for the letters and pictures!! The peaches and the rest of the
package all made it safely!! THANKS!!! I made a peach smoothie for Bro
Elms and the Tingey's and they all really enjoyed it!! My other
favorite thing was the Pageant book!!! I could have sat there all day
staring at it and picking out everyone I knew!! I'm pretty sure I
found everybody except Rach, Dad, Jake and Hannah! :) I showed it to
EVERYBODY!!! Ha ha, nobody enjoyed it as much as I did though!!! :)
Thanks again- you guys really are the BEST EVER!!!
BIG FAT HEART!!!
Love you tons!!
Love, Sister Bishop!
Monday, July 9, 2012
July 9,2012
Hello Family!!!
Sorry we are a little late today- we had to go and help E and S Belnap
clean out one of the Elder's apartments cause they closed an area. We
didn't plan on taking so long, but it was in pretty rough shape! We
actually had almost our whole district there cleaning, packing and
cleaning more- IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!! I can't believe how much I've
missed cleaning WITH other people! Ha ha, It actually really reminded
me of cleaning the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon- with everybody all
working together in this little tiny space, laughing and talking- all
we were missing was the music!! It was lots of fun though! Then we
were going to go to Subway but E Karinen is slightly obsessed with
famous places to eat so we went to this place called Krazy Joe's
Blimpy burger. The food was super yummy and SUPER GREASY!! Ha ha, but
no worries! Sister Thopmson said she knew where we were going and
dragged us all over campus in the wrong direction before we finally
broke down and asked for directions. So we walked it all off then got
our fast food fix for the week! ;) Ha ha, I love our Elders- they are
really great! On the way back to our cars we had to walk through
campus and show them "the Cube." It is this HUGE cube and it spins. .
. apparently it's like the biggest spinning cube in the country. ..
WHO KNEW!! Ha ha, so we got some sweet pictures. Crazy morning- but it
was super fun!!
So- Brother Elms is back!!!!!!!!! We saw his car and had to stop in
and say hi. IT was so good to see him- I've missed him SO MUCH!! :)
He's pretty great! :) He forgot the package you sent me, but promised
that he would bring it tomorrow! Ha ha, you guys are the best!! I'll
just say thanks in advance! :) <3
This week has been a good one! :) Our BBQ was a hit! It turned out
really well- we had like 30 people show up and like 8 non-members! Our
investigators that came seemed to enjoy themselves and build
friendships with the ward and that was exactly what we were hoping
for! There was plenty of food, lots of laughing and talking, games and
lots of people. Thanks to E and S Tingey- it was defiantly a success!
:)
This week was kind of a slower week- a lot of our investigators were
out of town for the holiday so we spent a pretty good amount of time
contacting out in the heat! I think this week it got up to like 103
plus the humidity- it was killer! We got some otter pops though and
put them in the freezer at the institute and that's how we survived!!
:) Hunaid was on date to be baptized this coming Sunday and to help
him be more prepared and comfortable we took him to a baptism that the
Saline sisters had. He was SO intimidated!!! He is super shy and lots
of people make him nervous so when we pulled into the parking lot and
he saw all of the cars I think that he just about had a heart attack!
We talked to a bunch of the people though and did really well so we
were really proud of him. We had an appointment with him the next day
and that whole evening S Thompson and I were both a little hesitant to
baptize him on the 15th. We just didn't really feel like he was ready!
Especially after going to the other baptism he kept saying how, "I'm
not really religious!" We were both like, "Wait a second!!! You are
supposed to be getting baptized in a week and you are not really
religious- there is something wrong with this picture!!" So then when
we met with him and talked it over he was so relieved! he told us,
"This is an answer to my prayers!" Ha ha, he is so funny! I'm really
glad that we listened on this one cause he really was NOT ready! But
we are going to keep working with him and hopefully he will make it in
the next few weeks! :)
We had the greatest lesson with Clara this week! It was amazing! The
spirit was so strong!!!! MAN!! SO, we felt like we needed to watch the
Restoration DVD and talk about prayer. We did and she totally related
to Joseph Smith and his search for truth. She said that she had been
on a similar journey and was very sympathetic. We had Patrick there
(our new EQP who is totally awesome!!!) and he had some great insights
and was very helpful as well. When we asked Clara this time if she had
been praying she told us, "Yes, I have been praying and I feel like
God has answered me! I feel like he said, 'If you want to be a Mormon,
then be a Mormon, that's just fine!' That really surprised me- I
didn't expect that! But I still have no strong desire to be baptized!"
AHGHHH!! It was SO close and yet SO far! We did invite her to be
baptized though and again she rejected. Her biggest obstacle is the
prophet- and some issues she has with gender roles and homosexuality.
Those are BIG obstacles especially in our day, it's so hard because
she feels the spirit and LOVES to meet with us, but won't humble
herself enough to recognize those answers. Just keep praying for her
and we will keep loving her and hope that she will come around! <3
We had a really neat experience this week with David. We have taught
him like 3 times and he has always been a little skeptical. He had
been through a lot of religions and is still searching for truth. When
we first taught him he told us he would only meet one more time and
ever since then it's always been just one more time!! Well we got him
to church last week and even though we were slightly crazy trying to
keep tract of our other investigators he had a good fellow shipper
that stuck by his side. When we met with him this week he told us that
he would like to "take all of the lessons so I can really understand
this!" He LOVED church and that made him want to learn more! IT was so
refreshing- most of our investigators complain that it's too long and
so boring so it was wonderful to have someone that really enjoyed it
and was receptive to feel the spirit and learn!
So I'm running out of time- But I do want to tell Tim and Miriam:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! :) I'm blowing Tim the biggest, wettest most
slobbery kiss ever and and big bear hug for Yumyum!!! :) I love you
both super mucho and hope that you have a fantastic birthday!!! :)
I love you all so much- thanks for your prayers and thoughts and love!
You guys are the greatest!! :)
Love,
Sister Bishop
Sorry we are a little late today- we had to go and help E and S Belnap
clean out one of the Elder's apartments cause they closed an area. We
didn't plan on taking so long, but it was in pretty rough shape! We
actually had almost our whole district there cleaning, packing and
cleaning more- IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!! I can't believe how much I've
missed cleaning WITH other people! Ha ha, It actually really reminded
me of cleaning the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon- with everybody all
working together in this little tiny space, laughing and talking- all
we were missing was the music!! It was lots of fun though! Then we
were going to go to Subway but E Karinen is slightly obsessed with
famous places to eat so we went to this place called Krazy Joe's
Blimpy burger. The food was super yummy and SUPER GREASY!! Ha ha, but
no worries! Sister Thopmson said she knew where we were going and
dragged us all over campus in the wrong direction before we finally
broke down and asked for directions. So we walked it all off then got
our fast food fix for the week! ;) Ha ha, I love our Elders- they are
really great! On the way back to our cars we had to walk through
campus and show them "the Cube." It is this HUGE cube and it spins. .
. apparently it's like the biggest spinning cube in the country. ..
WHO KNEW!! Ha ha, so we got some sweet pictures. Crazy morning- but it
was super fun!!
So- Brother Elms is back!!!!!!!!! We saw his car and had to stop in
and say hi. IT was so good to see him- I've missed him SO MUCH!! :)
He's pretty great! :) He forgot the package you sent me, but promised
that he would bring it tomorrow! Ha ha, you guys are the best!! I'll
just say thanks in advance! :) <3
This week has been a good one! :) Our BBQ was a hit! It turned out
really well- we had like 30 people show up and like 8 non-members! Our
investigators that came seemed to enjoy themselves and build
friendships with the ward and that was exactly what we were hoping
for! There was plenty of food, lots of laughing and talking, games and
lots of people. Thanks to E and S Tingey- it was defiantly a success!
:)
This week was kind of a slower week- a lot of our investigators were
out of town for the holiday so we spent a pretty good amount of time
contacting out in the heat! I think this week it got up to like 103
plus the humidity- it was killer! We got some otter pops though and
put them in the freezer at the institute and that's how we survived!!
:) Hunaid was on date to be baptized this coming Sunday and to help
him be more prepared and comfortable we took him to a baptism that the
Saline sisters had. He was SO intimidated!!! He is super shy and lots
of people make him nervous so when we pulled into the parking lot and
he saw all of the cars I think that he just about had a heart attack!
We talked to a bunch of the people though and did really well so we
were really proud of him. We had an appointment with him the next day
and that whole evening S Thompson and I were both a little hesitant to
baptize him on the 15th. We just didn't really feel like he was ready!
Especially after going to the other baptism he kept saying how, "I'm
not really religious!" We were both like, "Wait a second!!! You are
supposed to be getting baptized in a week and you are not really
religious- there is something wrong with this picture!!" So then when
we met with him and talked it over he was so relieved! he told us,
"This is an answer to my prayers!" Ha ha, he is so funny! I'm really
glad that we listened on this one cause he really was NOT ready! But
we are going to keep working with him and hopefully he will make it in
the next few weeks! :)
We had the greatest lesson with Clara this week! It was amazing! The
spirit was so strong!!!! MAN!! SO, we felt like we needed to watch the
Restoration DVD and talk about prayer. We did and she totally related
to Joseph Smith and his search for truth. She said that she had been
on a similar journey and was very sympathetic. We had Patrick there
(our new EQP who is totally awesome!!!) and he had some great insights
and was very helpful as well. When we asked Clara this time if she had
been praying she told us, "Yes, I have been praying and I feel like
God has answered me! I feel like he said, 'If you want to be a Mormon,
then be a Mormon, that's just fine!' That really surprised me- I
didn't expect that! But I still have no strong desire to be baptized!"
AHGHHH!! It was SO close and yet SO far! We did invite her to be
baptized though and again she rejected. Her biggest obstacle is the
prophet- and some issues she has with gender roles and homosexuality.
Those are BIG obstacles especially in our day, it's so hard because
she feels the spirit and LOVES to meet with us, but won't humble
herself enough to recognize those answers. Just keep praying for her
and we will keep loving her and hope that she will come around! <3
We had a really neat experience this week with David. We have taught
him like 3 times and he has always been a little skeptical. He had
been through a lot of religions and is still searching for truth. When
we first taught him he told us he would only meet one more time and
ever since then it's always been just one more time!! Well we got him
to church last week and even though we were slightly crazy trying to
keep tract of our other investigators he had a good fellow shipper
that stuck by his side. When we met with him this week he told us that
he would like to "take all of the lessons so I can really understand
this!" He LOVED church and that made him want to learn more! IT was so
refreshing- most of our investigators complain that it's too long and
so boring so it was wonderful to have someone that really enjoyed it
and was receptive to feel the spirit and learn!
So I'm running out of time- But I do want to tell Tim and Miriam:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! :) I'm blowing Tim the biggest, wettest most
slobbery kiss ever and and big bear hug for Yumyum!!! :) I love you
both super mucho and hope that you have a fantastic birthday!!! :)
I love you all so much- thanks for your prayers and thoughts and love!
You guys are the greatest!! :)
Love,
Sister Bishop
July 2, 2012
Dearest Family, HELLO!!!!!
Oh man! You guys are the greatest!! I feel like every exclamation
point I use in my letters represents a big hug that I'm sending your
way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ha ha, I have been so blessed with such an amazing family! :)
This week has been so incredible, I feel like I've learned a lot of
valuable lessons. First of all we did exchanges a week ago. I went to
Saline with S Jones and that left S Thompson here with S Evans. I was
so excited and it turned out to be SO GOOD! It amazes me every time
how little coincidences work out and we are able to learn so much from
those little things- it's truly a testimony to me that this is God's
work! S Jones is training S Evans, but because of some complications
they have to do a 12 week training program in 6 weeks. She had just
barely finished her own training so i think she was a little stressed
out. Of course there were other factors, but I really felt that I
needed to be in Saline to just build her up a little, to reassure her
that she's doing what she needs to be doing and give her a little
boost in her confidence. Her trainer HATED tracting and so they NEVER
did it! :) So now SHE is training and trying to teach a new missionary
how to do all these things without any practice or experience for
herself. Yeah, we went tracting!! I can't even tell you how much fun
it was!!! I never thought that I would say it, but I've missed
tracting- I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! It was neat to see S Jones catch on so
quickly too. . . she kind of stepped back and I took the lead as we
were tracting but she didn't slack off or back down at all. It was so
great! After that she was much more excited and really felt like she
could do it too! I was so glad that I was able to help her out, just
in those little ways! :) Being with S Jones for the day helped me to
remember what it feels like to be the junior comp. I found myself
sitting back in the lessons and not trying as hard to receive
revelation or guidance for the people we were teaching- it was a rude
awakening- a call to repentance! What I learned is the importance of
team teaching! I have to allow and expect my comp to jump in and help
me teach, I think I just kind of take over because I'm the trainer and
the Senior comp, but after that experience I've REALLY done my best to
help S Thompson be more involved. We've had some really great,
powerful lessons this week as a result! I really love exchanges-- it's
amazing how quickly you can come to know and LOVE others! I feel like
S Jones and I are now friends for life! She knows she can trust me and
ask me any questions and that I will do my best to help/answer those
questions. What a blessing it is for be a missionary!! <3
In our District Meeting this week we went over the highlights from the
mission tour. It was a great reminder- I feel like sometimes I forget
so quickly, but Elder Karinen (Our district leader) was really
prepared. As he gave his instruction he shared more about how we
should be "ALWAYS" missionaries. We always invite people to be
baptized in the first lesson, we always invite the head of the
household to offer a kneeling prayer at the end of the lesson, etc.
There are a lot of things that we should ALWAYS be doing as
missionaries but for one reason or another it doesn't happen. Weather
it is lack of faith or desire or just running out of time he
challenged us to ALWAYS be ALWAYS missionaries. He promised that we
would see success. I loved his little saying:
Acknowledge the
Lords
Way
And
Succeed!
See- ALWAYS!! So this week have been striving to be always
missionaries. So- here are some examples of the miracles we have seen:
It had been like 3 weeks since we had met with Mackenzie and as we
prepared to see her this week the thought of inviting her to be
baptized kept coming to my mind. (I'm not gonna lie, I was super
nervous!) The last time we talked about baptism she flat out told us
"No!" We have a really good relationship and we didn't want her to
feel pressured to make that decision. As I was studying and preparing
to see her that morning I thought of being an always missionary and
really putting my trust in the Lord and letting him take care of it. I
was led to find some really great quotes and scriptures that just
jumped out to me! Our lesson was AMAZING!!!! We started out testifying
of God's love for his children and how we are all His Daughters- the
gospel it not about being "Catholic" or "Mormon" but it is about
coming home to our Heavenly Father. There is a quote in PMG that talks
about how we preach and teach to open the doors of the Celestial
kingdom to the sons and daughters of God because we are the ONLY ones
that have the authority to do that! Just saying that really softened
her heart and helped her to really be able to LISTEN to the spirit,
learn and feel of God's love for her. We simply and boldly laid out
all the steps in the gospel teaching and testifying and at the end
invited her to pray about it. We also extended and "As You, Will You,"
she promised to pray about it!! I think that her biggest concern is
that she is afraid of change- it is hard to change, but she already
has such a testimony of these things as long as she continues to read,
pray and come to church Heavenly Father will help her to overcome
those fears! :) So, keep Mackenzie in your prayers!! Pray that she
will recognize the answers that she is receiving and have the faith to
conquer her fears! <3
This week we had 4 investigators at church!!! Then we also had a few
members bring family/ friends that were nonmembers. Our gospel
principles class was the biggest we've EVER seen!! I really know that
is a direct result of being ALWAYS missionaries. We focused on the
basic commitments and invited people and they kept the commitments! It
was SO busy, it was great!! It was also a really great thing for the
ward to see that we are serious about doing missionary work, that we
ARE finding people and teaching them, but that we need their help! The
most miraculous things happened because of that too, we just got a new
EQP and yesterday after church he asked to talk to us for a few
minutes. He told us how they are really trying to focus on missionary
work with their new presidency and asked for ways that they could
help. We talked it over and came up with some really great things to
implement and try. He even asked for a list of our progressing
investigators so that they could try and assign home teachers!!!! I
could have jumped and shouted for joy!!! This is what we have been
trying for, this is going to be SO great for our ward and for our
area!!!! We also are working on rewriting the ward mission plan and
are really focusing on helping each person to write and follow a
personal mission plan. We have permission to do a lesson the 5th
Sunday to help people DO it and be more excited and involved in
missionary work. The ward is really stepping it up, it is an answer to
prayers and I'm SO grateful!!!
We are still working with Hunaid and trying to help him be prepared
for his baptism on July 15. We had a great lesson with him last night,
he has been fighting us about Tea being agianst the WOW. We've
explained it to him several times and last night we told him it's all
about obedience and faith. This isn't about our diet, it's a test of
our faith in a prophet of God and our commitment to follow that
prophet and be obedient to the commandments of God. (We had our member
there to back us up too which of course ALWAYS makes the difference!)
After that discussion Hunaid just kind of looked at us and asked,
"Can't you just leave God out of it!??!?! I can't even argue with you
when you bring him into this!!" Ha ha! We just smiled- that's exactly
why we ask him to pray about it! :) ;) :) He committed to try it for a
week, we are going to try and stay in contact daily to help him keep
that commitment and I think this will be the real test to see if he is
willing to be committed and make his date. I know he can, and I know
that God will help him- I just hope and pray that HE will honestly
give it a try! :)
This week has been so miraculous and faith building. We are excited to
continue to work hard and be ALWAYS missionaries, so that we can
continue to see the blessings and miracles that God has promised us!
:) Happy 4th of July!!!! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday! I love
you all SO much!!! :)
Love,
Sister Bishop (The Fav!) ;)
Oh man! You guys are the greatest!! I feel like every exclamation
point I use in my letters represents a big hug that I'm sending your
way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ha ha, I have been so blessed with such an amazing family! :)
This week has been so incredible, I feel like I've learned a lot of
valuable lessons. First of all we did exchanges a week ago. I went to
Saline with S Jones and that left S Thompson here with S Evans. I was
so excited and it turned out to be SO GOOD! It amazes me every time
how little coincidences work out and we are able to learn so much from
those little things- it's truly a testimony to me that this is God's
work! S Jones is training S Evans, but because of some complications
they have to do a 12 week training program in 6 weeks. She had just
barely finished her own training so i think she was a little stressed
out. Of course there were other factors, but I really felt that I
needed to be in Saline to just build her up a little, to reassure her
that she's doing what she needs to be doing and give her a little
boost in her confidence. Her trainer HATED tracting and so they NEVER
did it! :) So now SHE is training and trying to teach a new missionary
how to do all these things without any practice or experience for
herself. Yeah, we went tracting!! I can't even tell you how much fun
it was!!! I never thought that I would say it, but I've missed
tracting- I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! It was neat to see S Jones catch on so
quickly too. . . she kind of stepped back and I took the lead as we
were tracting but she didn't slack off or back down at all. It was so
great! After that she was much more excited and really felt like she
could do it too! I was so glad that I was able to help her out, just
in those little ways! :) Being with S Jones for the day helped me to
remember what it feels like to be the junior comp. I found myself
sitting back in the lessons and not trying as hard to receive
revelation or guidance for the people we were teaching- it was a rude
awakening- a call to repentance! What I learned is the importance of
team teaching! I have to allow and expect my comp to jump in and help
me teach, I think I just kind of take over because I'm the trainer and
the Senior comp, but after that experience I've REALLY done my best to
help S Thompson be more involved. We've had some really great,
powerful lessons this week as a result! I really love exchanges-- it's
amazing how quickly you can come to know and LOVE others! I feel like
S Jones and I are now friends for life! She knows she can trust me and
ask me any questions and that I will do my best to help/answer those
questions. What a blessing it is for be a missionary!! <3
In our District Meeting this week we went over the highlights from the
mission tour. It was a great reminder- I feel like sometimes I forget
so quickly, but Elder Karinen (Our district leader) was really
prepared. As he gave his instruction he shared more about how we
should be "ALWAYS" missionaries. We always invite people to be
baptized in the first lesson, we always invite the head of the
household to offer a kneeling prayer at the end of the lesson, etc.
There are a lot of things that we should ALWAYS be doing as
missionaries but for one reason or another it doesn't happen. Weather
it is lack of faith or desire or just running out of time he
challenged us to ALWAYS be ALWAYS missionaries. He promised that we
would see success. I loved his little saying:
Acknowledge the
Lords
Way
And
Succeed!
See- ALWAYS!! So this week have been striving to be always
missionaries. So- here are some examples of the miracles we have seen:
It had been like 3 weeks since we had met with Mackenzie and as we
prepared to see her this week the thought of inviting her to be
baptized kept coming to my mind. (I'm not gonna lie, I was super
nervous!) The last time we talked about baptism she flat out told us
"No!" We have a really good relationship and we didn't want her to
feel pressured to make that decision. As I was studying and preparing
to see her that morning I thought of being an always missionary and
really putting my trust in the Lord and letting him take care of it. I
was led to find some really great quotes and scriptures that just
jumped out to me! Our lesson was AMAZING!!!! We started out testifying
of God's love for his children and how we are all His Daughters- the
gospel it not about being "Catholic" or "Mormon" but it is about
coming home to our Heavenly Father. There is a quote in PMG that talks
about how we preach and teach to open the doors of the Celestial
kingdom to the sons and daughters of God because we are the ONLY ones
that have the authority to do that! Just saying that really softened
her heart and helped her to really be able to LISTEN to the spirit,
learn and feel of God's love for her. We simply and boldly laid out
all the steps in the gospel teaching and testifying and at the end
invited her to pray about it. We also extended and "As You, Will You,"
she promised to pray about it!! I think that her biggest concern is
that she is afraid of change- it is hard to change, but she already
has such a testimony of these things as long as she continues to read,
pray and come to church Heavenly Father will help her to overcome
those fears! :) So, keep Mackenzie in your prayers!! Pray that she
will recognize the answers that she is receiving and have the faith to
conquer her fears! <3
This week we had 4 investigators at church!!! Then we also had a few
members bring family/ friends that were nonmembers. Our gospel
principles class was the biggest we've EVER seen!! I really know that
is a direct result of being ALWAYS missionaries. We focused on the
basic commitments and invited people and they kept the commitments! It
was SO busy, it was great!! It was also a really great thing for the
ward to see that we are serious about doing missionary work, that we
ARE finding people and teaching them, but that we need their help! The
most miraculous things happened because of that too, we just got a new
EQP and yesterday after church he asked to talk to us for a few
minutes. He told us how they are really trying to focus on missionary
work with their new presidency and asked for ways that they could
help. We talked it over and came up with some really great things to
implement and try. He even asked for a list of our progressing
investigators so that they could try and assign home teachers!!!! I
could have jumped and shouted for joy!!! This is what we have been
trying for, this is going to be SO great for our ward and for our
area!!!! We also are working on rewriting the ward mission plan and
are really focusing on helping each person to write and follow a
personal mission plan. We have permission to do a lesson the 5th
Sunday to help people DO it and be more excited and involved in
missionary work. The ward is really stepping it up, it is an answer to
prayers and I'm SO grateful!!!
We are still working with Hunaid and trying to help him be prepared
for his baptism on July 15. We had a great lesson with him last night,
he has been fighting us about Tea being agianst the WOW. We've
explained it to him several times and last night we told him it's all
about obedience and faith. This isn't about our diet, it's a test of
our faith in a prophet of God and our commitment to follow that
prophet and be obedient to the commandments of God. (We had our member
there to back us up too which of course ALWAYS makes the difference!)
After that discussion Hunaid just kind of looked at us and asked,
"Can't you just leave God out of it!??!?! I can't even argue with you
when you bring him into this!!" Ha ha! We just smiled- that's exactly
why we ask him to pray about it! :) ;) :) He committed to try it for a
week, we are going to try and stay in contact daily to help him keep
that commitment and I think this will be the real test to see if he is
willing to be committed and make his date. I know he can, and I know
that God will help him- I just hope and pray that HE will honestly
give it a try! :)
This week has been so miraculous and faith building. We are excited to
continue to work hard and be ALWAYS missionaries, so that we can
continue to see the blessings and miracles that God has promised us!
:) Happy 4th of July!!!! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday! I love
you all SO much!!! :)
Love,
Sister Bishop (The Fav!) ;)
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