Hello family!! :) It's Monday once again and I'm sitting here
thinking, "Where in the world has this last week gone?? It's flown
by!!!" :) Oh, so funny story of the week, I finally gave S Tingey her
present that you guys sent her! IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! I had to do some
quick little adjustments on the bag so it would pull out a little
smoother, but then I told her that I wanted to record her opening it
on my camera, but that she would have to hurry because my battery was
almost dead. She was like, "open it really fast. .. okay!" Then she
yanked that little box right out of the happy birthday bag and
skittles EXPLODED EVERYWHERE!!!! Ha ha! I think she jumped like 3 feet
and then about peed her skirt!! Ha ha! I thought that E Tingey just
about had a heart attack and we had to help brother Elms up off of the
floor after he stopped laughing! Lol!! It was so great!! So , just so
you know it worked out perfectly!!! They were so excited they are
going to use it for their family party for Thanksgiving! :) I video
taped it and I'll see if I can copy it and send it to you soon! It was
hilarious!
So, like I said, this week has been pretty crazy! :) Monday we went to
the Ford Museum with the Tingey's. We giggled and took a bunch of
pictures and just had a great time! Then Tuesday was our Sister's Day
in Detroit. We met at the mission home with ALL of the sisters and
President and Sister Holmes, had breakfast, then went on a tour of the
city! It was fun to see all the sights and take a bunch of pictures
but honestly I think my favorite part was just being there with
everybody! I super super love these people so much!!! They are the
greatest!!!! :) All day it didn't matter what car you were in, who you
were sitting by or what you were talking about, we were all just best
friends and talked and laughed! Oh man! It was the BEST!!!! After
touring the city a little we went back to the mission home and had an
instruction about being BOLD and loving. Ha ha, I think that it was
perfect for a room full of Sisters. It was awesome though. We had time
for a Q and A session and lunch and then our day was over! I'll have
to send some pictures! It was beautiful and so so much fun! :) After
Sisters day, we all went on exchanges. I have such a powerful
testimony of exchanges!! I went to Fenton with S Farnsworth (Who was
the Sister I worked with last time too, but it was still such a great
learning experience!) and S Decker stayed on Hill St with S Godfrey.
It was kind of hard, I knew S Decker was a little nervous, and S
Godfrey was plain scared out of her mind, but they did it! THEY BOTH
DID IT and that was exactly what they both needed to know! :) In
Fenton S Farnsworth and I set some goals to do some tracting and find
them more investigators because that's one thing they were struggling
with and our other goal was to just have fun! I think that so many
times we get caught up in the "Work" aspect of missionary work that we
forget we are supposed to find joy in His work. It's easy sometimes to
be intimidated or get caught in a routine, but one thing I learned
that day was as you make it something enjoyable and fun AS you work
everything goes so much better! :) We had picked out a street to go
and tract and when we got there it was clear out in the boonies and
was mostly country! S Farnsworth can't walk a lot and I was a little
nervous. But we prayed and felt like that was where we needed to be,
so we slapped a smile on our faces and got out there! The first door
was amazing! The lady told us, "Sure you can share a message about
God, this is a God fearing house!" She was very kind and even though
she wasn't interested in learning more it was a good start! With that
attitude and faith and hope that the rest of the road would be the
same we carried on. The whole time as we were hiking up and down these
LONG drive ways we giggled and talked, we cracked jokes and really
just enjoyed our time! The weather was beautiful, the people were
super nice and we were doing what we needed to be doing where the lord
wanted us! It was one of the BEST feelings! We found a potential
investigator and even though we didn't see a huge miracle with
touching someones life, it was a huge miracle for both of us. I felt
like that experience was exactly what Heavenly Father needed for S
Farnsworth and S Bishop to learn. Meanwhile, our companions were
working hard and seeing lots of miracles too! :) When we met back up
that night, we were all glad to be headed back to our own areas with
our own companions, but had all learned some valuable lessons. :) I
LOVE exchanges!! :)
So then on Thursday we were getting all packed up and ready to go when
E and S Belnap called us. They brought us NEW MATTRESSES and new
pillows and a new broom and mop!! It was like Christmas morning!!! We
were so excited! But of course we were running late, so we just kind
of piled it all in the living room to sort out when we got home that
night. In the mean time, our appointment rescheduled for later in the
day and as we were driving to campus I had this distinct impression
that we needed to go through our area book and find some of our former
investigators. We turned around, went back and grabbed it, and spent a
little while prayerfully going through it and calling those that we
felt prompted to. It was the craziest thing. I've never had such a
clear, distinct prompting! We didn't have a lot of time, but from the
people we did call we were able to send a referral!! It was exciting!!
It's something we are still working on, because the formers haven't
been gone through in a LONG time, but I'm excited to see what other
miracles we will have from this!! :) Funny thing though, because we
were so busy all day, we didn't have time to take out our old
mattresses, so we put some sheets on them, pulled our blankets off our
beds and slept in the living room for the rest of the week!! Ha ha, it
was funny!! It was so nice though! Thank goodness for new mattresses!!
:)
Wow! I feel like i have so much more i can tell you, but as always our
time is running short! I will try to get a snail mail out today, but
i'm not sure if I'll have time!
Mom would you check my account? I think we are going to the Salvation
Army today to see if they have some warmer sweaters and I'm not sure
how much money I have in there?? If there isn't much would you just
transfer some from savings?? Thanks! That would be great!! :)
Thanks Family for being so great!!! You really are the BEST!!! I love
you all so much!!
Love,
Sister Bishop
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sept 17 ,2012
Hello Family!! Thanks so much for all the letters, packages and
pictures this week! I had a great birthday!! Ha ha, thanks so much!!!
:) Sister Decker stole my tape player and recorded on it all morning
yesterday and took about a bajillion pictures! We are going to give S
Tingey her exploding box today and record that, but hopefully i will
send you all a tape today! :) Thanks though, for everything! You guys
are the greatest!!!
So this week had been interesting!! I have to say, I REALLY DON'T LIKE
SATAN!!!! Ugh!!! He is SO mean!!! He has been working super hard on
Me, S Decker, our investigators and members this week! It's super
lame!! We actually were only able to see like 3 of our investigators
this week because they all had something come up! Van's sister had an
emergency health problem that he had to go home for, Mackenzie has
been SUPER busy with school and family stuff, Alex has been so wrapped
up in school he has cancelled on us, Nick was struggling, Kendall had
a really hard week. . . . . When it rains it pours!! So of course with
all of our people struggling so much- it was kind of a rough week for
us. I feel like Satan knows the good that we can/are doing and so he
is trying everything he can to stop us! The good thing though is that
we have have FAITH!!! And with that Faith we have greater power than
Satan does! S Decker was really struggling last night, and we had a
really good little heart to heart this morning. We know that mission
life is hard, but that is one thing that makes it so great! If we
didn't have trials and hard times then we would never learn and grow!
I think that is one thing that i have learned and appreciate so much
more because of my mission, that yes, there will be hard times! But,
with the Lord on my side I CAN DO ANYTHING!!! 1 Nephi 3:7 has never
been so meaningful before in my life! :) It's true though, the Lord
will always provide a way for us to accomplish the things that he has
commanded! After our discussion this morning we have raised our own
bar! We are stepping up our game and not backing down. We are going to
see the Lords promises fulfilled as we ran and are not weary and walk
and not faint! As we GO and DO, and as we see miracles work every
single day! I know we can do it, because this is God's work! Please
pray for us though! We need all of the help we can get!!! And pray for
our investigators- they are struggling!!! We need to find new people,
so i guess pray for them too! :) Ha ha, the power of prayer is so
real- it's the greatest!!! :)
So, just a few quick stories! We had David Glen Hatch come and do a
fireside for our mission this week. Lila came and as he listened he
was very touched by the spirit! He loved it so much! During the
fireside Bro Hatch asked all of the missionaries to stand up. Lila's
eyes were about the size of a grapefruit when he saw how many
missionaries there were! After the fireside he asked us about the life
we live, what we do, what a normal day would be like, etc. When we
told him all about it all he could do was stare! He told us, "If I
were to do that kind of sacrifice, I think I would have to see Jesus
face to face first!" It was a very unique experience for us to share
our testimonies of how the Lord supports and helps us (and all those
we love) as we do His work. The funny thing is, after the fireside S
Decker and I were talking and we think that Lila thinks in order to be
a member that he will have to go on a mission! ha ha! Which would be
GREAT, but I think we better work in building his faith, and getting
him baptized before we try to send him on a mission! lol! :)
We had Zone Conference this week too! I really love these meetings
where we get to be with other missionaries and practice and learn
together. It was amazing, I felt like everything that we talked about
was EXACTLY what Sis Bishop needed to hear! Along with raising our
bar, I am committed to being more exactly obedient! I need the
blessings that are promised!! I have always been obedient. . . but
there are things that I can do better! :)
Sorry this is short today! We are going to the Ford Museum today with
the Tingey's and we are already running late, so I better get going! I
love you all so much though!! Keep up the good work! :) SMILE!!! It
makes the world a better place!!!
Love,
Sister Bishop!
P.S. Thanks Dad for your letter and the little stories!! You are the
best!!! Rach- I don't think that I got all of your letter, it kind of
cut off in the middle of the story! :) Di good luck with the PCAT this
week, you'll be in my prayers!! ALL OF YOU!! RWLY!!!!! :)
pictures this week! I had a great birthday!! Ha ha, thanks so much!!!
:) Sister Decker stole my tape player and recorded on it all morning
yesterday and took about a bajillion pictures! We are going to give S
Tingey her exploding box today and record that, but hopefully i will
send you all a tape today! :) Thanks though, for everything! You guys
are the greatest!!!
So this week had been interesting!! I have to say, I REALLY DON'T LIKE
SATAN!!!! Ugh!!! He is SO mean!!! He has been working super hard on
Me, S Decker, our investigators and members this week! It's super
lame!! We actually were only able to see like 3 of our investigators
this week because they all had something come up! Van's sister had an
emergency health problem that he had to go home for, Mackenzie has
been SUPER busy with school and family stuff, Alex has been so wrapped
up in school he has cancelled on us, Nick was struggling, Kendall had
a really hard week. . . . . When it rains it pours!! So of course with
all of our people struggling so much- it was kind of a rough week for
us. I feel like Satan knows the good that we can/are doing and so he
is trying everything he can to stop us! The good thing though is that
we have have FAITH!!! And with that Faith we have greater power than
Satan does! S Decker was really struggling last night, and we had a
really good little heart to heart this morning. We know that mission
life is hard, but that is one thing that makes it so great! If we
didn't have trials and hard times then we would never learn and grow!
I think that is one thing that i have learned and appreciate so much
more because of my mission, that yes, there will be hard times! But,
with the Lord on my side I CAN DO ANYTHING!!! 1 Nephi 3:7 has never
been so meaningful before in my life! :) It's true though, the Lord
will always provide a way for us to accomplish the things that he has
commanded! After our discussion this morning we have raised our own
bar! We are stepping up our game and not backing down. We are going to
see the Lords promises fulfilled as we ran and are not weary and walk
and not faint! As we GO and DO, and as we see miracles work every
single day! I know we can do it, because this is God's work! Please
pray for us though! We need all of the help we can get!!! And pray for
our investigators- they are struggling!!! We need to find new people,
so i guess pray for them too! :) Ha ha, the power of prayer is so
real- it's the greatest!!! :)
So, just a few quick stories! We had David Glen Hatch come and do a
fireside for our mission this week. Lila came and as he listened he
was very touched by the spirit! He loved it so much! During the
fireside Bro Hatch asked all of the missionaries to stand up. Lila's
eyes were about the size of a grapefruit when he saw how many
missionaries there were! After the fireside he asked us about the life
we live, what we do, what a normal day would be like, etc. When we
told him all about it all he could do was stare! He told us, "If I
were to do that kind of sacrifice, I think I would have to see Jesus
face to face first!" It was a very unique experience for us to share
our testimonies of how the Lord supports and helps us (and all those
we love) as we do His work. The funny thing is, after the fireside S
Decker and I were talking and we think that Lila thinks in order to be
a member that he will have to go on a mission! ha ha! Which would be
GREAT, but I think we better work in building his faith, and getting
him baptized before we try to send him on a mission! lol! :)
We had Zone Conference this week too! I really love these meetings
where we get to be with other missionaries and practice and learn
together. It was amazing, I felt like everything that we talked about
was EXACTLY what Sis Bishop needed to hear! Along with raising our
bar, I am committed to being more exactly obedient! I need the
blessings that are promised!! I have always been obedient. . . but
there are things that I can do better! :)
Sorry this is short today! We are going to the Ford Museum today with
the Tingey's and we are already running late, so I better get going! I
love you all so much though!! Keep up the good work! :) SMILE!!! It
makes the world a better place!!!
Love,
Sister Bishop!
P.S. Thanks Dad for your letter and the little stories!! You are the
best!!! Rach- I don't think that I got all of your letter, it kind of
cut off in the middle of the story! :) Di good luck with the PCAT this
week, you'll be in my prayers!! ALL OF YOU!! RWLY!!!!! :)
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sept. 10,2012
Dearest Family!!
Hello ALL!!!! It's so good to hear from you- like always! :) Thanks
Dad and Hannah for the cute little stories about my sunbeams!!! That
totally made my day! :) I'm so glad that they all still know who loves
them and that they bring their B of M's to church! Ha ha! YAY!!! It's
great to know that even after you leave some one you can still have am
impact on their life!
This week has FLOWN by! I seriously was looking back over our week and
don't know where it all went. We have been super busy and this week
everything went much better! Ann Arbor is a COMPLETELY different city
with students here! There is traffic and noise and SO MANY people!!
There was a football game this weekend. . . it was kind of a rude
awakening to see the real world so close. There were about a million
and a half people (Okay, not really! But that is what it felt like!)
and the majority of them were VERY drunk. It made for an interesting
day of contacting, that's for sure! We actually were at North Campus
for quite a while and it was much quieter up there. Sorry, no drunk
black guy stories this week! Ha ha! ;)
This week I had been thinking a lot about Sister Rowe and her family
so we stopped by her office and chatted for a few minutes! It's
amazing how the spirit works and I really know when she needs us. This
time it worked out perfectly! She was moving to a new office because
they gave her a promotion at work. But if we hadn't of gone in at just
the right time, we would have missed her and then we wouldn't know
where to find her! Any ways, as we were talking she started to tell me
all about how well her family is doing. Wyatt is doing good in school,
Willow is loving second grade! Pat is still struggling a little and
doesn't go to church with them any more. BUT She is going to get her
patriarchal blessing in the next few weeks!!! She was so excited and
as we talked it was amazing to see the change that has taken place
over the last few months. When I left Chelsea, she was doing good. . .
but now she is doing SUPER!!! She knows how important church is, she
is reading her scriptures and praying. . . all of the little things
that are so important! It was just one of those moments where I was SO
thankful to Heavenly Father that he let me be a part of her life! She
is an amazing woman with such a strong testimony!! I really, really
love that family so much! They will always have a special place in my
heart!
Alright, so funny story of the week! We have been reading a chapter
out of the Book Of Mormon every night with Hunaid because he hasn't
been reading on his own. This week he got so excited that instead of
only reading his 3 verses, he read like 5 before he noticed it was my
turn! Ha ha! :) He likes the B of M, and when we read with him the
stories come a live and he learns a ton. . . we just have to get him
reading on his own! This week as we were reading in chapter 4 was my
favorite though! We had just read about how Nephi cuts off Laban's
head. (It is Hun aid's job to summarize everything as we read so we
know that he is understanding everything that is happening!) So we
read where Nephi chopped off Laban's head and puts on his clothes.
Hunaid got this really disgusted look on his face and said, "Wow,
man!!! He just chopped off Laban's head and put it somewhere!!!! Then
he stole his clothes too!!!!" Ha ha! I just started giggling so hard!!
It was so stinking funny! :)
We had the greatest thing happen yesterday. We were out in Saline
stopping by a Less active, he wasn't home so we were getting back in
the car when the neighbors across the street started waving us down.
As we looked a little closer we saw the boys all had white shirts and
ties on and the girls were wearing dresses! S Decker looked at me with
a confused look and asked, "Members??" I shrugged and we went over to
say hi! They actually were members!!! Ha ha and they invited us to
have dinner with them!!! :) Totally made our day! It was such a great
little miracle, just in case you were wondering that NEVER happens! :)
I feel like we have been so blessed this week with tons of little
miracles. Our people are all finally back for school and things are
really gonna take off. This week was just the warm up round! Sister
Decker and I are working hard and having so much fun! I really love
her! :) She's great! I feel so lucky, over the last few weeks we've
grown really close. Sometimes she just looks at me, and knows exactly
what I'm thinking or feeling. It's fun to work so hard with someone
you that you get along with so well! :) Ha ha, funny story though! S
Decker volunteered us to do a musical number this week at our zone
conference! ha ha! The little stinker! She tells everybody what a
great singer I am and then volunteers us for things like this!?!?!? I
don't know what I'm going to do with her! LOL Lucky for her, since she
volunteered US, we will BOTH be singing! :) Maybe I will try to record
it. . . we will see how it goes!
Well family! My time is about up! Thanks for all your insights Dad! I
thought it was so interesting thinking about how the priesthood has
power to help us resist temptation. . . what a great gospel we have
the opportunity to be a part of! I love it so much!! I love how it
changes people and helps us to be better!!! You are all the greatest!
Keep up the good work! Don't forget who loves you. . . but if you do
it sounds like you could ask Addy and she'll be able to remind you! ;)
Have a WONDERFUL week! I love you all SO much!!
Love,
Sister Bishop
Hello ALL!!!! It's so good to hear from you- like always! :) Thanks
Dad and Hannah for the cute little stories about my sunbeams!!! That
totally made my day! :) I'm so glad that they all still know who loves
them and that they bring their B of M's to church! Ha ha! YAY!!! It's
great to know that even after you leave some one you can still have am
impact on their life!
This week has FLOWN by! I seriously was looking back over our week and
don't know where it all went. We have been super busy and this week
everything went much better! Ann Arbor is a COMPLETELY different city
with students here! There is traffic and noise and SO MANY people!!
There was a football game this weekend. . . it was kind of a rude
awakening to see the real world so close. There were about a million
and a half people (Okay, not really! But that is what it felt like!)
and the majority of them were VERY drunk. It made for an interesting
day of contacting, that's for sure! We actually were at North Campus
for quite a while and it was much quieter up there. Sorry, no drunk
black guy stories this week! Ha ha! ;)
This week I had been thinking a lot about Sister Rowe and her family
so we stopped by her office and chatted for a few minutes! It's
amazing how the spirit works and I really know when she needs us. This
time it worked out perfectly! She was moving to a new office because
they gave her a promotion at work. But if we hadn't of gone in at just
the right time, we would have missed her and then we wouldn't know
where to find her! Any ways, as we were talking she started to tell me
all about how well her family is doing. Wyatt is doing good in school,
Willow is loving second grade! Pat is still struggling a little and
doesn't go to church with them any more. BUT She is going to get her
patriarchal blessing in the next few weeks!!! She was so excited and
as we talked it was amazing to see the change that has taken place
over the last few months. When I left Chelsea, she was doing good. . .
but now she is doing SUPER!!! She knows how important church is, she
is reading her scriptures and praying. . . all of the little things
that are so important! It was just one of those moments where I was SO
thankful to Heavenly Father that he let me be a part of her life! She
is an amazing woman with such a strong testimony!! I really, really
love that family so much! They will always have a special place in my
heart!
Alright, so funny story of the week! We have been reading a chapter
out of the Book Of Mormon every night with Hunaid because he hasn't
been reading on his own. This week he got so excited that instead of
only reading his 3 verses, he read like 5 before he noticed it was my
turn! Ha ha! :) He likes the B of M, and when we read with him the
stories come a live and he learns a ton. . . we just have to get him
reading on his own! This week as we were reading in chapter 4 was my
favorite though! We had just read about how Nephi cuts off Laban's
head. (It is Hun aid's job to summarize everything as we read so we
know that he is understanding everything that is happening!) So we
read where Nephi chopped off Laban's head and puts on his clothes.
Hunaid got this really disgusted look on his face and said, "Wow,
man!!! He just chopped off Laban's head and put it somewhere!!!! Then
he stole his clothes too!!!!" Ha ha! I just started giggling so hard!!
It was so stinking funny! :)
We had the greatest thing happen yesterday. We were out in Saline
stopping by a Less active, he wasn't home so we were getting back in
the car when the neighbors across the street started waving us down.
As we looked a little closer we saw the boys all had white shirts and
ties on and the girls were wearing dresses! S Decker looked at me with
a confused look and asked, "Members??" I shrugged and we went over to
say hi! They actually were members!!! Ha ha and they invited us to
have dinner with them!!! :) Totally made our day! It was such a great
little miracle, just in case you were wondering that NEVER happens! :)
I feel like we have been so blessed this week with tons of little
miracles. Our people are all finally back for school and things are
really gonna take off. This week was just the warm up round! Sister
Decker and I are working hard and having so much fun! I really love
her! :) She's great! I feel so lucky, over the last few weeks we've
grown really close. Sometimes she just looks at me, and knows exactly
what I'm thinking or feeling. It's fun to work so hard with someone
you that you get along with so well! :) Ha ha, funny story though! S
Decker volunteered us to do a musical number this week at our zone
conference! ha ha! The little stinker! She tells everybody what a
great singer I am and then volunteers us for things like this!?!?!? I
don't know what I'm going to do with her! LOL Lucky for her, since she
volunteered US, we will BOTH be singing! :) Maybe I will try to record
it. . . we will see how it goes!
Well family! My time is about up! Thanks for all your insights Dad! I
thought it was so interesting thinking about how the priesthood has
power to help us resist temptation. . . what a great gospel we have
the opportunity to be a part of! I love it so much!! I love how it
changes people and helps us to be better!!! You are all the greatest!
Keep up the good work! Don't forget who loves you. . . but if you do
it sounds like you could ask Addy and she'll be able to remind you! ;)
Have a WONDERFUL week! I love you all SO much!!
Love,
Sister Bishop
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Sept. 5,2012
Hey there!!! Just in case you all were wondering, I wanted to inform
you all that: I HAVE THE GREATEST FAMILY EVER!!!!! Ha ha! I'm just
counting my blessings and of course you are all at the very top! :)
So, Transfer call are in AND. . . . We are both STAYING!!! Big
surprise, huh? Our district leader really had me going for a few
minutes and pretty much had me convinced that I was leaving! But right
as I was ready to burst into tears, he started to feel bad and decided
that he would repent! Ha ha! Man! I was so mad! LOL! I think he felt
really, really bad though! I am sending a tape this week cause I
didn't have any time to write letters, so Di you can watch for it and
then send it home so everyone else can hear all the fun little stories
too! :)
Sounds like you have all had a busy weekend! Matthew's baptism, Ben
going through the temple, Dad's toe surgery and everything else!
Sounds like a party and a half!!! Di- I seriously about peed my pants
when you told me about your girls night out plucking your eye brows!!
ha ha! I don't know why, but that really hit my funny bone! ha ha! I
guess it's cause I can totally hear you two and see the party
happening! ha ha! You guys are the greatest!!
So, our week this week was a little bit crazy! We swapped our
preparation day last week to Thursday so that we could go to the
temple. So that kind of threw our week off, plus we did exchanges so
it was even more wacky! But, still so good! For exchanges I stayed
here and Sister Farnsworth came with me. Sister Decker went to Canton
with S Holmes. It was amazing to me to have the chance to teach with
another sister that has been out for a few months and see her teaching
style. S Farnsworth is like the worlds sweetest, most soft spoken
person. She is a powerful teacher!! Our day was full of lesson which I
was thankful for (And so was she!) Because she doesn't do very well
walking around a lot. By the end of the night her leg was killing her!
I felt just a little bad, but again very grateful that we had so many
appointments and hadn't been out contacting ALL day like S Decker and
I have been! :) Exchanges are always fun, but it is always nice to be
back in your own area with your own companion!
By the end of the week, our numbers were looking a little low like
they have been the last few weeks and I was feeling a little down. It
was frustrating to work so hard, and not see the success that I
wanted. As you know it was fast Sunday this weekend so S Decker and I
were talking about what we should fast for. We talked about different
people we are working with and some needs that they have, but as we
kept talking we felt like the biggest problem was: US! We felt like we
were lacking faith, confidence and the courage to work hard and expect
miracles. We decided that we would fast for US, and in turn that would
bless the people we are working with and everything that we do! It was
my turn to pray and as we knelt there together I poured out my heart!
I knew that this was what was holding us back, and I knew that I
couldn't break free from it on my own. It was one of those really
amazing experiences where you really FELT and KNOW that God is there
and heard that prayer and that he would answer it! Right then and
there I decided that I would do everything I could to make this
happen! Any prompting I would act on it, any thoughts I would share, I
would study, work and DO everything that I needed to because then I
would be worthy to claim the blessings and miracles that I was
POSITIVE God would send my way. Well, hold on folks, cause then the
miracles started pouring in!!!
1- We had received a referral earlier in the week for a Bryanna. She
referred herself through Mormon.org, when the elders went to meet with
her they found out she was moving in the next few days to U of M, so
they immediately sent her our way. We called her and actually met with
her that night! She is SO great! She told us, "I will do ANYTHING that
God tells me I need to do! Even if it's just, 'God says so!'" She is
totally golden!!! :) We invited her to come to church on Sunday and
she wasn't sure if she would be able to make it. But (Here is where
all of the miracle start to happen!) Sunday rolled around and she said
she was going to make it!!! We found her a ride and she showed up
Sunday morning in a car load of freshman girls! They all hit it off so
well!!! Bre totally ditched us during RS and went with these other
girls. She told us that she was so comfortable so felt like she was
right at home! And she was like, "I am DEFINITELY coming back here!
This was so great!" It was SO nice not to have to worry about finding
her friends. . . the whole ward just opened right up and took her in!
It was fantastic!!
2- Sunday morning we were studying and the phone started ringing. I
figured it was someone needing a ride, but didn't recognize the
number. Are you ready for this!?!?!? This guy called us and said,
"Hey! My name is Lila. I am a student at EMU. I met 2 ladies on campus
a FEW MONTHS AGO that gave me a card and invited me to come to church.
Do I have the right number??" It's a good thing that I was sitting on
the floor or I would have probably fallen off of my chair! Probably 1
in a million people ever call us when we give them cards! And this was
MONTHS ago! We haven't been to EMU in like 2 months! After recovering
a little I was ecstatic!! I told him we would find him a ride for
church TODAY if he could make it! He was so excited, he immediately
accepted! We called a member and sure enough, a few hours later there
he was! He really enjoyed church and once again the ward did so well
at fellow shipping him! He LOVED priesthood and had a really good
experience. We set up an appointment and are going to see him tomorrow
to teach him more! He was so so funny too! He was filling out a little
get to know you sheet and it had questions on it like, "Have you been
a member for less than a year?" He answered yes and I just smiled and
thought, "That's right!! ha ha! You will be soon!!" Then there was
another one that said something like, "Are you planning on serving a
mission in the next 2 years?" He looked at me, kind of smiled and
said, "I dunno, maybe! That might be kind of cool!" Again I just
smiled a little bigger and thought, "You have NO idea how cool that
would be!!" :) Ha ha! I'm really excited to see him tomorrow!
3- Last week when we met with Hunaid we had a rough lesson. We were
telling him about the new member lessons and how ward missionaries
usually teach those lessons. He was very upset and insisted that he
didn't want ANY BODY else to come to our meetings. It was such a silly
thing, but eventually we convinced him to let just one guy come. Well
Sunday when the Ward Missionary was there teaching, was the greatest
thing ever!! He is a recent convert himself and was able to really
relate to Hunaid and answer questions that we couldn't have answered!
At the end he was thankful that he let Han come, for which we were all
very grateful!! But man oh man! We were a little concerned about that
one! :)
These are just a few of the miracles we have seen in the last few
days! :) It's been so amazing to see the change it's made in Me as I
have made it a conscious effort to be more faithful, more confident
and more courageous!! I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father does hear
and will answer my prayers! This week has been such a testimony
builder! Now school is back in session and there were SO many people
out today!!! I loved it so much!!! Last night as we were out
contacting with this new focus of being faithful, confident and
courageous there were so many little miracles! I was talking to people
and saying things that Sister Bishop would never say! It definitely
wasn't me talking, but it was amazing to see and feel Heavenly Father
using me to do his work! This is the coolest thing ever!!! Ha ha! I
love being a missionary! :)
Well, family! I love you all SO very much! Hope that you all have a
fantastic week and know that I pray for you all of the time! :)
Lots and lots of love!
Sister Bishop
you all that: I HAVE THE GREATEST FAMILY EVER!!!!! Ha ha! I'm just
counting my blessings and of course you are all at the very top! :)
So, Transfer call are in AND. . . . We are both STAYING!!! Big
surprise, huh? Our district leader really had me going for a few
minutes and pretty much had me convinced that I was leaving! But right
as I was ready to burst into tears, he started to feel bad and decided
that he would repent! Ha ha! Man! I was so mad! LOL! I think he felt
really, really bad though! I am sending a tape this week cause I
didn't have any time to write letters, so Di you can watch for it and
then send it home so everyone else can hear all the fun little stories
too! :)
Sounds like you have all had a busy weekend! Matthew's baptism, Ben
going through the temple, Dad's toe surgery and everything else!
Sounds like a party and a half!!! Di- I seriously about peed my pants
when you told me about your girls night out plucking your eye brows!!
ha ha! I don't know why, but that really hit my funny bone! ha ha! I
guess it's cause I can totally hear you two and see the party
happening! ha ha! You guys are the greatest!!
So, our week this week was a little bit crazy! We swapped our
preparation day last week to Thursday so that we could go to the
temple. So that kind of threw our week off, plus we did exchanges so
it was even more wacky! But, still so good! For exchanges I stayed
here and Sister Farnsworth came with me. Sister Decker went to Canton
with S Holmes. It was amazing to me to have the chance to teach with
another sister that has been out for a few months and see her teaching
style. S Farnsworth is like the worlds sweetest, most soft spoken
person. She is a powerful teacher!! Our day was full of lesson which I
was thankful for (And so was she!) Because she doesn't do very well
walking around a lot. By the end of the night her leg was killing her!
I felt just a little bad, but again very grateful that we had so many
appointments and hadn't been out contacting ALL day like S Decker and
I have been! :) Exchanges are always fun, but it is always nice to be
back in your own area with your own companion!
By the end of the week, our numbers were looking a little low like
they have been the last few weeks and I was feeling a little down. It
was frustrating to work so hard, and not see the success that I
wanted. As you know it was fast Sunday this weekend so S Decker and I
were talking about what we should fast for. We talked about different
people we are working with and some needs that they have, but as we
kept talking we felt like the biggest problem was: US! We felt like we
were lacking faith, confidence and the courage to work hard and expect
miracles. We decided that we would fast for US, and in turn that would
bless the people we are working with and everything that we do! It was
my turn to pray and as we knelt there together I poured out my heart!
I knew that this was what was holding us back, and I knew that I
couldn't break free from it on my own. It was one of those really
amazing experiences where you really FELT and KNOW that God is there
and heard that prayer and that he would answer it! Right then and
there I decided that I would do everything I could to make this
happen! Any prompting I would act on it, any thoughts I would share, I
would study, work and DO everything that I needed to because then I
would be worthy to claim the blessings and miracles that I was
POSITIVE God would send my way. Well, hold on folks, cause then the
miracles started pouring in!!!
1- We had received a referral earlier in the week for a Bryanna. She
referred herself through Mormon.org, when the elders went to meet with
her they found out she was moving in the next few days to U of M, so
they immediately sent her our way. We called her and actually met with
her that night! She is SO great! She told us, "I will do ANYTHING that
God tells me I need to do! Even if it's just, 'God says so!'" She is
totally golden!!! :) We invited her to come to church on Sunday and
she wasn't sure if she would be able to make it. But (Here is where
all of the miracle start to happen!) Sunday rolled around and she said
she was going to make it!!! We found her a ride and she showed up
Sunday morning in a car load of freshman girls! They all hit it off so
well!!! Bre totally ditched us during RS and went with these other
girls. She told us that she was so comfortable so felt like she was
right at home! And she was like, "I am DEFINITELY coming back here!
This was so great!" It was SO nice not to have to worry about finding
her friends. . . the whole ward just opened right up and took her in!
It was fantastic!!
2- Sunday morning we were studying and the phone started ringing. I
figured it was someone needing a ride, but didn't recognize the
number. Are you ready for this!?!?!? This guy called us and said,
"Hey! My name is Lila. I am a student at EMU. I met 2 ladies on campus
a FEW MONTHS AGO that gave me a card and invited me to come to church.
Do I have the right number??" It's a good thing that I was sitting on
the floor or I would have probably fallen off of my chair! Probably 1
in a million people ever call us when we give them cards! And this was
MONTHS ago! We haven't been to EMU in like 2 months! After recovering
a little I was ecstatic!! I told him we would find him a ride for
church TODAY if he could make it! He was so excited, he immediately
accepted! We called a member and sure enough, a few hours later there
he was! He really enjoyed church and once again the ward did so well
at fellow shipping him! He LOVED priesthood and had a really good
experience. We set up an appointment and are going to see him tomorrow
to teach him more! He was so so funny too! He was filling out a little
get to know you sheet and it had questions on it like, "Have you been
a member for less than a year?" He answered yes and I just smiled and
thought, "That's right!! ha ha! You will be soon!!" Then there was
another one that said something like, "Are you planning on serving a
mission in the next 2 years?" He looked at me, kind of smiled and
said, "I dunno, maybe! That might be kind of cool!" Again I just
smiled a little bigger and thought, "You have NO idea how cool that
would be!!" :) Ha ha! I'm really excited to see him tomorrow!
3- Last week when we met with Hunaid we had a rough lesson. We were
telling him about the new member lessons and how ward missionaries
usually teach those lessons. He was very upset and insisted that he
didn't want ANY BODY else to come to our meetings. It was such a silly
thing, but eventually we convinced him to let just one guy come. Well
Sunday when the Ward Missionary was there teaching, was the greatest
thing ever!! He is a recent convert himself and was able to really
relate to Hunaid and answer questions that we couldn't have answered!
At the end he was thankful that he let Han come, for which we were all
very grateful!! But man oh man! We were a little concerned about that
one! :)
These are just a few of the miracles we have seen in the last few
days! :) It's been so amazing to see the change it's made in Me as I
have made it a conscious effort to be more faithful, more confident
and more courageous!! I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father does hear
and will answer my prayers! This week has been such a testimony
builder! Now school is back in session and there were SO many people
out today!!! I loved it so much!!! Last night as we were out
contacting with this new focus of being faithful, confident and
courageous there were so many little miracles! I was talking to people
and saying things that Sister Bishop would never say! It definitely
wasn't me talking, but it was amazing to see and feel Heavenly Father
using me to do his work! This is the coolest thing ever!!! Ha ha! I
love being a missionary! :)
Well, family! I love you all SO very much! Hope that you all have a
fantastic week and know that I pray for you all of the time! :)
Lots and lots of love!
Sister Bishop
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