The Church is TRUE

October 16, 2017
Good week!! Except for it is starting to get colder and I haven't let myself wear tights yet.. I just don't want to except it. Last week for pday we went to a corn maze! Usually it is not open on Monday's but we got lucky because it was Canadian Thanksgiving! 

So our mission has the goal of 204 baptisms in the year 2017 and the year is winding down so we are trying to do everything we can to reach that goal! We were going through our area books to find former investigators that we could try teaching again and we found a few people! We went and stopped by one of them and unfortunately they had moved.. but we still talked to the guy that lived there! He said we could probably come back. Then he texted us the next day and said he really liked the pamplet and wanted to learn more! Unfortunately he lives in a town that we only have enough miles to go to once a week so we havent been able to meet with him yet but hopefully soon!! 

We also started teaching a lady who is super cool! Her son just started school at U of U. We invited her to be baptized and she said she would work towards it.. Then the next day she texted us and said she wasn't ready for such a big commitment. She will change her mind though when she realizes the church is TRUE!!:) 

One of the members of the branch took us out to lunch this week at this pretty nice restaurant. It was really good and I ate way too much!! Then the next evening a part member couple took us out to the same restaurant.. so I ate a lot again:( It was really good though!!!

We tracted into a lot of older people this week. I like older people because they let us in without realizing who we are.. Then they  tell us that they have their own religion, but at least they let us in! Especially when it is freezing! 

We had a lot of appointments fall through so that was a bummer. Hopefully this week will be better though! Overall it was a pretty good week though! 

Favorite scripture of the week: John 8:12 "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." 

There is no need for us to walk in darkness when we have Christ to follow!! Love you all!

Is your dad named Bruce?

October 9th 2017

Hey everyone!! This week was pretty good! It has been a little weird trying to get used to a new companion. Sister Stokes and I were very used to each others routines/teaching styles so it'll be different to get used to someone else! Sister Knight and I have gotten along great so far though. She is a lot quieter and more reserved than Sister Stokes but she is super nice and down to earth! Plus she has a lot of experience since she has been out for over a year! I am super excited to be able to learn from her.. and she loves to run so she will whip me into shape:) Pretty soon I will be ready for the 2019 marathon;) Shout out to my amazing family for all running it this weekend! And especially my super star mom for making it 20 years and getting into the Hall of Fame. I am so proud!

Not a lot of teaching this week, I had kinda a crazy experience though!.. We knocked on this house and inside was a younger couple. They let us in and were super nice and friendly and open to listening. We talked a little bit about the Book of Mormon and the guy told us about how he had been a drug addict from when he was 16 until he was 23. Finally he was able to quit and get married and have a family. It was cool to hear his story. He has been clean for 4 years! He said someone gave him a book of mormon when he was in jail once but he didnt read too much of it. They were very curious about missions and such but not super interested in reading the book of mormon and having us come back to teach them:( They said that they wouldnt change because their families would look at them weird if they did. Maybe that will change though! So anyway, we were in the middle of talking about what we as missionaries do and the guy looks at me and says, "Is your dad's name Bruce?" I was shocked and said, "Yeah! Do you know my dad?!" (Thinking he has looked at my name tag or something and recognized the last name. Then he told me how some guy that was doing sort of the same thing as us stayed at his house in Roseau, Minnesota when he was a teenager. His name was Bruce and I guess he looks just like me. What are the chances?! I though that was pretty crazy!!! I told him that my dad went on a mission when he was my age but he wouldnt have been in minnesota. It was so weird. Maybe it was the spirit?! 

Sister Stokes was telling me about this cool analogy this week. She said how our lives are like a piano. We have white keys and black keys, (good and bad days or times), but all of the keys make music. And when you combine the white and black keys you have a beautiful song! So even though we have trials in our lives, those trials still can make beautiful music. We are are able to learn so much from those hard times even though they aren't always fun! Remember we are NEVER alone! Christ is always inviting us and reaching out his arms. We just have to take that step to Him. He knows how we feel! Love you all and hope you have an awesome week:) 

Staying in the States

October 2, 2017

Nothing too exciting happened this week.. We got transfer calls today and I will be staying here in Warroad for another 6 weeks at least! I am excited, but very very nervous to be the only one who knows the people and the area. My new companion will be Sister Knight from Smithfield!! Super cool! I'm excited for what this next transfer will bring. 

Tuesday we went to district meeting in International Falls. After the meeting we rode on a boat to a little island that this lady lived on. She fed us lunch! It was super cool. Usually missionaries are not allowed to ride on boats but we got permission! It was cool! 

We helped a lady in our apartment move. Her daughter is actually a convert to the church and so is her nephew. Her nephew was taught by Dayson Chamber's brother-in-law. I guess he opened Warroad! Super crazy connection. Small world!! 

We went to find a less-active the other day. We knocked on his door and he let us in. He was an older man living in an assisted living/elderly apartment building. We started talking to him and asking questions so we could get to know him a little bit and hear his story. He proceeded to tell us that he is not religious and never has been. He told us that he got baptized when he was in the navy once but it was just for something to do. And he was DEFINITELY NOT baptized mormon.... Hmmm. We were confused, and I think he was too:) Not sure what to do in that situation! 

General conference was AWESOME!! So many good talks! One of my favorites was Elder Stevenson's about spiritual eclipse.Some of my favorite things he said were.. "Small and insignificant matters can block the light of hte gospel when drawn too close. Don't let life's distractions eclipse spiritual light."  

What did you guys learn? Any favorites!? I would love to hear!! I am super excited to be able to read and study them over again over the next couple months and I hope that you do too!! Love you all. Have an awesome week:) 

Frank's eyes are closed. That's the best picture we got:( 

The little boy is names after Tayli's boyfriend's brother in law who opened warroad! We played with those balloons for a while. He just kept rubbing my head trying to make them staticy and stick to the wall