New car, african food, lots of other good stuff!

May 7, 2018

Hello everyone!! It was another beautiful week in Regina. Spring is FINALLY Here!! Which means so are the allergies:( That's okay though, I would much rather deal with those rather than -40:)

This week was a bit of a trying week for us. But it was still pretty good! 

On Monday night we had a lesson scheduled for 7:00.. We got there and they werent home. We texted them and they said they would be there at 7:30. So we decided to do some tracting while we waited. At 7:30 we got another text and said they had to push it to 8. So we continued tracting. I was a little frustrated but it was okay. Well during that half hour we knocked on the door and a 16 year old girl answered. At first she couldnt hear us becuase her music was so loud but once she turned the music off she answered and let us in! We shared a little bit with her and asked if we could come back. She said that she would talk to her mom! We were pretty excited. It was a miracle that the lesson we had scheduled had to reschedule on us. It's pretty amazing to see how the Lord works. The only bummer is that she texted us a few days later and said her and her mom didnt want us to come back. They had done some research online and said "mormonism" wasnt for them.. That's okay though, I think that we were led there for a reason to prepare her for future missionaries!!

We also got a new car this week!!! So that was super exciting. They closed one of the out lying areas that is around the city so we got the car that those elders had. When we got it though it was SOOO dirty. It had been on a reservation for 2 or 3 transfers and I dont think they cleaned it once. We may have to wash it a few times before it's clean again! 

On Thursday we got to be in a tripan with Sister Blaine. She was companions with sister peacock. She is now done training so she got a new companion this week. I love her!! It was fun to have her spend the day with us while she was waiting for her new companion. 

So the past couple weeks we have had quite a few people to work with and teach. Not a lot that are progressing quickly but they have been interested in meeting with us so it has been good... This week we got 3 texts from 3 different people telling us that they didnt want to meet with us:( That was pretty sad. So now we don't have a lot of people we are working with but I know that it will pick up again soon! It always does:) 

Saturday night we had supper with Ishmael.. He is the guy who sister gatten and I found and he got baptized a couple months ago! He is from West Africa. He made us African food... SO MUCH FOOD!! He just kept piling it on our plates telling us to eat. It was very filling food too. Rice, soup with some sort of meat in it and then what they call "Fufu".. It looks kinda like mashed potatoes but it is basically water and wheat mixed together. I was a little nervous to eat it but it was actually pretty good. Just very filling! We could hardly walk out we were so full! He is so awesome though! 

I loved this scripture in my studies this week.. I thought it was very fitting for the past few days SIster Jackson and I have had.. 

Alma 26:27 

"Now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success. 

The Lord is looking for you

April 30, 2018

Happy Monday!! I can't believe it is the last day of April. I am not sure where the whole month went! This week was pretty good. It was a bit of a slower week but that's okay. Hopefully we were able to do some good and plant some seeds! 

We had interviews with President Craig so that was great! We only have one more full transfer with him so that is pretty sad. 

We met a girl named Ceinwen at the University of Regina a few weeks ago and we got to teach her again this week. We also met a guy named Chris on a street we were tracting a few weeks ago. He was outside walking so we stopped to talk to him. At first he seemed a bit stand offish to us but we kept talking to him and he opened up and seemed a bit interested. We stopped by his house a few days later and he was surprised that we actually came. We have been able to teach him a few times over the phone. He doesnt want to meet with us in person... I think because he is worried what his family will say. Hopefully that doesnt cause us problems in the future. Anyway, we invited him to be baptized over the phone. That was a little weird but we made it work. He accepted the date and seemed pretty excited about it. But he still needs to talk to his family about it. So we are praying everything goes well with that.. Also funny side note. He said that he actually tried to baptize himself a few years ago. I had never heard of that before so I thought it was pretty comical! 

We did some service for a less active in our ward. She wanted to take down this wall in her house so we went over and hammered at it. It was a little scary but we got it down! 

Another funny story.. So yesterday we were doing some stop bys of former investigators and we were by the university. A few weeks ago we tracted into a guy who wanted a book of mormon so we decided to stop by. We knocked on the door and his roommate answered. We told him who we were and that we were looking for Sam. He said, "Oh you're looking for Sam let me go get him" and ran up the stairs. Then all of the sudden we hear him yelling. "SAM, THE LORD IS LOOKING FOR YOU. GET UP". And he does this like 10 times. It was pretty funny. Finally when the guy came down I could barely control my laughter enough to talk to him. I don't think he thought it was very funny. Hopefully he will read the Book of Mormon! 

We got our transfer calls today. I will be staying here in Regina for another 6 weeks with Sister Jackson. By the time I leave I will have seen all the season here! 

This week I was reading the magazine that the church put out on President Monson's life. At the end were quotes of his. I loved this one! 

"As the world moves further and further away from the principles and guidelines given to us by a loving Heavenly Father, we will stand out from the crowd because we are different. .. Those things which make us different from most of the world also provide us with that light and that spirit which will shine in an increasingly dark world." I know this to be true! Especially as a missionary. You definitely stand out from everyone else. But I know that it's not only the missionaries that stand out. As members of the church we are all disciples of Jesus Christ! We are ALL examples to the world!! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Spring is Here

April 23, 2018

HELLO!!! This week was another great week!

It is finally starting to warm up here. I didn't wear leggings and boots for the very first time yesterday! It is still pretty windy and definitely not summer weather yet but it has been great! Hopefully it stays like this and doesnt snow again:) 

We also got to go the temple again this week. It was AMAZING!! I love the temple so much! Especially as a missionary. It is a very cool experience. It will probably be the last time I will get to go on my mission so that is sad but we will see! Maybe I will serve in regina again before I go home. 

I hit my 10 month mark this week. THat is also super crazy. Everyone always says time goes by fast on a mission but you don't actually realize or believe it until you are experiencing it. Super crazy!! 

We were also able to find some new people to work with this past week. We have been going through our area book and transferring all the records into our phones. It has been quite the process but it's good to see the former investigators. Then we can go stop by there house or call them and sometimes they want to meet with us again. Super neat! Also we have found people around where the formers live so that is cool too! The Lord works in wonderful ways sometimes! This week in my studies I found a scripture that I loved! It's in John 13:15

"For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done unto you." 

Also I read a talk by President Uchtdorf.. "Discipleship requires our willingness to swim upstream when needed." 

I though they went hand in hand. As disciples of Jesus Christ we are to follow His example. It is not always easy when we live in a world with many temptations around us.. But we can remember that it was not easy for Jesus Christ either. He set the perfect example for us so that we could have someone to follow and turn to when we are having a hard time. I love this gospel so much and I am so happy to be sharing it with the people of Canada!!! Love and miss you all! 

Listen to the Spirit

April 16, 2016

We had another good week here in Regina! Not a lot happened, but I have a couple stories to share!! 

So last week on pday we were asking some of the missionaries for advice with our car. The key broke so everytime we unlock it manually the alarm goes off. They told us they didn't know how to fix it but they asked us if we had checked our blinker fluid lately. I was like, "What is blinker fluid? I have never heard of that." They played it off really well though and had me convinced that we were supposed to change our blinker fluid every 3 months. They told us that our vehicle coordinator had a record of it so we should call him. Of course we did and asked him if we needed to change our blinker fluid.. We soon realized that there is no such thing as blinker fluid. Such a cruel joke:) 

We had zone conference this week which was so great! It was kinda long because we got a lot of training on how to use the area book app and pretty overwhelming. We are slowly figuring it out though. I am still trying to decided if I like having the smart phones. It makes some things easier but also part of me wishes we still had flip phones! 

Monday evening we saw some miracles!! We were stopping by a former investigator we found in our area book. It didnt have an exact address so we just kinda guessed. Turns out it was the wrong house and that lady that answered the door talked to us for an hour about how we needed to think about what we were doing and not do it basically. But then she was praying and saying how grateful she was that we came. It was very confusing. She told us it would be no use to knock on her neighbors doors.. As we were leaving we were going to go to another street but I felt pretty strongly that we should just stay. partly because I wanted to prove her wrong:) But also we soon realized that it was the spirit telling  me to! The next house we knocked on was the former we were looking for. Then a few houses later we found someone else! Such a cool experience and a reminder to always listen to the spirit!! 

Last week we had a supper appointment at a members house. It wasnt planned but she asked us at church if we had anywhere to eat and felt strongly to invite us over. We didnt really think much of it but were grateful to go! She had us help her peel some potatoes and she had to teach us how because we had no idea what we were doing. Later in the week we were at someones house and all she had to eat was potatoes but she needed help peeling them. Good thing we were just taught how!! We were able to help her peel the potatoes so she had something to eat. So I am glad that the member acted on the prompting she felt too or else we wouldnt have learned how to peel potatoes! Hopefully that made sense!! 

President Craig shared a scripture with us at zone conference that I really liked. 

1 John 2:3-6 

"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." 

He talked about how important it is that we are obedient to the commandments and for missionaries to the white handbook and preach my gospel, not just because we feel obligated or guilty if we don't, but because we love the Savior. We are exactly obedient because WE LOVE HIM!! That is a theme we have learned a lot as a mission and something I will take with me the rest of my life!! 

Love you all so much! Have an amazing week:) 

Pic.. it was national grilled cheese day this week so we made grilled cheese! 

Well it ever be Spring

April 9, 2018

Hello from Canada!! It has been another very cold week here. The weather has been really tricking us. It will get "warm" (Like -3 degrees) for a few days and we think that spring is coming and then it will be back to -20. It is supposed to warm up over the next few days but then we will be getting a snow storm again on thursday. At least that is what everyone keeps telling us. I am beginning to doubt that it will ever get warm! Maybe if everyone prays for spring it will come? That is what we will commit all of the people we teach this week to do:) 

Besides the cold it was a pretty good week here! Not a lot happened. We were able to find another chinese family to teach! That was cool. We also found a family from the philippines. And some canadians!! We taught our investigator Leah a few times this week. She was doing really good and told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true! Then we brought up the word of wisdom and she kind of freaked out.. She told us that she couldn't get baptized anymore:( We are hoping that she will have a change of heart! We won't give up yet:) She also didn't make it to church so we were pretty bummed about that. We found her a ride and everything and then she told us she couldn't come. Hopefully this week!! 

We went on exchanges this week and I got to go with Sister Patac from the Philippines! Her best friend was companions with Sister Anhder in New Zealand! Such a small world!! It was a good day and I learned so much from her! 

That's about all that happened this week. Sorry this email is super short and not too exciting.. Hopefully I will have some more exciting things to write about next week! 

A scripture I read this week and really liked was in Jacob 2:18 "But before ye seek for riches, see ye for the kingdom of God." I know that as we keep our eyes single to God and focus on eternal matters more than worldly matters God will bless us more than we know!! Sometimes it's hard to remember the things that really matter when there is so much going on in the world around us. Seek the kingdom of God first and you will be blessed!!! Love you ALL!! 

General Conference

April 2, 2018

What a crazy week!!! I will start off with a story..

On Friday this week Sister Jackson and had just finished a lesson and were about to go tracting with some time we had before supper. Both of us had to go to the washroom pretty bad so we stopped at the gas station before heading to the street we were planning to go to. I went into the washroom and handed Sister Jackson my coat which had the keys to the car in it so I didnt have to carry it in with me. When I walked out of the washroom Sister Jackson was no where to be found.. I panicked because she had the phone, and the keys. So there I was, in a gas station with no phone, no keys and no companion. I brainstormed and quickly rushed outside and sure enough, the car was also gone. I decided to walk to the closest members house which was about a mile away. When I got there we looked up the mission office's phone number and called them to see what I should do. At this point I was bawling because I didn't know where she had gone or why.. It was quite stressful. Luckily our cars have tracking devices on them so we were able to find where she was and get a hold of her within a few hours. Turns out the stress of the mission was just too much and she was trying to head home. We talked to her and she was able to come back and all is well now:)........

april fools!! 

Haha none of that actually happened, I thought it would be fun to play a little joke though even though I am a day late!

This week was actually pretty good! We were able to meet with Leah, the girl who came to church last week. She has had a rough past 6 months. She got into the wrong crowd and was headed down the wrong path but I believe she has a sincere desire to change! I am excited to see how she progresses!

General conference was amazing!!! So many exciting changes made. I think my favorite part about conference was the solemn assembly on Saturday morning. As they announced President Nelson as the prophet and showed his face on the screen I had such an overwhelming witness from the spirit that he is truly called of God. I am so grateful for him and his guidance!! Also my mission president, President Craig got called to the quorum of the seventy. Pretty exciting! He has almost no break once he gets released as our mission president in July!! 

Some of the things I loved about general conference was the theme to seek and follow the guidance of the spirit! As well as the need we have to constantly strive to become more like Christ. Sister Bingham said, "What a better way to prepare to meet Jesus Christ than to become like Him." I also loved the talk about love. I can't remember who gave it but he said, "Pure love is the true sign of every disciple of Jesus Christ." 

I am so excited to be able to go back and reread/learn more from the talks that we were given. What an amazing opportunity we have to receive revelation for our day!! As well as personal revelation! 

I hope you all have an amazing week!! 

Crazy Week

March 26, 2018

Crazy week!! Here's what happened..

-We had more chinese food! and met more of Li-Li's friends. They are so cute

-We decided to stop by Kendall's house and we got to meet her husband and see her other daughter again! They are super nice! We left a book of mormon and are hoping to be able to teach them. We will see how that goes. 

-I was in a tri-pan two days this week! On wednesday a sister that was headed home spent the evening with sister gatten and I. That was super neat. I learned so much from her!! Her name was sister davis and she is from west jordan!

-Then Sister gatten left bright and early thursday morning so I spent the day with the STL's.. Sister Gatten and Sister Stokes. That was fun! it was weird not to have an actual companion. I just got bounced around while waiting for my new companion to come! 

-My new companion's name is Sister Jackson! She is from Layton, Utah! She is super sweet. I will send a couple pics! 

-We saw so many miracles this past weekend!! We met a lady from Sri Lanka a few weeks ago. We were actually introduced to her by the guy who got baptized last week! We taught her and two of her kids a lesson this week. The lesson was a bit rough. We were teaching about the priesthood and baptism and she got a little defensive when she said she needed to get baptized again. I think Sister Jackson was a little nervous haha. But as the lesson went further her heart was softened by the spirit and she was more open to the idea of baptism and meeting with us. That was a very cool miracle.

-Sunday morning at about 11:30 we were just about to eat lunch when we received a text from mormon.org missionaries saying someone was going to call us for a ride to church. Sure enough, 30 seconds later we received a call from a young lady. She said that her dad used to be a member and she wanted to get involved. So we frantically called a few members and were able to find her a ride to church! She came and had such a great experience. I think she was a bit overwhelmed going to 3 hours of church and knowing nothing about it but she definitely felt the spirit. I know that she needed to be there. She told us that her dad recently passed away at 50 years old in a car accident and that she has just been looking for something more in her life. She is golden!! We are hoping to be able to meet with her this week! Such a neat experience and a testimony builder that God is preparing people to hear the gospel! 

I love being a missionary SOOO much!! I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve the Lord. I know the church is TRUE!! I just wanted to share a scripture that I read this week in my studies. It is so powerful and so true if we apply it to ourselves!

2 Nephi 22:2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation." 

- I hope you will all watch general conference this weekend and look for what the Lord is trying to tell you! Go in with a question or something you want to learn and I know that He will answer!! Love you all!!!! Have an amazing week!