BEYOND GRATEFUL!!

January 7, 2018

Hello family and friends! What an amazing week it was here in Canada!!

So Tuesday was New Years and like I said last week we did a mission wide Book of Mormon power read! I started and finished the whole Book of Mormon in one day!! I think I read for a total of 14 1/2 hours. But surprisingly I never really got sick of it! Probably because I was reading the Book of Mormon so God blessed me:) What an amazing experience that was!

We also had a crazy experience where we were so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost to warn and protect us from danger. I will have to tell you about it in person! 

We saw a lot of miracles and were able to find two new people to teach this week! We were praying so hard that we could find 2 people, set one new baptismal date and have one person at sacrament and the Lord answered our prayers! We saw so many miracles and it was so amazing!! 

Plus Ana is doing so well and still on date to be baptized on Feb 2. She came to church this week and loved it! We were so grateful for that as well. She is so amazing and truly becoming converted to the gospel. All thanks to the power of the Book of Mormon! We are really sad though because we found out today that they are closing this area for sisters. There are 6 sisters going home this week and only 1 sister coming out so they had to close several areas. It is really sad but we are hoping and praying that she will still progress well with the elders.

What an amazing year and a half this has been. I am beyond grateful for the decision I made to come on a mission. It has been the greatest experience and I know that I will treasure it for the rest of my life. I am so grateful for all the people that I have met here. They have all truly touched my heart and changed my life! I am grateful for all of you and for the support you have given me and prayers you have said for me and the people I have taught. I could not have done it if it weren't for such supportive people back home!
I am so grateful for this gospel. It has truly changed my life. I know that it is true with all my heart and I know that this is the Lord's work. I am so grateful I have had the amazing opportunity to be a missionary for Him and His church. I know that He leads and guides this church and that He works through our beloved prophet President Nelson. I am grateful for modern revelation!! I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I have felt so many times the strengthening and enabling power as well as the cleansing and healing power it has. I am grateful for our Savior and for all that He sacrificed on our behalf. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows us perfectly and has a plan for us. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and for the knowledge that it gives us. Especially the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. I do not know where I would be without that amazing book. I am grateful that the gospel was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and for the many sacrifices him and the early saints made so that we could have all that we have today. I know that this is all true!! I LOVE my Savior and His gospel more than anything else in the world! The past year and half went by way too quickly, it feels like a dream, but I wouldn't trade any of it for anything! I am so sad to leave Canada and all the amazing people and experiences but I am so excited to see all of you!! I could probably go on forever but I will end it there:) 

I love you all and will see you soon!

Love, Sister Godderidge

saying goodbye to members and people we are teaching

mini golf for the last pday!!
It got warm enough to not wear coats this week!! That was also a miracle!!

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2018

Happy New Year!! It is so crazy that today is the last day of 2018. The year seems like a dream! What an amazing one it has been though! 

We had a great Christmas holiday here in Saskatoon. Seeing family is always good and we got to spend some time with the other sisters in the city! Plus we got fed by some members. 

The day after our Christmas sister avendano and I forgot to unplug our car when we were backing up and we broke the cord to our block heater:( that was a bummer. THe second time it has happened on my mission! You think I would learn. We didnt even realize it had happened until we got back to our apartment and we couldnt find our extension cord so we thought someone had stolen it. Then we walked to the front of the car and realized what we had done. We were able to get some help from a member and get it fixed though!! 

We also had a couple really good lessons with our friend Ana! She is progressing really well!! She has been reading and praying every single day! It is so awesome to see! Unfortunately she hasnt made it to church yet but we are really praying and hoping for this week! 

We were able to have supper with some members from Russia this week, the Samuylovs. Sister Avendano and I were giving the spiritual thought before we left and we decided in our planning that morning to talk about the Book of Mormon. We showed a mormon message by Elder Holland that is really powerful and then were each able to bear our testimonies of it. We wanted to invite them to write their testimonies in a book and give it out to someone and as we were extending the invitation Sister Samuylov started crying. She had already been wanting to give a Book of Mormon to one of her friends and this seemed like the perfect time since we were asking her to do it! It was really cool to see the spirit work. She gave her friend the book and he told her that he would read it! Miracles!! 

I read one of my favorite scriptures in Moroni 6:8 this week.. 

"But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven."

I love this so much. We are promised that we will be forgiven as often as we need!! That is the beauty of the gospel and the Atonement. The Lord doesnt ask us to be perfect. All he asks is that we try with real intent. I have experienced this forgiveness and I know it is real! I love the gospel and I love that we get as many chances as we need!

Since it is New years day and also it is going to be freezing tomorrow we are doing a Book of Mormon power read in the mission! President Hitchcock has invited us all to start and finish the Book of Mormon in one day!! I am so excited for this wonderful opportunity. I hope that I can do  it!! If you dont have anything to do tomorrow then you should do it too:) 

Love you all, have an amazing week!! 

Love, Sister Godderidge

Christmas with the Kerners

Christmas with the sisters
our broken cord:( 

old picture with the chens from waverley

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2018

It was a week full of miracles! Hopefully I can remember all that happened! 

We had exchanges and I got to go with Sister Bailey. I just love her so much and was able to learn so much from her!! We will definitely be good friends for life:) We also saw lots of miracles and were able to find people for Sister Avendano and I to teach! It was awesome!! 

We also had interviews with President Hitchcock so we got to see him and Sister Hitchcock this week! I love both of them too! I have learned so much from them and their examples of faith, love, and dedication. I am so very grateful! 

We were able to find people to teach this week which was such a miracle. We also were able to set baptismal dates with a couple of them! Ana is from El Salvador and her son was a member of the church and served a mission before he passed away. I definitely thing he is on the other side helping us out! That was a really cool miracle.

We also met another member from Mexico who lived in provo for a bit but stopped coming to church when he moved here. We were trying to find someone that lived in his house but met him instead so that was cool! Hopefully we can get him back to church!

I made cookies this week and we decided to use them in our finding to spread some christmas cheer. The sisters in the other ward even helped with a pun.. "Feeling CRUMBY? Let us CHIP in" hahaha. 

Yesterday we felt inspired to go to this specific area because we had some time to do finding before supper. The first door we knocked on this guy answered and was very excited to see us. At first I thought that he probably was expecting someone else so he would tell us to leave but he didnt! He welcomed us in and said that he used to live in SLC and had friends who were members. His girlfriend was also there and they gave us some spring rolls! They were not interested in meeting with us or learning about the church but it was still such a tender mercy! 

Did everyone hear the news that they are allowing sisters to wear pants now?? That might make it a bit warmer haha! 

This week I hit my 18 month mark so that was exciting!! I cant even believe it has been that long. It just feels like a dream! 

I hope you all have such a wonderful Christmas. I am so grateful to be a missionary at such a special time of year. I love the Light the World video for this week. 

"Wise men followed Him. Fisherman followed Him. Multitudes followed Him. The blind, the sick, the sinner, the sorrowful followed Him. With every step their faith grew brighter. As you follow Him, His light will light your faith." 

Such a very simple, yet perfect message. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas season I think there is no better way than to strive to become like Him. I know this is exactly what He would want. And not just this time of year but ALL year round!!! I am so grateful for all of you and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!! 

Hopefully it's not too long haha Tell everyone I love them!! 

Hello from Canada:) I hope that you are having a wonderful Christmas Eve party!! I can't be there in person to say this but just imagine that Britni is me for a minute. I am so grateful for this Christmas season that we have to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. What a wonderful time it is to spend time with families and show how much we love each other. I am so beyond grateful for the most wonderful gift that we have ever received, our Savior Jesus Christ. As a missionary for His church I have felt His love for me and for all of the people in the world. I know that it is through Him that we can experience our greatest joys. We can truly change and become the people that He needs us to be. We don't have to feel alone because He is there for us. It is because of Him that we can see our loved ones again and live with each other forever!! I know that all of this is true because I have experienced these things and gained a strong testimony of them over the past 18 months. I am so grateful for this opportunity and will treasure this time that I have forever!! I know that this gospel is true and I am so grateful to be able to share it with the people here at this time. I love you all and miss you too! I hope you have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

Love, Sister Godderidge

pday bowling!

exchanges!

Believe

December 17, 2018

Hey all!! THis week was a good one. Here are some updates..

On monday evening we taught a lesson to a couple from Ecuador. Sister Avendano taught the whole thing in spanish and it was super cool! 

We had a few members text us this week and feed us unexpectedly so that was a miracle:) 

On Saturday night we went carolling with the missionaries in our district and invited people to the special christmas service this week. I was amazing to see how much happier people were to see us when we were singing christmas songs. I love Christmas!! 

Funny story of the week.. Sister Avendano has been trying really hard to pronounce my name. Everytime she says it, it comes out as Sister Garbage. It is super funny!! Usually she just avoids saying my name hahaha. 

We had zone conference in Regina this week and it was so great!! We drove down on Tuesday morning and then came back on Wednesday morning. The whole theme of the conference was about believing. Believing in ourselves, our areas, our mission, the Lord, etc. It was really great!! THen we got to watch the Polar Express which is also about Believing. It was super cute! Sister Hitchcock brought out hot chocolate to all of us when the scene for the hot chocolate came on. I love her!   

Sister Hitchcock also gave a really good training portion and she shared a cute video for the new primary song, "I'll Be What I Believe." I had heard about this song but hadnt actually heard it yet. I loved it so much and I really loved the message behind it. I think a lot of times we say we believe in something but it's so important to act like you believe it! We can't just say we believe in the gospel, we have to LIVE the gospel! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  

Love, Sister Godderidge

carolling!
my cute companion

zone conference!! 

One of the pictures is some of the elders and one sister that came out at the same time I did

I love Joseph Smith

December 10, 2018

t was a bit of a slower week here. Not a lot happened. But things will definitely pick up this week!! We did a lot of finding this week. It was super cold but super good. We found quite a few potentials! We had a poster in our car that said Light the World on it. It was from a booth that the missionaries set up at the University here this past transfer. We decided that we would try to use it this week while we were finding to try to get people's attention and make them want to talk to us. The only issue was that it was super big and we are both pretty small so we looked kinda funny. It was hard not to laugh! But people did seem a bit more interested so that was good! 

The down side of the week was that Sister Avendano got a sick so that slowed us down a bit. After a lot of day/nyquil though she is feeling a bit better. I feel like in the winter you just always have a constant cold here! 

We had our ward christmas party and that was fun!! There were some nonmembers and less-actives there so that was great. Plus it was a great supper! We got a bunch of left overs as well so that is a blessing. Sister Avendano and I eat rice and quesadilllas almost everyday so it will be good to switch things up a bit haha. Sister Avendano is a great cook though so I am super blessed! 

President Hitchcock asked that we all watch Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration at the end of our days this week in preparation for zone conference. So Sister Avendano and I did it this past week! Wow did my appreciation for him grow so much. It was a good reminder to me of how much he went through so that we could have the Book of Mormon and gospel today. And not only him but all of the early saints. Their testimonies and strength just amaze me!! It makes me so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who helped them and guided them so that we could have all that we have today! I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that he sacrificed so much for us! I am beyond grateful for this gospel and for the joy that it has brought to my life!! I am so excited to get to share it with more people this week! Love you all and I hope you have a great week as well! 

Love, Sister Godderidge

We got our christmas tree up!! This is the only christmas decor we have which is super sad but I love it still!! 

Sister Avendano cooking us food:)

Sister Utsch and I at transfers last week! That transfer with her went so fast! 

Light the world!

By Small and Simple means are great things brought to pass!

December 3, 2018

What a busy week with transfers this past week! It was super sad to say goodbye to all the amazing people in Winnipeg! I love them so much but I know there is a reason I am in Saskatoon! I am excited to see what this next transfer will bring. 

On Tuesday evening the elders and us decided to last minute put together a light the world fireside to introduce it to the members and get them excited.. We only had about 5 members show up but that is okay! President and Sister Hitchcock came for the cookies afterwards so it was still good, and it got me excited for Light the World! 

On Wednesday evening sister utsch and I had some time to do some finding. It was super snowing and had been snowing all day long! Anyway, as we were going from house to house we see a cop driving up and down the street. Eventually he stopped us and asked what we were doing. We calmly replied that we were missionaries just going through the neighborhood and he said okay. I guess someone had called the cops on us because they thought we were trying to break into houses! That was a first haha. 

Wednesday evening we also got to go and have supper at the mission home with the new missionaries. There was only one sister coming in so perks of serving in the same ward as the assistants we got to go to the dinner and have her stay with us at our apartment her first night so she could have a companion! It was fun to get to meet her! She is from St George. Their plane was super delayed so they got in really late but we still had dinner and such!! Then the next morning we went back for breakfast! It was a good way to end my last few days in Waverley! 

On Thursday we started the long drive to Saskatoon. We drove 6 hours to regina and then stayed the night there. That was super weird but fun to be back there even if it was only for a few hours! Then on Friday morning we drove a few more hours and made it to Saskatoon! 

I am excited to be serving here for the next 6 weeks! It seems like a pretty good place and all the members are very welcoming! My new companion is Sister Avendano. She was born in Mexico but came from Edmonton. She is super sweet. And her english is coming along really well! The reason for my heading this week is because she is short like me! They decided to put the two shortest sisters together haha, President Hitchcock has a great sense of humor sometimes! We are going to do great things though just like the scripture says!

I was reminded of the importance of reading the Book of Mormon every single day this week. With the breakfast and driving all day on thursday and then also getting up to drive on friday this week I was not able to have time for my personal studies and missed reading from the Book of Mormon. These shouldn't be excuses and I definitely learned how important it is to read from it daily no matter what. I was having a harder time over the next few days and I realized a large part was probably because I had not made time to study the scriptures for a few days. My spirit was feeling very weak. So I am very determined to never let that happen again! It was a great lesson to me of how easy it is to slip out of habits but how important it is to not!! I know that the Book of Mormon can be a huge source of strength for us in our daily lives so I hope that each of us make time to read it DAILY! 

I am also super excited for Light the World and I hope you will all participate. Sorry for the super long emails. I keep telling myself they will be shorter but they never are. So if you don't read it that is okay:) I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week full of Lighting the World!

Love, Sister Godderidge

decorating the office for christmas!

dinner at the mission home

the BEST DISTRICT EVER!!!

Road trip to Regina, we had a car full!!

emailing

some of my favorite members from waverley