Book of Mormon

From email of October 26, 2009: The annual Fall heat wave rolled through this week so we were enjoying not having to wear a coat. The leaves are just over peak now so their colors aren't as brilliant as they were before. They are turning more of a dull, rusty color. I guess I'd better get out there and take some more pictures before they all fall off! We've been having a blast raking up the leaves for the members and investigators. When we tell them we LOVE to rake leaves, they give us a funny look. We just explain that we don't really have leaves out West so it's fun for us to rake them. They gladly turn over the chore to us.

Last P-Day was part two of Heublein Tower. We had hoped that the leaves would be more colorful this time around, but there wasn't much difference. We were worried that the weather wouldn't permit us to go up because of a huge storm that rolled through on Sunday. But Monday was a perfectly beautiful day with no cloud in sight! Such a blessing!

I'm always amazed how the Lord prepares people to receive the gospel. We picked up a new investigator this week, Veronica, whom we had tracted into last week. She had missionaries stop by in the past, but things just didn't click. Then we taught her the message of the Restoration and she accepted everything! We asked her, "What would it mean to you to know that the Book of Mormon was true?" She replied, "Well,that means that I'd better get going to the true Church!" She was so humble and accepting. Great things will happen with her in the future.

We're running short on miles this month so last Friday we planned a no car/all walking day in Windsor Locks. We seriously walked about 10 miles! That was quite a bit for us since we're used to driving everywhere. But it feels so good to get out there and walk. Cars are definitely more convenient to get places, but you pass by so many people. I like to think of the 61st section of the Doctrine & Covenants which says, "But verily I say unto you, that it is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly..., whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief." We were able to testify and hand out many copies of the Book of Mormon that day, thus fulfilling our purpose. It feels so good to be a missionary!

We had some wonderful speakers at Stake Conference this Sunday. First of all we had a new member bear his testimony about the blessings of this church and his fight to overcome an addiction to alcohol. His wife was a member, but she didn't want to push him into joining. Then he had that change of heart. He wanted to better his life because he could see the damage that his addiction was causing. He bore such a powerful testimony. Then a recently returned missionary spoke about the importance of sharing the gospel. He had just returned from South America the night before and hadn't been released yet! That's quite the homecoming talk. Then the granddaughter of President Monson, who lives in Avon, spoke on how she was using the scriptures in her family. She gave a lot of good examples that I mentally took note of for my future family. Now I realize the importance of teaching children. They are the future leaders of the church. We have to prepare them so they can "withstand the fiery darts of the adversary." I got to see some members from the Canton ward at Stake Conference and I was surprised that they remembered me! It feels so good to have made such an impact in their life that they remembered me after a year and many other missionaries down the line.

Since we have been focusing on the Book of Mormon these past few months, my testimony of it has grown immensely. I was reading about the account of Alma speaking to his son, Helaman, the other day and something really stuck out to me. At this time, Alma is passing on the records to Helaman and is explaining the impact that those words have had during his missionary service. Not only had those records brought many Lamanites to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, but also many Nephites had been sheparded back into the fold. Alma said,

"And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls. Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their words brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer. And who knoweth but what they will be the means of bringing many thousands of them, yea, and also many thousands of our stiffnecked brethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening their hearts in sin and iniquities, to the knowledge of their Redeemer?"

That is the same for the Book of Mormon. Alma and his brethren had those records to bring souls unto Christ. We have the Book of Mormon. And I love the Book of Mormon with all of my heart. I'm grateful for Mom & Dad, for their examples of reading the Book of Mormon. I'm so thankful for the many, many Sunday School & seminary teachers who planted that seed within me so that I would eventually come to know it was true. And I'm grateful for a wonderful family who lives the principles taught in this book.

New prospects

From email of October 13, 2009: We definitely got a touch of that cold weather. Burrr! There were a few days this week that we froze. Then to make matters worse, I picked up a cold of my own. But we're bundling up and plugging along. I love this cool, crisp weather because it's a fresh new start of the season.

The Lord is blessing us with new families to teach. In addition to the Campbells, we found another family of three that's really searching for something more. We had run across the mother right as we were leaving an appointment with Dominick on the same street. Her 11-year-old son had been asking a lot of questions about God and Jesus Christ for the past year and she decided she needed to address that topic. So she brought us over. We taught her, her son, and the boy's father (they're not married...yet!) and committed them to be baptized. And they accepted! They were super excited to come to church and to become involved in the community of Saints. But she works on Sundays so she won't be able to attend. We're still trying to figure out that situtation.

On Saturday we brought one of the Young Women out with us to an appointment, but that appointment fell through. So she consented to do some tracting with us! Since there were four of us, we could divide and conquer and we got a lot accomplished. She is the friend that invited Amanda to girls' camp, which led to her baptism last week. Because of this, she wants to be a sister missionary. She is going to make a great one, too!

The Relief Society had their monthly cooking class this week and the subject was, can you imagine, APPLES! I learned how to make baked apples and applesauce. Then we made "dinner in a pumpkin" which is a rice, cream of chicken soup mixture baked inside of a pumpkin. I'll have to send the recipe home because it was so, so good! Who would have ever thought to bake a pumpkin for dinner? There were lots of leftovers so they were kind enough to supply us Sisters with dinner for the next few days. That was such a blessing!

There is a new "mission culture" starting in the Connecticut Hartford mission. We are using the Book of Mormon more in our finding. Instead of handing out a BOM pass-along card, we hand out the actual book. Every person we come across we offer the book and commit to be baptized. I was a bit apprehensive to do this because I'm still a little timid, but since instituting this new culture, I've become much more bold. The Lord needs bold missionaries. We can't take the BOM lightly. It is evidence of the Restoration. It will bless the lives of people who are in darkness. My testimony of the Book of Mormon has increase dramatically in the past few months because of our focus on it. I love to read it! I encourage everyone to read from it daily. Make time for the important things in life!

Baptism!

From October 13, 2009 email: It sounds like it is apple season! We also had our own apple pressing fun last Monday. Bro. Ouellette, the ward mission leader, invited us over for FHE with the Mejias family to make some homemade apple cider. We used an old-fashioned hand press which gave us a good workout. But just like anything in life, good things require work. And boy was that cider good!

We had worked up a thirsty appetite earlier that day by hiking up to the Heublein Tower atop Avon Mountain. The folks around here like to call it a mountain, but it's more of a little bump in the landscape. It's the highest point in the area and some rich guy built a tower on top which is now open to the public. It was quite the trek, but the view was amazing! We could see for miles! We're planning to go back next Monday to catch the leaves at peak. Hopefully they're still on the trees by then!

Amanda did get baptized on Saturday! Will Rice, the teenage brother of the girl that invited her to church, baptized her. She was beaming that whole day because she had been waiting a long time for that moment. She still hasn't told her mother that she got baptized so hopefully that doesn't bring resentment towards the church when she does find out. Amanda's father said he would take all of the backlash because he authorized the baptism. Hmm...that makes me SO grateful for the family that I have!

Saturday we also had a fun experience at the town of Windsor Chili Cook-off. A member had informed us of the event a few weeks back and hinted that it would be a great place to go contacting. And it was! We were able to hand out a lot of pass-along cards and even some DVDs. Plus the chili was good. One of my favorites was the Celtic Chili, which promised to "put a wee bit of wind in yer pipes."

Friday night we found a family that has some great potential. All of our appointments had fallen through for the night. So we turned to our back-up plans of tracting. At one door, a Jamaican lady chatted for us a bit and then eventually let us in. We proceeded to teach a lesson on the Restoration, which she was intrigued by. She had grown up Pentacostal, but was still searching for something. Her husband pulled up in the driveway and we Sisters exchanged some nervous glances because you never know how the spouse will react to strangers in the house. But he sat right down and listened to our message. Then he said, "Wow, can you believe that just last night we said that we needed to find a church. Plus my wife NEVER lets anyone in the house or even answers the door." I'm glad that he recognized us as an answer to prayers. So we'll be working with them later on this week.

We are having a wonderful time being a trio. Sister Pulham is amazing! I love being able to serve with her. She’s from Lehi, UT, but got her call while at BYU-Hawaii. What I really love is that she is a sports fan too! She actually played college soccer in Iowa & Hawaii. Yesterday for p-day she taught me how to play and I really enjoyed it. We beat some of the Elders in a game so that shows how good she is! She will be out here until the first week in January. Temple square sisters go on “outbounds” anytime after their third transfer so they get to experience the ups and downs of “real” missionary work.

(above left to right: Murray, Monson, Pulham, Baird, Thomas, Sister Pehrson, Johnston, Darrington, Mortimer, Timothy)

The leaves out here are BEAUTIFUL! I wish all of you could experience them. I’ll send some pictures home just so you can get a taste of what it’s really like. Fall is definitely here! Thinking about the change of seasons made me realize that I don’t have much time left. There are only two more transfers left after this one. I still can’t believe how time passes by so quickly. I really need to dig in deep and finish with a bang! I’ve been blessed not to be trunky. This is the best thing I could be doing right now!

The Lord's Hand

From October 5, 2009, email: I can't believe that there is already snow in Idaho! I don't wish to see any here in Connecticut for a few more months! And wasn’t conference amazing! I felt so spiritually uplifted! There were so many talks that spoke directly to me. I can’t pick a favorite yet because they were all so good!

The baptism for Amanda is a go for this Saturday. She had her interview before conference on Saturday and she's so excited! I've seen a huge change come over her even in the short time that I've known her. It's amazing what the gospel of Jesus Christ will do for people. When the Spirit touches a heart, that heart is changed forever!

We had to say our goodbyes to Dominick this week. His mother officially kicked him out at the end of the month so he is finding a new life for himself in Miami. It will be really good for him to get out of the drug scene in Windsor Locks. I'm sad to see him go, but I know that there are missionaries down in Florida who will help him enter the waters of baptism! I'm happy to say that he wanted to spent his last night in Connecticut having a lesson with the Sister missionaries! He even said, "It's going to be hard to keep the Word of Wisdom down in Miami, but I'm going to try my hardest!" He really gets it! He knows that true happiness comes from following Jesus Christ and keeping his commandments. It brings me so much joy knowing that I've touched one more life!

I find it amazing how much the Spirit directs us in our missionary efforts. In our nightly planning, we "randomly" picked a street to tract and followed our plans the next day. The first door we knocked on was a former investigator whom we had no record of! He loved having the missionaries come over and he still goes to the church every once in a while when he has time off of work. It was not some crazy coincidence. We see the Lord's hand every day! Another example happened just last night. We set a goal for ourselves to hand out a Book of Mormon each day this week. Sunday evening at about 7:30 pm we hadn't handed one out so we were feeling a bit down on ourselves for coming so close to our goal. But then Sister Thomas spots someone at a bus stop as we were driving by so we turn the car around, say a quick yet fervent prayer, jump out, and start talking to this young girl. Miracles! She has always believed that there was one true church and hadn't found it yet. She was intrigued by the Book of Mormon and wants to learn more! I know that the Lord is watching over His missionaries and that this work will go forth no matter what!

Transfers are this week, but Sister Thomas and I will be staying in Windsor together. But…..we’re getting another Sister so we’ll be a trio! Sister Pullham is a Temple Square sister doing her outbound in our mission. We’re super excited to have her this next transfer! Sister Thomas and I are finding some crazy connections. First of all, she has a “friend” serving in the Houston Texas mission. I entered the MTC the same day as him. His family owns a big ranch/farm out in Idahome…do you happen to know a Rullon Spear? THEN…his mission president’s son just happens to be Lisa Lee’s husband! Wow…who would have ever thought! Sister T. emailed a copy of their wedding announcement and he emailed back saying that they had just been visiting last week. Crazy!

I love being on a mission even with all of it's craziness. I know Heavenly Father wanted me to be out here and I'm proud to serve him. Keep Windsor in your prayers so we can find more people to share the light of the gospel with! And now I'm taking the counsel of Elder Bednar...I LOVE YOU ALL, FAMILY!

Charity

From email of Sept. 28, 2009: This week we went on exchanges with the Sisters in Newport. Sister Thomas (below left) went over the bridge to Newport with Sister Johnston (below rear) and my greenie, Sister Mortimer (below right), came with me to Windsor. It was so much fun to be back with her! She has grown so much in testimony and spirit since we were last together. We reminised about our Groton days and laughed at our funny experiences. Then I took her over to see the Oliver Ellsworth homestead, which just happens to be a distant relative of hers! It was a pretty successful day with a couple of new investigators and some great lessons with LA/RC and Dominick. I love exchanges because not only does it build our friendships with other Sisters, but we get a bit of refreshing. Sometimes we get into a rut when we are with the same companion for a long time. We ended our exchange with lunch & ice cream (of course!) at Friendly's, the East Coast version of Denny's.
On Friday, we helped a young mother pack up her house & move. She was super stressed out about it and didn't have much time to prepare so we were glad to help. But she had SOOO much stuff! I don't think she would have been out of there that day if we wouldn't have helped her. We definitely got our work-out hauling huge boxes up the stairs from the basement. Both of us were super sore the next day! One thing I've learned on my mission is the joy that comes from unselfish service. If I don't expect anything in return, then the spiritual blessings pour in. I've struggled for a long time to "forget myself and go to work," but I'm finally catching the vision. I'm definitely going to extend my service opportunities more often when I get home!

Saturday evening was the General Relief Society Broadcast which I loved! As it was starting, I thought to myself, "Mom, my sisters, and the other wonderful women in my life are all doing the exact same thing I am doing." I felt so close to all of you because we were united in purpose. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. But I held strong. After hearing the messages from the Relief Society sisters, I committed myself to always to my visiting teaching. I didn't realize how important it is to visit these sisters each month and how many lives you can touch through it.

But there was one thing that really struck me. President Eyring was speaking about the connection between the Atonement and charity. When we truly come to understand the Atonement, our hearts are changed. We want to be like Christ and have no more desire to do evil. When our hearts are changed, they have a greater capacity to love like Christ did. One of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon is Alma 5. Alma said:

"Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God."

". . . a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God."

"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?"

"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"

That message touched me so much because I have felt that change in my heart. I felt a portion of it before I came out on my mission, but it has changed immensely since being out here. I know that when we have that change, we will do as Christ would want us to do. And he wants us to have charity for others. It's amazing how much I can love these crazy Connecticutians and Rhode Islanders. Without charity, you are nothing.

Sunday we got to experience TWO baptisms! Sadly enough, none of them were our investigators. The assistants had a baptism of a twelve-year-old girl named Deszchelene (I might have missed a letter or two in that one). She's the daughter of a recently re-activated member. She had to overcome her fear of water so she could be baptized. Then we headed up to Suffield to watch a child of record baptism in a pond! We were a bit late so we didn't get to see the actual baptism. But it was SOOO beautiful! It had been raining all day so there was a light mist over the pond. Plus the leaves are starting the change so it created a beautiful backdrop for such a sacred event!
Thanks for all of your great examples, especially those who have served missions. It is TOUGH! And I admire all of you who have served. But now I know what great blessings come to us because of it. Remember those times on your missions!

Tender mercies!

From email of Sept. 21, 2009: I'd still like the Buck pedigree chart. I talked to the Bucks in the Hartford Ward and we're wanting to compare relatives! And speaking of Bucks, I ran into someone at zone conference that President Buck might happen to know. The area mental health advisor, Sister Rowe (above), gave us a training at our conference on Wednesday. She sat with us at lunch and of course we went through the whole "where are you from, who do you know" game. Well....she just happens to be Thayne Buck's sister! How crazy is that? We got a picture together so you can send a copy to Thayne & Marilyn. It's a small world!

This has been a much better week than the last. We reset baptismal dates for Amanda (Oct. 11) and Dominick (Oct. 4) and then set two more with some of our other investigators! The Lord is constantly preparing people to receive the restored Gospel. We as missionaries, and members, just have to have the faith and the courage to open our mouths and invite. It never ceases to amaze me how much the Lords blesses us with his tender mercies. We see miracles happen here every week! We took the bus on Thursday to save on our miles and ran into Tido, a young man we had met weeks before who was interested in the Book of Mormon. We had met him at a bus stop in the Wilson area, but he was in such a hurry that we didn't get his information. But on Thursday he was on his way to work and just so happened to miss his usual bus. We were at the right place and the right time! We called him a few days later and his brother wants to learn more! Tender mercies!

Sister Thomas and I are having a wonderful time reactivating less-actives and teaching our investigators. We get along great and have promised to be great friends from now on. I remember when I got set apart that the couselor in the Stake Presidency told me to have fun on my mission, but still be obedient. Sister T & I definitely are doing that! We laugh until our sides hurt and we play games during tracting to make it more enjoyable. She loves to cook, too, so we always make great meals together. I feel bad for the other missionaries who eat Ramen & cereal all the time because we eat actual meals! I'm so glad that I could make so many lifetime friends on my mission.

I've noticed on my mission that we need to build up the areas that are struggling. It's fine and dandy to go to a nice, big ward where you can blend in with everyone else and not take much responsibility. But these less-flourishing areas need the leadership and love that we can offer.

Fall is just starting to peek into the leaves. Every once in a while we get a nice bright flash of color. I'm super excited for another fall out here. It is SO beautiful! I have to recommend that all of you experience it for yourselves! I'll definitely have to take more pictures this year so you can get a taste of what I see every day!

Not such a great week!

From Sept. 14, 2009, email: It's amazing how quickly things can turn around. The week before was awesome, but this past week was one of the worst. Amanda didn't get baptized because her mom wouldn't give her permission. She said to wait--possibly months or years. She didn't say absolutely not so we're still hopeful for the future. It's all in the Lord's timing!

Dominick didn't show up for church yesterday so we'll have to move his baptismal date back a week or so. We had such a wonderful lesson on Saturday night, but I guess it wasn't enough to get him to church. His friends are not a good influence on him so he's struggling to find the balance. I'm not sure that his heart is completely into the gospel. It sounds like a good thing to him, but he doesn't have the testimony needed to stay strong. So we'll be working on that this week. He went with us to Institute at the Bloomfield chapel and really liked it. They've got some great kids in the area that he can fellowship with. I even enjoyed the Institute class. Even though I've read the BOM over and over, I still had many new insights throughout the class.

On Wednesday, all four of our appointments cancelled so we weren't too happy then. But we did take the bus down to Hartford to get monthly bus passes & were able to hand out two BOMs. That was the highlight of the day. And once again on Friday, all of our appointments cancelled. It was a frustrating week, but we just have to press forward through the hard times.

Saturday we did service for a part member family. Luckily I've become such an expert at painting (haha) from all those hours in Almo. We have a deal with the non-member husband: one hour of service for one hour of church. So we happily painted away for a couple of hours and he came to church (without his member wife) with their two kids. Service is the best way to soften a heart! He won't be baptized anytime soon, but definitely in the future.

The Elders talked in church yesterday and did a wonderful job. One of them talked about his missionary experiences in high school. Two similar situations produced such different results. But in both of them, he felt the undescribable joy that came from sharing the gospel. As D&C 18 states, if you bring one soul unto Christ, "how great shall be your joy with Him in the kingdom of my father." I've truely felt that joy as I've been serving the Lord here in Connecticut. I know that this is His work and we are just the instruments in bringing those souls into the fold. I've never felt so happy in my life! I wish I could carry this feeling on even after I'm home. Heavenly Father doesn't need us to do the work . . . he could send angels down here to preach the gospel. But WE need it. We need to learn unselfish service. We need to strengthen our testimonies so that no matter what storm comes our way, we are safely built upon the rock of Jesus Christ. That is probably what I'm most grateful for. I can now say I have a testimony of Jesus Christ, the Atonement, the Restoration, the BOM, and also prayer. There is no way that I could have spiritually survived without this testimony.