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.

The best week ever!

From Sept. 8, 2009, email: We had a wonderful Labor Day yesterday. The missionaries in the Hartford/Bloomfield wards headed over to the mission home to watch the BYU-Oklahoma game. Of course the Elders were in heaven because they hadn't seen a football game in months and years! One of the assistants, Elder Pawlak, will be playing football for BYU next year so I'm sure he got a bit trunky. It took me back to the days of watching sports with Dad and my bros!

Sister Pehrson (below) took me and Sister Thomas to the mall for a short visit and even bought us some lip gloss from the MAC counter. She spoils us! We also made some super yummy oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies at the mission home. Maybe I'll send the recipe home next week so you can enjoy them too!

This week has been one of the best in my entire mission. We have seen so many large and small miracles happen. We had some good lessons with Dominick and even took him to a YSA dinner which was a hit. However, we got suckered into giving the FHE lesson tonight there so we'll be going again with him. He went to church for the first time this Sunday and loved it. He really enjoys the family-feel in the church because his family isn't the greatest. He's still a go for the 26th of September so keep him in your prayers!

We are also still planning on a baptism for Amanda this Saturday...if her mom will give her consent. Her mom said yes at first, but then took away her approval after hearing some anti-Mormon rumors. Her parents are in the middle of a divorce after which her father will gain full custody of her. He totally supports her in getting baptized so we are in this back-and-forth battle with her mom. So keep her in your prayers also!

We were finally able to have an appointment with Leslie, a middle-aged lady, whom we met contacting. She had issues with prophets, but that was quickly resolved after a scripture chain through the New Testament. We were looking at a scripture, Mark 13:24, where it compares Christ to a man taking a journey and "giving authority to his servants" when we ran across a difference in Bibles. She had recently studied with Jehovahs Witnesses so she was using a copy of their Bible. But hers did not mention anything about Christ in that verse, which really upset her. We've got her turned back to the King James version. She has been searching for truth for her entire life and now it is right in front of her. The answers that we give her bring comfort to her that she hasn't felt in years. I'm excited to see how she will progress. Not only did that lesson touch Leslie's heart, but it changed mine also. Of course I've always felt that the Book of Mormon was true. But the truth never came with such force as it did when I bore testimony to her. I wasn't just saying that I believed it was true. I KNEW it was true. That was the witness that I'd been praying to Heavenly Father for so long to receive. There have been times that I've doubted, even when I have been out here on my mission. But now I know without a doubt that it is here to restore truths that were lost and to be an additional witness to Christ.

The mission has started a Book of Mormon activity in which we are reading the entire book & highlighting all the names or references to Christ in red and marking his words in blue. I highly recommend everyone to do this! I'm only halfway through 1 Nephi, but I've gotten so much out of it!

I know that when we put it in our minds to be obedient & diligent no matter what, miracles will happen. I love my mission. I especially love these people whom I am serving. I'm so thankful for the change in myself as I have served here in Connecticut. I know that I'm closer to being who Heavenly Father wants me to be. It is wonderful!

Commitments!

From Aug. 31, 2009, email: Sister Thomas and I are having a wonderful time here in Windsor. We just set two baptismal dates this week, one with Dominick and another with Amanda. Dominick wants to change his life & wants to feel the cleansing power of baptism. But he has to start coming to church first. We set up a ride and everything yesterday and he just didn't show up. Ugh. Maybe next week! Amanda is friends with a YW in the ward, Kaylee Rice. They went up to girls camp together and Amanda came back with a desire to be baptized. We taught her and her father about the Restoration on Monday and then just taught Amanda the Plan of Salvation on Saturday. Her father wanted to make sure she knew what she was getting into. But she is ready! She's getting dunked on the 12th of September and then going to do baptisms at the temple the next weekend. Pray that everything works out!

President Pehrson sent out a letter this past week to all the missionaries stating the "15 commitments of a Connecticut Hartford mission." He's really emphasizing our personal worthiness and diligence so we can be more effective missionaries. These commitments include getting up on time, going to bed on time, studying when we should, teaching all 5 lessons each week....things that we should be doing anyway. But then he added a commitment to commit our investigators to baptism on our first lesson. I thought he was crazy at first, but he sure does know what he's talking about! It weeds out those who aren't interested in joining. And we've seen some great things happen this week because of our effort to be exactly obedient to those commitments.

Last night we had a fireside for the Bloomfield Ward. We had a pretty good turnout which is good! We Sisters talked about "the triangle of power" with missionaries, members, and the Lord making up the sides. The triangle will be strong only when each side is equal. Then the Elders did a cool visual of Alma 50, which we have to build up barriers around us to keep the "arrows" of the adversary from penetrating us. As members of the church we have so many pickets, walls, towers, etc. that keep us safe. But those without the gospel are helpless. That really helped me to understand why this gospel is so important.

New companion

From August 24, 2009 email: I guess we got a touch of Hurricane Bill on Friday with lots of rain and strong winds. We had to reschedule a few of our appointments because of the weather. I'm about done with this heat and humidity. We spend a lot of the time outside and we are permeated with sweat by the time the day is over! But I hear there is cool weather on the horizon! I can't wait for another fall out here!

We got transfer calls last night and Sister Monson is getting shipped out of Windsor. She's headed down to Fairfield with Sister Baird and Sister Thomas is coming to Windsor. She's the red-headed sister that I did exchanges a few transfers ago. I'm sad that Sister Monson and I don't get to spend much time together, but I'm also excited for a fresh start. We've got lots of good things planned for the area!

We had a frustrating lesson with a recent convert/investigator family this week. The wife was baptized earlier this week, but the husband never made the plunge. He says that he has issues with tithing because he can't afford to pay it right now. They have to get their finances in order before they can donate anything. We tried to explain that huge blessings will come to the whole family when they put forth the faith to pay it. It is that element of faith that they have to put forth. The wife has been paying her tithing, but recommitted to pay it first. It is frustrating when people aren't willing to try out the Lord's promises. We are told that he will "open you the windows of heaven, that there will not be room enough to receive it." Maybe somewhere down the line he will change his mind.

Now I have a question for you all: How did you gain a testimony of tithing and how has the Lord blessed you because of it?

The stake had girls' camp this week which produced some amazing results. A friend of one of the Rice girls in our ward wants to be baptized! She had an amazing experience at camp and already comes to church a lot. We are teaching her (and her parents) tonight so pray that everything goes well! Her parents aren't very supportive of the idea, but her father has give her consent to be baptized. Her mother had at first said she could do whatever she wanted, but took that back when she received some anti-Mormon literature from a friend at work. Ugh! Luckily they are issues that can be addressed easily. She heard that Mormons can't cut their hair...that's strange!

It scares me when I think that I only have 5 months left! I kind of feel like the younger Curtis Richins who just came home from his mission. It has taken me a long time to know how to be a good missionary. Over the past few months, things have just clicked in my mind on why this is so important. I wish I would have realized this the first month of my mission! But I can't change the past so all I can do now is work my hardest in bringing souls to Christ!