Merry Christmas!

This will be my Christmas email because p-day is on Christmas so I won't get to email. But we'll get to talk on the phone so even better!

This week was crazy....and it is only Wednesday!

So Sunday we spoke at a different ward, it was fun! We ended up with only about 2 minutes each to speak, but it was good. It was nice to experience that.

On Monday, we got to.....drumroll.....eat at a members house! One of the couples in my mission President's ward had my district over for a Christmas Dinner! (Different couples had other districts over, so all the sisters get to do that, it wasn't just our district) Oh man was it good. We had roast beef on rolls with a ribbon salad, fresh vegetables, funeral potatoes, and all types of deserts....I had thirds I was so stuffed. Then we talked about our Christmas traditions, the food we eat, and got to play parts in a narration of 'The Best Christmas Pagaent Ever' It was great! It was such a treat to be fed!

So we were going to go straight home, but then we found out that some people from my companion's ward in India were here with some friends and wanted to see her so we ran (literally) to the square to see them. Well, as it turns out, the friends that the people from India were with were my cousin Megan and her husband Eric and his parents! So crazy. So we are talking to thm and guess who I see.....my entire YSA ward from Ogden was there! So we ended up staying and talking with them, it was so fun to see everyone.

Yesterday morning, all the sisters had the opportunity to go on an organ tour. We got to go behind the scenes and see what the organ really looks like from behind, in both the Tabernacle and the Conference Center!

The Tabernacle has 11,623 pipes ( i feel like i am giving a tour) and the Conference Center has 7000 i think, and we got to see them! Some are 32 ft. tall, and some are just 1/4 inch tall.

But when we were in the conference center we got to go on the stage, play the organ, go in the choir seats etc., and so I went and sat in the Prophet's chair! (I hope that isn't sacrilegious haha) but i had to do it.

Today we got to go to the Temple! It was so great, I really miss being able to go once a week...but I am so blessed to be able to go every six weeks, most missionaries do not get that.

It's been weird getting used to live sessions but good too. I love the SLC temple. I actually got to do a name for someone who brought some sisters some names for his family that he couldn't do since he is male. So it was really cool to be able to help someone do their family history (not that temple names aren't helping but you know what I mean).

So this week has been a week of miracles, we have found several new investigators and had multiple less-active lessons, which are a little harder to come by.

One of the less actives, Alisa came to Temple Square by herself a couple nights ago. She moved from Michigan and hasn't really gone to church but she acted like she was all happy. We could tell it was just a front though. She wanted to see the presentation God's Plan for His Families so we ended up taking her through it by herself, which is rare with all the people. I know that that was the work of God though because we needed to get to know her needs and we couldn't have done that with 10 other people in a big group. So at the end, we really just felt like we should tell her how much God loves her. We said, you know, we don't know what you are going through, but there is one person that does. Christ has felt what you are feeling, and has gone through what you are going through. She started crying and said that she is going through a lot. We invited her to pray and to work towards the temple, and she gave us her phone number so that we can continue talking to her and helping her get there.

We also found a new investigator on chat! Her name is Nan, and she lives in London England. She came on chat and had some questions. We taught her the Plan of Salvation in depth, and she really liked it. She found it really interesting. She is not religious at all, but lately has been really interested, and when she tried asking questions about where she is going after this life, why she is here etc., no one could ever tell her. So she liked that there was a solid answer. She committed to pray that night and we called her the next day. she prayed! She said she enjoyed praying. We got to teach her the Restoration and Priesthood. A lot of people get overwhelmed so we try not to teach as much at once, but she is so hungry for information, she wants to learn about it all! She said she will pray to know if it is true and committed to start the Book of Mormon. She is a student, and just finished the semester so she is going home for the holidays and said that we can call her when she gets back January 6th (I know so long time :( ! ) But she gave us her email so we could email until then. She is really willing to keep commitments, it is refreshing.

Toni, the lady we have been teaching for a couple months is still doing well. We have an appointment with her Friday, and we are hoping to set a baptismal date.

We have some other new investigators from chat too, Miracles come from chat! But this week we have had a lot of pranksters and antis too....but it is worth it.

One thing that I think is cool are our zone challenges. Each day, our zone leaders text out a challenge that we complete. We have a Christmas tree cut out of paper that we have hanging up, and if we complete the challenge, we get to put a "light" (colored dot) on the tree! and it is lighting up so fast! The challenges are so fun. Like this week some of them were to commit a couple to do companionship inventory, sharing our testimony of Christ with 2 pregnant ladies, testifying to someone in a white scarf, getting a RM to be a member present in a lesson, or committing youth to start preparing for a mission by using PMG. It's so fun because we usually by some miracle find someone to help us complete that challenge every day! It's really cool.

Some sisters were down in the tunnels last Friday and saw 10 of the brethren at once going to a meeting.....I am so mad. I haven't seen any yet....but my time will come! :)

Tomorrow for Relief Society, it is being held in the Relief Society building, so I am pretty sure we will have a "special" speaker! Man us Temple Square missionaries are so lucky!!

That is what I have really realized this week. How much I love the mission I am called to. I am sad that I wasn't more excited before because it is the best place to serve! Heavenly Father really knows me and knows what is best for me....I love being here!

I cannot believe it is Christmas next week and already time to call home....it is going to be weird but really cool. I know Christ lives, and He was born in a manger, the Prince of Peace. He is why we celebrate Christmas, and I love Him. He is our Savior!

So Merry Christmas, I hope you enjoy the celebration of this last special week before everyone gets excited for the next holiday. This is the best!

Love,

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

The Sister in front on the left taking the picture is Sister Simons
 who was on her outbound in our (Adam & Kami's) ward!

Well this week was a pretty busy one. We also got about a foot of snow dumped on us it's great! The best part of snow here is that it is constantly sliding off of the tabernacle and I can't wait for the day when it just nails someone! haha it almost happened to my companion and I.

Well I guess I will start out with my experience with Temple Service!

I was so excited to be able to finally do it!

So there were 10 of us sisters, and they grouped us with a stake from Tooele that was there for service as well. They had us change into all white and then they took just the sisters up to....................The Assembly Room! Holy cow, that was so cool! The Assembly Room was originally used to dedicate the Temple, but now is used for devotionals, meetings etc. for church leadership (a.k.a. the Prophet!). We got to set up chairs in there, and then dust. Then we were able to see the Talmage room where James E. Talmage wrote Jesus The Christ. There is even a little bathroom in there haha. Then we went down and cleaned the baseboards of hallways, etc. It was really cool to be able to clean in the Temple, it is pretty meticulous, but it is the Lord's house after all. The Pioneers did 800x the work I did daily, so I can scrub baseboards for a few hours. They gave us popcorn and cookies too. Temple Service is the best!

We also got to go the the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. All the Sisters! A YSA ward covered all our assignments for us. We were seated in Plaza 11, which is the middle front section! Not really close, but real good seats. Man it was so good, I loved Elder Nelson's use of media, I had never seen that before, it was really neat. Especially the part of his grand kid's singing!

So on Sunday at church, we actually arrived really early, so we were just quietly waiting for it to start when all of a sudden I look up and Elder Quentin L. Cook is sitting on the stand!! I was like what the heck that's Elder Cook! Turns out my Mission President saw him in the elevator, and he mentioned that he wanted to attend an early church because he is always going to Stake Conferences and wants to be able to take the sacrament. So my Mission President said, well, you can come to ours, we meet at 7:30. So he said he might do that then he did! And he might come back more! He didn't get to speak to us though. what a surprise for the sisters that were speaking that day! It was so funny because one sister was giving her talk and she goes, I wanted to share this story about Elder Holland. I just love Elder Holland so much, He is my favorite-- and then she turned around to Elder Cook and everyone busted up while she tried to make up for it. Then all the other sisters quoted pretty much every apostle except him haha. But one sister spoke about Elder Cook's visit to the Philippines where she is from and I think that really meant something to him. I really wish we could have heard him speak though!

So Elder Don R. Clarke of the Seventy is doing our mission tour this week. For three days he comes and talks to us with his wife, basically helping us to become better missionaries, and more purpose centered. It was really good. My group got to go yesterday and it was from 8-3:45 so very long but it went by really fast and we all learned so much! He is a really intense guy...Also, I had to say the closing prayer. I have a cold and everyone thought I was crying, I guess I sounded like a turtle or something haha but he shook my hand after. hopefully I didn't give him my cold...

So the Sisters that speak in our Sacrament meeting are usually in their last transfer. Only sisters that are going home soon have to speak, so I thought I would be in the clear until I found out that every week, sisters get sent over to local wards to go speak and give musical numbers. And guess who is speaking in Riverton this Sunday.....yep! we are. So not only do I have to give a talk sounding like a turtle, but I have to sing like it too! Those poor people in the congregation. It will be good practice for outbound though.

I will tell you about one tour that we took this week. They were 4 men from China. We started talking to them, and took them to the Temple Model. For some reason I just started teaching about the Temple as if they already knew who God was, etc., when my companion asked them what their religious beliefs were. Turns out they are all Atheist! Well of course, they are from mainland China, where that is common.They believe there is no God. I guess my belief in God is so strong, I forget that's people even believe differently. So after that point, we tried very hard to focus on testifying and bringing the Spirit, so that they can know that God is real. The whole time I was thinking I have to help them feel of God's love for them, I have to help them know that God is there. We took them to a few places and ended at the Christus where were talked about Christ. They said they felt peace. I know they felt God's love! We were able to give them Chinese material, and Chinese B.O.M.'s however there is a strict policy with China. We can teach them while they are here, and give them material, but we cannot contact them after they go back to China. So we just have to hope and pray that they will remember the spirit they felt, and read the B.O.M. and gain a testimony of it.

It has been fun to be able to talk to lots of people with the lights. Each night is distinguishable too, like Mondays are Family Nights and YSA FHE nights,Tuesday and Wednesday are mutual nights, and Friday Saturday and Sunday are date nights, which mean awkward couples! That's always fun. But I love talking to the youth and talking about future missions with them. It's really fun to take big groups like that through God's Plan to be able to show them why they should serve a mission. It's not about Baptisms, but it's about the Temple, and it's really neat to be able to show them that.

So I have been teaching a lady named Jennifer for a couple weeks. She is from Virginia and was a former investigator until she heard some false information about the church and decided to drop her baptismal date. Anyway, she decided to call in for a free Bible, and I decided to try to help her. She became interested again, and when we called her this week, we were able to teach her about the Word of Wisdom. She knows all the lessons, and reads daily from the Book of Mormon, She is halfway through Mosiah. She says she knows it's all true, the B.O.M., Joseph Smith, Modern Day Prophets, all. But she is a chain smoker and drinks coffee. We talked a lot about the W.o.W. and explained how the Atonement makes anything possible, and we invited her to live the W.o.W. and she said yes. Then we invited her to be baptized on January 4 and she said yes. So we texted her last night to see how she was doing and she said good. Then out of nowhere, she said she didn't want us to contact her anymore. So we call her and she says that she decided it's all false and that she doesn't want to change. she is happy in her religion and thinks that our church is false. Man that hit us hard! She went from being so ready to dropping us. We think that she might have some mental disorder or something because it has previously happened with the local missionaries. But we were just really sad because we wanted to see her change. But we let her know that we love her, and that we will always be here. In the end, everyone has their agency....

Well, it has been an exciting week! Today for p-day we are going to get free scalp treatments (free for missionaries yipee) and clean our apartment. It'll be great!

I hope everyone is having a great week and is getting ready for Christmas!!

Have a great week,

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well yesterday it snowed all day up here in Utah, and I think we got over 7 inches of snow, it's the best!

This week has been pretty insane....the lights bring in so many people! There are people everywhere. It's funny to have come from Ogden because I have bumped into so many people that I know, and people have come looking for me but never find me (I hear from other sisters). I think my companion is tired of seeing people that I know haha

So I would have to say that the highlight of the week was seeing Grandma & Grandpa, Kyle & Cynthia, and Jordan & Loren! I was totally not expecting it and it made my day! I was so shocked though I was speechless, I had no idea what to say. And I had to go to an assignment but I just wanted to tell them THANK YOU so much for coming and spending time looking for me! It was great!

So the lights turned on last Friday. It changes things a little on Temple Square for us missionaries. We actually do not take tours after 5 PM anymore because there are just too many people. It is crazy, people are shoulder to shoulder, and it takes a lot longer to walk places. But it is a great missionary tool. We get to contact so many people. Our schedules change, too. Our dinners are cut in half and we have new assignments (I'll tell you my favorite next!), and the square is open later. So a zone is in charge of being on the Square until 10 PM twice a week, so that at least 1 zone is there every night until 10. So it makes for long days! Like yesterday we got up to do van maintenance at 5:45 AM and didn't get home until after 10 PM. But I actually like it, I like being there for the extra hour. It is a good tired.

So my favorite assignment we only get to do once a week, but it is the Christus. There are so many people that want to see the Christus that they have to rope off the ramp and people wait in a big line. They let about 50 people up at once. So we rotate jobs like being the ones that let people up, directing people where to go, or being the ones that play the Christus. We got to be the ones that play the Christus this week. It is my favorite because for an hour, every 3-4 minutes I get to testify to groups of 50 about Christ. I get to share my testimony of Christ with hundreds of people in an hour! It is so great. And even though there are a lot of screaming kids and rude people, I know that there are people who feel the spirit and that is all that matters.

I really try to listen to the Spirit when I testify so I can be able to know what I should say that people need to hear from the Spirit, and one particular time I was testifying, I felt like everything I said didn't make sense and that no one was listening. But as soon as I finished and people got up to leave, a man came up and shook my hand and said 'thank you for the Spirit that you brought, i have several non-members with me and i know they needed to feel that' I was really surprised! and really humbled...I felt bad for doubting that what I said was from the Spirit. It sure taught me a lesson!

So our investigators...With my new companion, I have gained a lot of investigators from India! They are really hard for me to understand with their accent haha but I am working on it.

It's been really hard to teach investigators in the Teaching Center (TC) because we try to be on the Square as much as we can, and sometimes we go days without having time in the TC. And a lot of my investigators are in different countries, so trying to find a time that works for both their schedule and ours is really hard too. But it will all work out.

I have had bad luck with anti's lately, it seems all the chats I take are anti, and we even had a request for a 1st lesson in the North Visitor's Center (we thought they would be golden!) but it was too good to be true, they were just anti's trying to ruin our testimonies. Heavenly Father is definitely helping my weaknesses (like in Ether) because anti's are really hard for me not to be rude! I am learning to deal with them with patience and not arguing. I just say thank you for helping build my testimony. I know this is true because I prayed about it, and you can too if you will pray about it. Have a great day. They are so hard to love though....

Well that's about all that is interesting here, I would just like to share one of my favorite stories that I think of often when times get tough, I am sure many have heard it! It is the Refiner's Fire:

Malachi 3:3 says: 

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." 

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God...One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. 

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says, "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver". She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was on fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that's easy-when I see my image in it."

I hope you can think of that when times get hard! The Lord is purifying and refining you, and he is watching you carefully. And when we have endured the trial, He will see His image in all of us!

I love you all, hope you have a great week!

Namaste!

Happy Thanksgiving from Temple Square!

Anyone know what Namaste means? It means hello in Indian.....which means I have a new companion from India! Her name is Sister Doraiswamey and she is coming back from her outbound today. She is going to be my follow-up trainer for the transfer. It's going to be a curry Thanksgiving!

So my P-days are now Wednesdays, and are usually from 1PM-9PM but with the Christmas craziness starting on Friday, our p-days from this transfer are like normal missions, from 10-6.

So there are two sisters here on Temple Square who went outbound today to Tucson! Their names are Sister Cummings from Hawaii and Sister Ogata from Japan. They are two of my favorites so tell everyone to keep an eye out for them and feed them well!! [Sis Ogata is actually in our, Adam & Kami's, ward!]

Well it seems like I was just writing, P-day was just a few days ago! So I don't have too much to say. Transfer day is the biggest news.

But remember the lady from Estonia that I am teaching? She wants to be baptized! Super exciting. She has a daughter, and I can't wait until they can be sealed together.

I did get to see one of my favorite customers from the bank that I worked at, He came on the Square to meet his kids and grandkids and by some odd chance, I was the first person he saw! That never happens so it was really nice to chat with him.

I am a little nervous for the lights to turn on because it is going to be insane, but I am also really excited! I love Christmas and I can't wait to talk about Christ with everyone. That is why I am on my mission, and I couldn't think of a better place to talk about Christ than at Temple Square around Christmas with all the lights. I think the reason I love Christmas so much is because even it is just for a short time, most people put off the Natural man and become a little more Christlike. They think about Christ and the whole spirit and atmosphere of people change, and that is what the Savior is all about is change. It really just testifies to me that change is possible,and that through the Savior's infinite Atonement, we are able to truly change and become better. We are able to become the person that He wants and needs us to be. Nothing is impossible with Christ.

Well I don't have too much more to say....but at least you don't have a novel from me to read today!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow. Eat extra for me!

Love,

What are you thankful for?

Well next Thursday is Thanksgiving, can you believe it?

This week, actually this whole transfer has flown by. Wednesday starts a new transfer. It probably won't impact me too much, since I will still be with my trainer for another transfer. Unless she becomes a Zone Leader, I probably won't even move apartments. Wahoo!

Hey the performance from last Tuesday is going to be put on DVD's and distributed to all the sisters! I didn't think they would do that. I'm so happy thought because you get to see all the crazy good talent.

So this week I would have to say the craziest story would probably be this:

We were talking to an RM who served in Vanuatu when this man in a red sweatshirt walked by. Something really grabbed my attention, I don't know how to explain it, but now I recognize that was the Spirit getting my attention. We continued talking, but then we had to go to our next assignment. So we said bye and started walking to our teaching center. On our way, I saw that man in the red sweatshirt going down the escalator. I had a feeling, someone needs to go talk to him. But we were going to the Teaching Center, we had appointments with people to call and I figured there are over 100 of us on the square, someone will talk to him. We were outside the TC but I couldn't stop thinking about it, someone needs to talk to him. I couldn't put it aside anymore so I spoke up and said to my companion: "I wonder if anyone has talked to that guy down there, I think someone needs to." She asked if I wanted to go talk to him and I said yes. Well we go down there and find him at an Inner Peace kiosk. We start talking and he explains that he served a mission in New Mexico and had been back for 4 years, but that he had been in and out of the church ever since. He told us how he came here because he needs peace. He knows the church is true, the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet, but he does not have a testimony of modern-day prophets. We asked him questions and testified, and he started crying. Then he explained his situation in life. He is in a very....very very dark place in life...We talked and testified some more, and he cried a lot. He said that he really felt like he needed to come here, and he was hoping someone would come talk to him. My companion told him how we were supposed to be at an assignment but that we had a prompting to come talk to him, and how important he is. We explained about the Atonement, how it is infinite, and how nothing is impossible through Christ. I told him to think of the temple often, because that is where he will be safe from Satan.I know he felt peace when he was here. We called him last night to see how he was doing, and unfortunately, he was on his way "out." And did not want to talk to us. I have to just trust in the Lord that his experience will come back to him, and help him through this hard time in his life. I know the words that we said were not our words, they were the Spirit, so I need to trust that he will be strong enough. Hopefully our continued calls will be able to help him. But regardless, everyone has their agency and can choose what they do with their lives, as hard as that is sometimes. But I felt so thankful for the Spirit. I am grateful that Heavenly Father trusted me with a prompting to talk to one of His children that really needed someone to talk to.

Anyway, a funny story for the week.....

So we had a Spanish investigator lesson a few nights ago. This is when elders from the surrounding missions bring investigators here for a tour. The Elders had told us that the lady had been dropped before, so we needed to make it really extra spiritual and that it had to be really good. So we start with God's Plan. Well it's set up where you move to different rooms. We get through two rooms and I turn into the third room, and there is a homeless man sleeping on the seats!! I gasped, and we all were like what do we do! He is just laying there sprawled out, snoring! God's Plan is playing not quietly, and he is still sleeping. So the Elders start trying to wake him up, and we all sit down to watch God's Plan. Finally the man wakes up and sits up and starts watching God's Plan like he was a part of the group and nothing happened...we were like what the heck. I said we should call security so we called while the Elders were talking to the man. We finished talking to Security and the man goes, so I guess I should leave? The Elders were like yeah......you should. Well we continue on in God's Plan and security comes busting in, about 7 of them with flashlights (it's dark in there) and they're all sweaty, they must have ran there. I explained how he left, and what he was wearing and looked like and they left. Well at this point the spirit is all ruined, and we finish God's Plan. We then go to the Christus, and guess who's sitting there, yep! The man! I called security again, and they came to check it out. I talked to the security guy and he said that they spoke with him, and that he said he was just tired and wanted to sleep, but that he knew he had to be out in a little bit because we would be closing. I couldn't help but think of what would have happened if no one found him, he would have been there all night! But I think it's part of the night shift security to check it so maybe he wouldn't have been there all night. But still...I am thankful for security!

Yesterday the lady who wrote President Monson's biography came and spoke to us (I can't remember her name). [Heidi S. Swinton] She was so great! She told us a bunch of stories about President Monson that were so cool that I had never heard before. He is such a great servant of the Lord.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! What are you thankful for??

I hope everyone has a great week, and a great Thanksgiving. I sure am thankful for all of my blessings, especially my family. Heavenly Father sure loves His children.

Since Transfers are on Wednesday, I am not quite sure if my P-day will switch (it depends on your zone, I'm hoping to get moved to the Beehive house, cross your fingers!) so I am not sure when you will hear from me. But it won't make too much difference.

Happy Thanksgiving, I love you all and am thankful for all of you.

Love,

The Field Is White Already to Harvest

Literally white this week. I bought pumpkin eggnog (my favorite holiday treat probably) and the next morning we wake up to 4 inches of snow. Coincidence? I think not! So every one in AZ where it's still in the 80's, drink the eggnog it works!

The snow has all melted though. But there will be plenty more time for that!

So the biggest miracle of this week is probably this:

It happened last Saturday. We were out on the Square. How it works is every night during our planning time (9-930) one of the things we do is plan our locations for the square times for the next day. So we pray about the places we should go and when. Then we pick 3 places for every hour. So Saturday we were going to one of those places when the sisters at one of the desks told us we needed to find this lady. They said she had literally walked out and said "I can't wait to learn more." So we were like what the heck we gotta find her! So we start checking every building and we decide to go to the North Visitor Center. We walk up to the Christus, and she is just leaving. We say hi and she says "This is so beautiful, I can't wait to learn more!" She is dating a member, and they started getting serious so they decided it was time to discuss religion. He brought her here, and it was the first she had heard about the church. We knew that we needed to take her though God's Plan (hopefully I have explained about this presentation it's wonderful). So we take her through and she cries the whole time. After she said how much she loved it and how she has felt like something is missing in her life and that she thinks it's this church. So I said, "Toni, as you come to know for yourself that this church is true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the proper authority?" and she said....."Oh yes. I want to follow God, and i want to be close to Jesus." (she's black so picture it in a black voice haha) She is so prepared! Holy cow. I wasn't even nervous asking her because I knew the Lord had prepared her already and the veil was so thin she couldn't help but say yes! So we have been teaching her this week. It's hard because she travels for work a lot (She is kind of like a motivational speaker. She speaks about her past life; she was out on the streets for 19 years and fell into drugs and alcohol and a lot of horrible things happened to her. So she goes around telling her story of hope. And she said she wants to add the Gospel to that story!). So it's hard for her to find time but she is going to try to go to church. We are going to set a date for her baptism.

Sorry about my typing. We are not in our usual building, and this keyboard doesn't allow me to go back and correct mistakes so I can't catch them all.

Other miracles....

I took a chat from a man named Stephen. He said missionaries came and visited him and told him a little about the church and told him about mormon.org. They tried to give him a book of Mormon but he insisted on looking at the website, so that's how he got there. We had a great discussion about the Book of Mormon and he wanted to learn more. So I got his phone number and called Him the next day. Well he is from Ghana, but living in Finland to finish his degree. The day I called him, we were having problems with our phones so they were fuzzy and his thick African accent made it so I couldn't understand a word he said. But I really wanted to teach him so I would ask him a question, pretend like I understood what he was saying, and try to follow the spirit in my response, and keep teaching. I felt so bad but I didn't want to hang up! So the next day my companion and I called Him back. Come to find out it's not just the fuzziness, we really just can't understand him! It literally gave us headaches straining for the entire lesson as we taught the whole Plan of Salvation. We only understood about 20% of what he said (still an improvement from before haha) but tried to rely on the Spirit as best we could. His faith is amazing. He wants to do what God wants him to do, and he wants to do what is right. We asked him if he would be baptized and he said yes! He has a date of December 21st (has to finish finals and such) so please pray for him to continue to prepare for that day and act on his faith! The Lord prepares people to receive His Gospel. So crazy!

So then....I think the next day. I took a chat from a guy in India. He said that He found this site, and that He wants to know about the plan of salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said some sisters are teaching Him but that He is really busy and can only get on chat every so often on weekends. So I taught about the plan of Salvation and he was so enthused! He loved it. I taught about Lesson 3 ( Gospel of Jesus Christ) and focused on baptism. He thought it was really amazing that we could be forgiven for everything we have ever done. I asked if He would be baptized on December 7th and He said yes! He wants to prepare for that day. The nearest church is 2 hours away but he said he is willing to make the sacrifice to go so he can be baptized. The only downside about this is.....The way our systems are set up, each time we get a referral or they want to know more, we use a program called Connect (like an online area book) to keep track of them. So they become a contact, and there cannot be duplicates. So because the other sisters already have him in Connect, I can't teach him! I actually know the sisters, so I will just have to keep asking them how he is doing. He was sad I couldn't keep teaching him but understood. Hopefully they can prepare him for that date!

So do you remember about the african-american girl I wrote about a few weeks ago? The less-active who came from Las Vegas because she knew she needed to change her life? Well she left saying that she knew exactly what to do and how to change and that she couldn't wait to go to the temple. I called her a few days ago, thinking that that wonderful feeling might have worn off and that she might have slipped into her old ways. Well she answers and says hello? And I say May I speak with Natoya? And she says who is this (kind of rudely, I was nervous)? I say Sister Ferguson from Temple Square, do you remember me? and she says(all this time speaking almost in a whisper and I couldn't think of why)....................................................................................................................................................Oh my gosh hi! I'm in institute right now. I could have died I was so happy! I think that was my happiest moment of my mission so far. I was so proud that she was acting on her experience! I'm so happy that she is changing her life! It made my entire day/week/mission really! I am so thankful to the Lord for helping her feel the Spirit, and giving me the words she needed to hear at that time.

I have gotten pro at making chow mein out of ramen! it's so good!

Embarrassing story of the week: during our dinner break, we decided to go to the grocery store around the corner (we can go during our lunch times) and we bought a bunch of groceries since we didn't go on p-day last week. Well we're walking back and we cut through city creek because it's warm and faster and we're walking over the bridge when....the handle on my paper bag broke! And like in the movies, things rolled away haha and no one helped us!! we made it back to the mission home and got them in the fridge, but that night when it came time to go home, i was carrying my package mom sent me too, and the other bag broke! I was like what the heck! So some kind sisters helped me carry it all home. hopefully that gave you a good laugh!

Well we re excited for the Christmas lights to come on. They come on after Thanksgiving,

Also, the Sisters are putting on a performance on November 12th for the public. It's meant to bring investigators to. we are in the choir (even though I suck at singing...I'm gonna mouth the words haha). So if anyone wants to come and invite non-members or less actives do it!

I think that's probably it for the week. The Church is true! Don't forget about Elder Ballard's challenge. I love you all!

Shook an Apostle's Hand This Week... Who Was It?!

So form a guess in your mind. Winner gets......to buy themselves something! Or a free Book of Mormon...haha. The Apostle was.....














Elder Oaks! And his wife Kristin.

They came Monday morning just to the Temple Square mission home (in the South Visitor Center) and talked to us sisters. I have never been so close to an apostle before it was nuts. And he has really soft hands. It was so good! He talked about how a mission call is very inspired and special. And he was so not-serious! Usually at conference he is very serious but he was cracking jokes left and right, him and Kristin were having a great time together (they spoke to us together). It was humbling to have an Apostle of the Lord talk to us, and for once, I didn't fall asleep in a meeting! Miracle.

So this week....

I will start off by telling you what literally just happened. So we work like a usual day until one, when it becomes p-day. Today we were on the Square from 10-12 then in the Teaching Center (where we teach online and over the phone) from 12-1. It got to be 12:45 and we were going to our last location in the South Visitor Center. I saw a man sitting by himself kind of hiding behind a tree, and I felt impressed to go talk to him. So I told my companion and we went and talked to him, got to know him. His name is Rob. He was a young member who was waiting for his wife to come meet him. He explained where he is from, where he served his mission, and that he had had to come home early on a medical release. We talked a little more, and there was not much more reason of us being there, but I felt like I should ask him if there were any questions we could answer for him. And he said, well I'm not sure if you guys could help with this but.....and UNLOADED this story about how he had been previously married (he's only like 24 or less!) in the temple and divorced, but was waiting on a temple divorce so his wife and he had not been sealed. Also that he desperately wants his wife to come to church, but that she won't come. She has anxiety about getting ready for church or something like that. He then told us all about how his now second marriage is failing, and how she wants to leave him and kick him out. I guess he had done something to lose her trust 6 months ago but has since tried hard to regain the trust. She is unwilling to forgive. He sees the bishop for counsel every week, and she refuses. She won't go to a therapist, and blah blah...My companion and I were like what the...WHAT do we do haha. So we bore our testimonies about God's love for him, and the Atonement, how powerful it is and how all things are possible. Then he said he wanted us to talk with his wife. We were like uh yeah (but we can't counsel as missionaries!) So we left to grab something (and pray!) and came back and she was there, really mad. She was very rude, and upset that he had set up an "intervention." We tried bringing the Spirit, asking her questions to rediscover her testimony, and took them to the Christus. We had them read the Living Christ before we played the narration, and I bore my heart and soul about the Atonement and how nothing is impossible and about God's love and understanding for her. She cried a little, and I finally thought we were making progress but she then proceeded to tell us how unhappy she was, and how her marriage sucked, therefore her life sucked (keep in mind her husband is sitting right...next...to...her). And how she so badly wanted a divorce because she knew it would make her happy, but that she was raised to believe divorce isn't an option. We tried to explain that Christ can help people get through anything, but at that point, she was not receptive. She has no desire to change and forgive, so there was nothing we could do. I just said look, we as missionaries can't counsel you. But we bore our testimonies, said this was the last of the tour, and left them in the theatre to watch a Mormon Message on marriage and divorce so that we wouldn't have to see how it ended...it was so crazy. I tried very hard to listen to the spirit, and prayed a lot so I am comfortable in the fact that we did all we could do...I am not sure what else we could have done but he put us in an awful spot! So awkward.

On a better note, we had a sweet miracle this week!

So Tuesday I think it was, we were having a rough day. Every single person we called either didn't answer, were too busy, didn't want to talk with us, argued with us, or was anti. Every person! We didn't have any good tours either where people wanted to know more. We were like what the heck this sucks..So we decided we were going to go to Kneader's to cheer us up haha. So on the way to the food court, we met two security guards. One is a member, and the other (Domincko from some country that speaks Swahili) is not a member. He is a new employee, and the other guard was training him, and explaining a little about the church as he went. So we talked with them for a bit, then off we went. We got to kneaders, and I remembered how expensive it is, and felt guilty but just said oh well, we're already here, and really wanted kneaders. So I ordered and then said oh, how much is your pupkin loaf? And the guy behind the cashier said, oh it's free! I was like what? How? And they said, you're sisters! We need blessings. I was shocked and so happy! I thanked them and handed them my card for the rest of the order and he wouldn't take it. He said you don't need that, we got it. I was like what? The whole meal? No! I can't do that. Then they both said no, that they needed the blessings, and that they were paying for our meals. So they paid for our meals! It made my entire day. They didn't know that we had had a bad day, but they had served us, and went out of their way to make our day. It was so great! And the miraculous part of this miracle was that the whole time we were there, there was always someone in line, except for when we were in line, so I know that if we would have gotten there at any other time, that I'm not sure they would have been allowed to do that with other customers around. I was so grateful for that tender mercy of the Lord. And it gets better! On our way back to the square, we bumped into the security guards again. It was at the entrance, so you could see the temple, and they had just been discussing it. We asked Dominicko some questions, and explained how we want everyone to enter the temple, and how wonderful it is. I felt prompted to ask if he would like a BOM. He said yes, that books were his favorite gift. So we went and grabbed him one and wrote our testimonies in it and gave it to him. He is so humble and gentle, and open-hearted! He also gave us his contact information so we could keep teaching him. I was so so so thankful to the Lord that day. Even though we didn't have success, no one wanted to talk to us, but just in that one hour for dinner, everything changed. The Lord went out of His way to show His love for us. I felt so special, and humbled!

It seems like the whole continent of China came to the square this week....there have been so many Mandarin tours, those poor Mandarin sisters! There was a conference last weekend for Nuskin (cosmetics), and the headquarters are here in Salt Lake. The Owner and his Assistant i think are both LDS and are serving as Mission Presidents. So all the Nuskin people who were here for the convention all wanted to come to temple square to see what it is all about. We took so many of them on tours it was way cool. Talk about being an example missionary! Thousands came to the square because of those men.

So First transfer missionaries had a Living Christ meeting, where we talked about the Living Christ document, and shared our testimonies. They had us quickly write our testimonies on the back so we could mail it home to our families, so I will do that this week a long with my SD card. But there are too many pictures on there to try to explain them all sorry!

Oh, I watched Mountain of the Lord this week, that is a good movie. I have always appreciated the pioneers and their sacrifice for the Temple, but this really solidified that! I am so thankful for their dedication. For chipping away at granite for 40 years, to give their posterity something beautiful. I feel so grateful. They were so willing to obey the Lord, they volunteered their time, talents, and efforts every single day. And I get to look at what they have given us every day! They really gave us so much!

Anyway, what else can I share...Oh yeah! I passed of on giving tours this week! I had to take my zone leaders on a tour (like a role play but real tour) that both had all the historical facts, and spiritual converting tour too. They said it was awesome! So now my compy and I get passes to the Lion House to eat for free :)

This week I cooked chorizo for the first time. I was so scared! But it was really good! I sauteed red potatoes with spices and celery and carrots together with the chorizo and it was good. My companion even loved it! She's from Mexico and said that it was really good and that it reminded her of home. Proudest moment of my life. haha jk

Well I guess I don't have as many stories as I did last week. It was a little slower here on the square this week.

Oh yeah Halloween! So we ended our day yesterday at 5 and all the Sisters and couples came down to the Mission Home where we were lovingly served a baked potato bar, and various types of delicious cookies. I felt like a queen, they stuffed us! Then as a mission we watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. It was weird to watch a worldy movie, and the sisters are crazy haha they giggled and screamed the whole time, which if you know me, you know that's not how I am! haha but it was funny. I couldn't help but relate it to being a missionary the entire time. It basically represents the atonement and I compared Edmund to Judas haha and they kill the Lion and he comes back to life...I couldn't help but think of the crucifixion and resurrection haha so funny! Oh and we got to wear p-day clothes for the first time! So comfy! 

But the time has seemed to start going by faster. It's crazy, but I still haven't been out for very long.
Oh! Something we do everyday: Count our miracles. I invite you all to do that this week! Count your miracles, it really opens your eyes! Heavenly Father really loves His children.

Well I'm not sure what else to share. I hope this wasn't too boring! It was a great week though.

Anyway, I love the mission, not my mission, but the mission. Because it's not my time here, it's the Lord's. I have really come to see that here. It's his mission, and I cannot do anything without Him.

The Church is true, and change is possible!

Love you,