Oct.27

The week of islander exchanges! 

I went on an exchange with the marvelous Sister Tonga from Tonga! Her last name is actually Tonga'onevai but she goes by Tonga so it's easier for people. She is so great! We ate all the cereal treat I made, found an awesome new investigator named Erica, and laughed all day long. She is hilarious. Around 7 as we were contacting a referral from the Alspaugh's, I felt like we needed to stop by the Alspaugh's. Brother A recently got baptized.  I asked Sis Tonga to pick a hymn and we would sing it for them since I knew it didn't seem like the most effective thing to do with our time and they don't like random stop by visits. We went inside and sang "I need thee every hour." Sis Alspaugh bawled. She shared with us that two of her friends had passed away and she really needed that right then. It's amazing to see how aware God is of all His children. Our last appointment of the night was a member lesson with Sister Rhoades, our RS president. She is an interesting and kind lady. She started our visit by asking me if I knew about Canada. Of course, I had no idea.  And then she just looked at me so I expressed, "Is it bad?" Then she filled me in on all the current world events, specifically the shooting at Parliament. My heart hurt but I don't quite know what she wanted me to do with the information she told me. I was so sad for the lives that were lost and the confusion that is in the world for those who don't know Christ. We proceeded to share the Restoration with her. As I recited the First Vision, I felt the most gratitude for the courage and strength of Joseph Smith and for a loving Heavenly Father who restored the gospel for us. He did it so we can come home. Everything that we do now should be for the same reason, that we can all return home. My thoughts turned to those who lost their lives and for their hurting families. I cannot express my gratitude for the gospel. The spirit was so powerful, almost tangible, as I recited those words. Joseph really did see a pillar of light . I know it and I know that every single person on this Earth and in the spirit world can know it for themselves too. 

The second exchange was Sister Seru from Fiji and I was blessed to be able to serve with her in THE 9TH WARD! What a blessed day. I am so grateful that I am so close to all those people I know and love. I got to see Erin and Carley and Kenzie and Kodi! They are all so cute and doing so well. Erin was able to go to temple square and got her own quad. I feel the spirit so powerfully when I am in her home. I also got to visit with Milt and Patty. The look on Patty's face when she saw me was priceless. And of course, we ate ice cream! We had an amazing church tour with the sister's investigator Jacob. He expressed how he wants to be baptized! And we got to dine with the Rice's! Ad lastly, I got to see Karen! I always see her at just the right time. She is having a rough time and we were able to share with her what she needed. I just love that sassy, mildly inappropriate woman. 

We headed to dinner one night with the Elijah's. We arrived to mild panic. They have 3 little girls and one of them was missing. They told us she was wearing a backwards leotard and that the last time they saw her, she was told to go wash her hands for dinner. So we headed out to look for her. On our way we  talked to everyone we saw. One man as soon as he heard, dropped everything he was doing and jumped in his truck to look for her. Eventually she was found, of course, sleeping behind a bedside table. The man who helped us, also had his friend out helping and others in the neighbourhood. That is what life is all about. Dropping everything we are doing to help someone who is in need. This experience was the gospel personified. 

We found an AMAZING new family this week: Alex, Marina, Taylor, and Macey. We dropped by to see if we could set up an appt and they let us right in! How cool is that? We shared the first lesson and they invited us back! The two little girls are so hilarious and the little 5 year old goes to a school called Noah's Ark so she said she knew the prophets pretty well. They even invited us to eat ice cream with them after the lesson. That definitely made them my favorite people we met this week! 

Sister Hilton is a fabulous companion. As we drove past a park, she saw 3 teenagers sitting there so we pulled over and talked to them! I love doing socially awkward things! The three girls were Celeste, Destiny, and Justine. Ages of 13, 15, 17. One of them was homeless and hopeless. Can you even imagine what it must be like to be that young and not have a place to go home every night? They were so confused. We shared with them the plan of salvation. I can't even begin to comprehend how Heavenly Father feels about what happens to his children. And how grateful He is for His Only Begotten Son who gave everything so that all can be made right. This experience really put things into perspective. Everyday I am grateful for all that I have to do because where much is given, much is required. It is an evidence of how much I have been given. 

We had one of the recent converts in our ward have an explosion at us. YELL FEST 2014. She is angry and confused. Sister Hilton and I had no idea what to do so we just listen to her yell at us. This week seemed to have quite a few experiences similar to this. Right before I left, Uncle Greg told me, "Just because other people may not believe what you do, does not mean it is not true." That has echoed throughout my head this week. I know the spirit brought that to my remembrance.

This transfer is flying by. We have a lot to do. We have a sister's conference and zone conference this week as well as two exchanges. But more importantly, we have a lot to become. And to help others do it too. Today as we have been out and about, I feel an incredible sense of urgency. I don't think ever before I have felt  the need so powerfully to share the gospel with everyone so they can experience the miracle of the Atonement. The world is a scary place and it's getting scarier. In Walmart, I wanted to give a mormon.org card to everyone. Of course, I restrained myself. I don't know if this is just because my mission is coming to a close but I feel that it is more than that. I can feel the Lord hastening His work. The time is now to decide which way we really face and if we really love God more than we do this world and the things in it. 

I hope you all have a great week! I love being a missionary and I love the gospel! 

p.s. the pic with the box is from MLCs. This is what I am going to give the Saviour for Christmas!