"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven" (Praise to the Man)
This phrase rings true of my area!!! We are seeing many blessings as we work hard...and we are working hard. Something that's great about Sis. Felten is that she wants us to be better at things...to keep progressing. We are using the Spirit more in every aspect of missionary work and it's been so effective. Sometimes when we go tracting it doesn't feel like success is coming but then we get some solid referrals from others who ARE ready to hear the message to the gospel. It's like for every door we knock something good comes out of it whether we see it as we walk around or later in the week.
Here are some of the blessings or miracles we've seen:
Marcos: a new investigator from BOSTON!!! He's lived here for a couple years and I think the missionaries tried to contact him before but he wasn't prepared for it yet. He gave them the run around...but he's so prepared now. He has M.S. and it's caused him to ask a lot of life's tough questions...and he's worried about life after death. His wife is a member who hasn't been active since baptism! So we're teaching both of them. They have so many questions and we're willing to answer them but it's all about line upon line...they won't understand certain things if they don't understand something before...so it's important to go slowly. :) The first time we met with him he told us not to give him our number or he'd cancel the appointment...but when we got there on Friday at 6pm we came into the house and he said "I've been looking forward to this all day!" WOAH....dude...he's so prepared. Then we talked about knowing God loves him and how he can recognize that...the lesson was so powerful. The Spirit was so present...and I know he could feel it. He's a talker so sometimes he goes on about stuff (we don't care) but during one of those times he said "I'm looking for salvation...I need to be baptized..." and then kept talking. We're like WOOT...I think he'll get baptized next transfer...he just needs to understand everything first. We're stoked about him. THEN we went to his ward yesterday and he came to church...he sat with the ward mission leader and then met the bishop afterwards and then went to the rest of the 3 meetings!!! He loved it all...and felt very welcomed and loved. It's amazing. Then we had another lesson last night and talked about prophets...and next time we'll talk about Joseph Smith. He asked is Joseph Smith died of old age...we told him no...and he said "if there's a man preaching about how you get get back to heaven and how you can be with your family...why would they kill him...that don't make sense to me." I wanted to say 'it doesn't make sense to me either' but I didn't...I'm truly greatful for Jospeh Smith!! :)
Hayden (10): He's been taught by missionaries since April...and he's finally getting to church more...and yesterday his dad asked if could be baptized in October...umm YESS!!! We were stoked.
We were going to the church parking lot (we had to use the bathroom) and ran into a bishop in one of our wards...he gave us a solid referral for 2 kids!!!!
Levi (9): he's so excited for us to come over and thrists for knowledge. It's awesome. He wants to be baptized so he can get a gun...we're changing that...ahhaha
Karim and Troy: Karim is from Peru and has been taught before I got here but her husband (who is from Utah) wasn't interested....well he is now. Last night we had our 3 meeting with both of them and he said he'd read and pray about the book of mormon!! He already started reading chapter 1 of it...and the intro. He's excited to keep learning. :) It's been a good refresher for Karim too. :)
There are many more....but I'm just so excited. The work is moving forward...and I know it's because we have shown Heavenly Father that He can trust us with His children. :)
I love this work. I love all of you! Keep being amazing. Missionary work is so important....BUY A PREACH MY GOSPEL and READ IT...such an inspired book.
Love,
Sister Page
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
I'm a MOM!
I said goodbye to Sister Harwood...it wasn't too hard because I know I'll see her again relatively soon. But the night before we went to pick up my greenie I got a blessing to guide me. I didn't realize how much I needed it until I was actually getting it.
So being a mom is hard work...and not because my kid is hard...it's just teaching them and giving the correct information but what's even harder is figuring out when they're ready for the next step...like talking in lessons and at doors and such. Because if they're ready and you don't realize it they think that you think they don't know what they're doing..when you really do know that they know what they're doing but weren't sure that they thought they were ready. hmmm if that made sense.
My child's name is Sister Felten. She super awesome...and really ready and willing to work and work hard. She wants no regrets on her mission and I like that attitude. We have been working on doing 20 min. lessons like Pres. Pitts has asked us and also walking around more in neighborhoods because people don't even know they have missionaries sometimes. So it's been good and we found two new people to teach...which we desperately need more people to teach right now. We had a zone fast for us to meet our goals this transfer so we're really putting our faith in Heavenly Father. We are planning on 4 baptisms this transfer...and we had one on Saturday. It was planned for last transfer but it got moved back. But it was a good experience for Sis. Felten to see the process of a baptism.
We've also had some pretty interesting dinners this last week...but I am thankful for anything people feed us...so I won't go into that. haha Things are so different in my area because we baptized a lot of people we were really close too and now the ward is taking over so we don't get to see them as much...so it's kind of weird. But we'll make new relationships with people and have cool stories to tell about them. haha I love my mission...and my new companion. I'm thankful Heavenly Father sent me someone who wants to work hard and is so capable...she knows the doctrine and knows how to study well so she can apply it in our lessons. :)
Love, Sister Page
So being a mom is hard work...and not because my kid is hard...it's just teaching them and giving the correct information but what's even harder is figuring out when they're ready for the next step...like talking in lessons and at doors and such. Because if they're ready and you don't realize it they think that you think they don't know what they're doing..when you really do know that they know what they're doing but weren't sure that they thought they were ready. hmmm if that made sense.
My child's name is Sister Felten. She super awesome...and really ready and willing to work and work hard. She wants no regrets on her mission and I like that attitude. We have been working on doing 20 min. lessons like Pres. Pitts has asked us and also walking around more in neighborhoods because people don't even know they have missionaries sometimes. So it's been good and we found two new people to teach...which we desperately need more people to teach right now. We had a zone fast for us to meet our goals this transfer so we're really putting our faith in Heavenly Father. We are planning on 4 baptisms this transfer...and we had one on Saturday. It was planned for last transfer but it got moved back. But it was a good experience for Sis. Felten to see the process of a baptism.
We've also had some pretty interesting dinners this last week...but I am thankful for anything people feed us...so I won't go into that. haha Things are so different in my area because we baptized a lot of people we were really close too and now the ward is taking over so we don't get to see them as much...so it's kind of weird. But we'll make new relationships with people and have cool stories to tell about them. haha I love my mission...and my new companion. I'm thankful Heavenly Father sent me someone who wants to work hard and is so capable...she knows the doctrine and knows how to study well so she can apply it in our lessons. :)
Love, Sister Page
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
A Missionary Labor Day
How ironic is it that it is Labor Day on a Monday when missionaries have their Pday anyways! haha We still went to work that night though...even though no one was home or really in any condition to have missionaries at their door because they were enjoying a night with the family...but we did talk to some leadership which is always good.
So for our labor day we went to play Lazer Tag as a district. Our friends Chris Peterson and Josh VanSteeter came too (they live in our area...and are preparing for missions). It was much fun. The first game we were on teams and my team dominated (probably because the Elder on our team told us what to do haha.) and then we went to a "every man for himself" game...which I came in LAST! Go figure. That was all good fun, it was much needed after a rather stressful week. (More to come on that later) We went to Walmart and printed pictures and picked up a few groceries, next week is transfers so we don't want to get too much to eat and then have to leave it. We went home and I think I wrote 7-8 letters...mail this week was good and I'm really thankful for that. Then worked on journal pages, which are just little notes to missionaries you know are leaving so they have something to remember you by and also your information to keep in touch. I then got my hair trimmed. The lady said the ends weren't split they looked really good so I think I'll get it trimmed again when I have 6 months left. :)
So this week was awesome but yes stressful. We had planned for a baptism for a boy (10) named Hayden...but it didn't happen AGAIN. BUT Heavenly Father blessed us and had another boy named Jimmy (also 10) get baptized instead. His mom and dad are divorced so he has to go to his dad's on certain weekends but he didn't know when...well his mom found out it was the next two weeks he'd be there so she asked him and he said "I'll get baptized this weekend." It was pretty awesome. Actually him and his 8 year old brother got baptized! So that was the miracle of the week.
On Sunday we stopped by Hayden's to see what was going on and to tell him we'd go to church with him and his dad. They said they'd be there well the whole Sarcrament meeting went by and they didn't show. We went over later that night and they said they didn't have any clothes to go in. (they just moved into this new ward so they're in the process of unpacking still) THEN we come to find out that Brother Shaw (Hayden's dad) got a tatoo the night before. We were just so disappointed. He's been working so hard to get back to church and everything so he can baptize Hayden AND he had gotten the "okay" to do it...but we just don't know what to do. THEN we see our recent converts heading outside (we were on the way to their house) and asked where they were going "to do something bad" they were about to go to get fast food on Sunday. All of these people KNOW BETTER. We told them to go back inside and Sister Harwood made them something to eat. It's just been a hard week all around. That's the life of a missionary...and I'm learning to trust in the Lord more. He know's what He's doing AND I kind of know how He feels because we can't force anyone to do anything...but we want them to make the right choices. Agency is amazing but sometimes I wish we'd use the gift a little better. I was reading in Alma 58 today...in verses 3-10 and how PATIENT the Strippling Warriors were in waiting for supplies..they didn't know why it took so long to get them but they thanked Heavenly Father when they did. I will apply that in my life. I love this work. I'm so incredibly happy to be here and serve the Lord. Thank you for your prayers and love.
Love, Sister Page
So for our labor day we went to play Lazer Tag as a district. Our friends Chris Peterson and Josh VanSteeter came too (they live in our area...and are preparing for missions). It was much fun. The first game we were on teams and my team dominated (probably because the Elder on our team told us what to do haha.) and then we went to a "every man for himself" game...which I came in LAST! Go figure. That was all good fun, it was much needed after a rather stressful week. (More to come on that later) We went to Walmart and printed pictures and picked up a few groceries, next week is transfers so we don't want to get too much to eat and then have to leave it. We went home and I think I wrote 7-8 letters...mail this week was good and I'm really thankful for that. Then worked on journal pages, which are just little notes to missionaries you know are leaving so they have something to remember you by and also your information to keep in touch. I then got my hair trimmed. The lady said the ends weren't split they looked really good so I think I'll get it trimmed again when I have 6 months left. :)
So this week was awesome but yes stressful. We had planned for a baptism for a boy (10) named Hayden...but it didn't happen AGAIN. BUT Heavenly Father blessed us and had another boy named Jimmy (also 10) get baptized instead. His mom and dad are divorced so he has to go to his dad's on certain weekends but he didn't know when...well his mom found out it was the next two weeks he'd be there so she asked him and he said "I'll get baptized this weekend." It was pretty awesome. Actually him and his 8 year old brother got baptized! So that was the miracle of the week.
On Sunday we stopped by Hayden's to see what was going on and to tell him we'd go to church with him and his dad. They said they'd be there well the whole Sarcrament meeting went by and they didn't show. We went over later that night and they said they didn't have any clothes to go in. (they just moved into this new ward so they're in the process of unpacking still) THEN we come to find out that Brother Shaw (Hayden's dad) got a tatoo the night before. We were just so disappointed. He's been working so hard to get back to church and everything so he can baptize Hayden AND he had gotten the "okay" to do it...but we just don't know what to do. THEN we see our recent converts heading outside (we were on the way to their house) and asked where they were going "to do something bad" they were about to go to get fast food on Sunday. All of these people KNOW BETTER. We told them to go back inside and Sister Harwood made them something to eat. It's just been a hard week all around. That's the life of a missionary...and I'm learning to trust in the Lord more. He know's what He's doing AND I kind of know how He feels because we can't force anyone to do anything...but we want them to make the right choices. Agency is amazing but sometimes I wish we'd use the gift a little better. I was reading in Alma 58 today...in verses 3-10 and how PATIENT the Strippling Warriors were in waiting for supplies..they didn't know why it took so long to get them but they thanked Heavenly Father when they did. I will apply that in my life. I love this work. I'm so incredibly happy to be here and serve the Lord. Thank you for your prayers and love.
Love, Sister Page
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