Transfer 13 Week 4

Hellow!

So this week has been really good. We have done a lot of teaching. It is amazing to have watched this area grow. When we came in we ended up dropping and being dropped by quite a few people. God has blessed us with amazing people to teach. I love them so much. That is truly the hardest and most rewarding thing on a mission is the people. I am not excited to not be a missionary anymore merely on the principle of as a missionary you have opportunities into peoples lives that you would not have otherwise. It is amazing. I love people. Wanna hear a story? Ok good. So on Saturday we went to go visit a Less Active and she was not there. But. There was a guy across the street outside with his dog. He is in his 20s and he has long black hair and a scraggly beard. His dog is tiny and named Tu Pac. He picked up his dog so he wouldn't bite us because apparently his dog is a biter. He let him down and Tu Pac jumped all over us and licked us and made himself an adorable nussence. And this kid was blown away by the fact that we could pick him up and he was ok with it. And yes. We started teaching him. He is awesome and his name is Mike. We went back on Sunday and had a super lesson. He already is trying to quit. He is fantastic!

Also on Sunday we went to contact a referral from a less active member and this woman has had some really tough stuff which is why we were sent over there. We didn't inform her of our true purpose but we did share the plan of salvation with her, parts of it, and the spirit was so strong. We were able to ask perfect questions and she was able to open up to us about what she was dealing with and we are going back next Sunday. Working with less actives is my favorite thing ever. They are so great and they have friends!!!! Love them! 

I just love Sutherlin with all my heart!! The people here are amazing!!!! So much so!!!!!!!!

Have a good week.

Transfer 13 Week 3

Hello!!!!

So this week was good. But really fast. I mean. Really fast. Like 'yesterday was Monday' fast cause see how it's Monday again? Nuts! yeah. Crazy stuff. So This weekend we had a baptism for Jaden. It was awesome. I will send photos. Let me tell you about Jaden. She has been meeting with Elders for 2 years, on and off. When we first got in the area she was super surprised that we were sisters. She loves Joseph Smith. She got in contact with the church because someone she worked with showed her the Work and the Glory movies and she was hooked. She started reading all the books because she loves to read. She loves his story and how her persevered. She has come a long way. There were a few times we were not sure what was going to happen but she stuck with it and has made it. It was so awesome as we talked with her Sunday after church, after she was confirmed, she said it was cool to be Called Sister instead of just Jaden. She is awesome. And I love her so much!

Also we have started teaching this Guy named Adam. He is amazing. He has come to church a lot and he is reading the book of Mormon and has read lots in the gospel principles book. He is amazing. He is the friend of one of our members who comes out with us all the time. He is so solid. Our first lesson with him was amazing. The spirit was so strong. He is pretty fantastic.

Also there is a woman named Catherine that we will start teaching soon. She got in touch with our ward mission leader and wanted to come to church and find out about relief society. When we finally talked to her over the phone she said she wants to know how to join relief society. We told her that when you join and become a member of the church and are a woman you are then a member of Relief Society. She then asked how to be a member. We said through baptism. She then asked how she could be baptized. We are super thrilled. She is also super solid. She told us that she would come to church and she would be easy to pick out because she is Chinese with white hair. And she came to a BBQ without meeting anyone first and she had a grand time. Everyone already loves her. She came to the baptism for Jaden and she loved it. Then she went to another one right after because there was a back to back baptism that day. (Several wards and one building.) She loved it. When we talked with her about it on Sunday she mentioned how she might tie her hair up at her own baptism because she has never been baptized and wants to be. She is fantastic! We love her!

So. Sutherlin is amazing because the people here are so amazing. I love them all. Truth. I also love you all. Have a great week!

Transfer 13 Week 2

This past week was one of much work and more work yet the numbers don't show it. Those happen alot. Numbers don't matter. Actually. That's a lie. They totally matter. When Christ said "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray." (Mat 18:11-13) or when the Lord was addressing Moses, "And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine." (Moses 1:37) or when Christ is addressing the Nephites in the book of Mormon, "for behold, I know my sheep, and they are numbered." (3Nephi 18:31) 

We are numbered unto God because he knows us and he loves us. He desires that we come unto him. 

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;" (D&C 18:10) "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.: (Moses 1:39)

I was recently reading the talk by Elder Uchtdorf, "You Matter To Him", given in the October 2011 conference. He begins by saying how Moses had the realization that we are nothing. In comparison with God, man is nothing. Elder Uchtdorf continues on and teaches us that though we may be nothing against the backdrop of God's creations we are everything to him. I love that. So much. I recently read in the Book of Mormon about the Anti Nephi Lehi's and how they had so much love for God and their fellow man that they had no fear of death because they knew God. It is a beautiful thought that as we deepen our conversion to God and to his gospel plan for us, we have no need to fear. 

In Sunday school the teacher told about his mission and how we served in Provo, UT. Yeap. That's right, that's right. He talked about how as missionaries we come in contact with a lot of people and we see a lot of circumstances. He got choked up as he spoke of the people who walked away and how devastating it was to watch. I can bear witness of his sentiments, it is devastating to watch someone turn away from the truth. But how 'exceeding is the joy' we feel as we watch the light of the gospel illuminate their soul and chase away the darkness. This is a joy that is not reserved solely for missionaries but is available for all who seek to uplift one another and to find that lost sheep, no matter who it be. I love you all.

I know I threw a bunch of scriptures at you but they are awesome!

Adair

Transfer 13 Week 1

his past week has been awesome. God has been blessing us with people to teach and it has been amazing. The spirit is my favorite companion. It is good to know that I will never be released from that. I love the idea of the spirit being our 'earnest' which the bible dictionary tells us is "a pledge or security. The word thus translated is a commercial term denoting the deposit paid by a buyer on entering into an agreement for the purchase of anything. As used by Paul (2 Cor 1:22; 5:5; Eph 1:14) it means that the Lord gives us His Holy Spirit in this life as a fortaste of the joy of eternal life. The spirit is also the Lord's surety that He will fulfill His promise to give eternal life to the faithful." The fact that it is a foretaste is absolutely incredible. There was a young man in one of my areas and his girlfriend advised him to listen or read the Book of Mormon all the time. He had it going in his car and on his ipod and he just immersed himself in the Book of Mormon. After a week or so of doing this he was talking to his mom and he said "I am just so happy all the time. No wonder the missionaries are always so happy. Because they do this all the time. They have the spirit all the time." Another time on my mission a young man gave a talk at a baptism and he quoted the Gen. Releif Society president who said something to the effect that the Holy Ghost filled up all of our empty spaces so that when we felt the spirit we were completely full. I love that. That also goes along with something the Mission Presidents wife taught, that as we pray and pour our hearts out to God it's like emptying a dirty cup of water, and when we do that there is room for God to pour in his spirit, or a cup of clean water. All the time in teaching situations I tell people that I crave the spirit because of the way it makes me feel. It is peaceful and calming. It is enlightening and exhilarating. It is joyful and energetic. It is light. It is the ultimate gift, next to the Atonement. Speaking of the Atonement. Cool verse I found this morning about it in Leviticus 17:11. 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.' There is something very beautiful and poetic that the very thing which makes us mortal and imperfect, blood, is the very thing that was given to cause us to be whole and bring about our eventual perfected state. Christ, who was the only perfect being, was able to shed what made him mortal, and gave the perfect sacrifice. Elder Nelson refers to it as the 'immortal creation'. (For those who want some awesome reading, check out Elder Nelson's talk 'The Atonement' given in the 1996 October General Conference.) In short. I am grateful for the gospel. I am grateful for knowledge and learning. (Sis. Nealy is pretty clever and shared this clever bit of info with me that helps to distinguish knowledge (information we attain) from intelligence (what we do with the information we have gained). 'Knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit. Wisdom is not putting them in a fruit salad.' Yep. Brilliant.) I am grateful for the Atonement. I am grateful for Families and the plan that God has set for us. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost. This is all truth.

So experience of the week:

In a Zone Training Meeting (a meeting where the zone is trained. ;D) we were taught about the importance of teaching about families. We were urged to bring up and teach the eternal nature that is part of God's plan. We all nodded our heads and agreed. Then later that day, we were out with a member and we went to go follow up with a guy that the Elders had talked to before we were there. This man had lots of questions but not really interested in hearing the complete answer to any of them. We were busy seeking to explain his answers when our member comes in with teaching him about how families can be sealed and how this is something that sets us apart. His attention = grabbed. We listened as she shared this eternal truth with him. We walked away from that with a return appointment. I sat in the car feeling sheepish. The very thing we had learned that day was what allows doors to be opened. I am grateful for our member who was in tune with the spirit. I am grateful for this incredible promise from God. I am grateful for his plan for us. 

I love you all!

Transfer 12 Week 6

Hello.

 

This past week was super fantastic! Like seriously. Super amazing. Lots of really good things happened. So many awesome things. Now. You probably want me to disclose awesome things unto also so that you may rejoice with me, right? Ok. You twisted my arm. I think I can do that. 

Things that made the week awesome:

a) Amazing lessons.

b) Bare minimum of cancellations.

c) Crazy awesome new people to teach. We met a guy named Josh on the side of the road, he was really open. So. We taught him the gospel. He said we could come back. We went back. He was not there. But! His wife was also very open. So. We taught her the gospel! She invited us back! We are going this evening. We are excited! They are super cool!

d) There are some awesome people that we met that will meet with us, want to meet with us or are interested in learning about the church!

e) My companion is super fantastic. She feeds me quinoa (keenwaw) and squash. Plus she teaches like a boss. She is pretty amazing. 

f) we were introduced to something called Diatamacious Earth. You should look it up. Food grade. Supposed to be pretty good to eat and such. Dad...you might like it.

g) We taught the gospel all week! Like we do every week! So every week is an awesome week! Because of the gospel!

h) Did I tell you about the inactive family who called us to come over and teach them? Well there is another inactive family who lives 2 blocks away from them and they also want us to teach them too! I love it! So cool. 

i)The spirit. Everyday we feel the spirit is a good day.

j) Reading the scriptures. That always makes for a better day than not reading your scriptures.

k)On a long car ride we started talking about what our holy places are. My companion shared 10 with me so I want to share my 10 with you.

HOLY PLACES:

1) Showers. (especially on a mission.)

2) Laughter.

3) Whenever I read a letter from home that says something I needed to hear at that moment. My family has been really good about doing that. They = awesome.

4) Provo Canyon. I love rock climbing or hiking up there and enjoying the view and knowing that God loves us.

5) Working on crafts. When I work on crafts i feel happy and calm.

6) The Book of Mormon. I have developed a new love for this sacred volume of scripture and am more convinced than ever before that it is indeed the word of God and something we should live our life by.

7) Any memory of a good in depth conversation with my siblings and my parentals. I love talking with them and spending time with them.

8) I have specific friends in my life that served as safe houses for me when I needed a strengthening hand both on and off my mission. They would be Holy Places for me.

9) The grounds of the Medford Temple. I was blessed to spend time there as we gave service to help re-do the grounds.

10) Writing down my prayers. 

11) Anytime I feel the spirit.

12) Watching people come up out of the waters of baptism.

What are some of your Holy Places? (So I lied. I gave more than 10.)

(This is spured off of this really awesome talk. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/your-holy-places?lang=eng&query=holy+places)

Also I wanted to share some things I learned this week:

z) "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved" -Pres. Monson

y) "It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy!" 

x) There is such a thing as emotional equilibrium. 

w) Diatamacious earth acts as a natural pesticide but can also be very beneficial when ingested. 

v) I love serving a mission.

u) I love the gospel.

t) I love food. It is yummy.

Transfer 12 Week 4

Dear Yall.

This week was pretty shnazzy. I enjoyed it. Some highlights would occur on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday all of our appointments cancelled but it turned out grand because we still had a grand day! Mainly my companion is amazing and makes my life super fantastic because she lets all of her awesome rub off on me. But all of the action on Saturday took place in the evening. Right before dinner we contacted a Less Active member of the church and we now will be working with her. She has a pitched beeping thing in her house that deters mice. It beeps every three seconds. She is really awesome. Then we went to have dinner at our apartment. We got out of the car. Then Sis. Adair got back in the car. Why? To fill out the millage log for the day. Then she got back out. Sis. Nealy locked the doors. Sis. Adairs door did not lock. Weird. So she locked it manually. Dumb. Then we walked upstairs to our apartment and discovered, no keys! Guess where they were? In the car, in the ignition. Was the car was off. So we had to call a guy to come and break into our car for us. Yeah, we know a guy. The guy in the mission office over cars! Sis. Nealy and I decided that after our missions we may be lost because we wont have a mission office to call providing things go wrong, someone is sick, or heaven forbid, we lock the keys in the car. So we ate dinner and waited for the guy. During waiting and eating I was thinking. At the beginning of the week I had been asked to give a talk on Sunday. All week I had thought and nothing came. The topic was "Living in the moment and making the most of our current situation." Nothing came. At all. After thinking for some time and being annoyed about not remembering the keys it finally came to me why I couldn't think of anything for my talk. (p.s we were able to be in our apartment because we had a spare.) I looked at my companion and said, "Sister! I can't write it because I don't know how to do it! Living in the moment and making the most of my current situation is not a strong suite!" It was wonderful! After dinner we drove out with a member to contact a referral given to us by the Zone Leaders. Turns out that he didn't live where he said he did, it was his parents house and we ended up talking with his mom for awhile and she wants to know more about the church. We are super excited to go back! Also that evening we played an epic game of Gospel Jepordy. Yeah. Oh and we almost hit a deer. But we didn't. Our member has lightning reflexes and God was watching out for us. Sunday. I gave the talk. It worked out pretty good. I used the story of locking the keys in the car. And all of our appointments fell through on Sunday also. But! It was a great day as well! Being a missionary is the greatest! So, I bet you are wanting to read my talk huh? Cause you just cant resist. Ok. I'll give you parts of it. I really like the subject matter and am working to implement it into my life also. Also funny story. The Bishop was announcing the program and said that Sis. Nealy would be talking to us first. (She was not speaking that day.) So I just sat there and looked at her and she looked at me in wide eyed panic. I was like "Go ahead. They called you." She was all, "Sister, get up there!" Anyway. Hilarious.

So. The talk: 

(I started off with telling the car-key-locked-in story so we will go with that.)

Because living in the moment and making the most of my current situation is not a strong suite, I decided to turn to the experts. The Scriptures, prophets and apostles.  

First lets talk about what it is that keeps us from enjoying the moment. In my case it was living in the past and focusing on the mistakes I'd made in the past and the fact that I couldn't think of anything for my talk. Another is living in the future, having the mentality of 'Everything will be better once this happens..." Of living in the moment Pres. Monson says : "This is our one and only chance at mortal life--here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey--now." 

The key word that sticks out to me from that is the word now. Don't live in what has happened or what will happen but live in what is currently happening. Make the most of where we are right now.  How can we do this? I know it is possible to overcome living in the past and the future.

Of living in the past Pres. Uchtdorf says, "It is my testimony that many of the deepest regrets of tomorrow can be prevented by following the Savior today. If we have sinned or made mistakes--if we have made choices that we now regret--there is the precious gift of Christ’s Atonement, through which we can be forgiven.

We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The
Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and remove the burden of
our sins. His Atonement allows us to leave the past behind and move
forward with clean hands, a pure heart, and a determination to do
better and especially to become better." I testify that the Atonement is real. It works. We can be relieved of our burdens. Earlier on in my mission we were at a dinner appointment with a very active woman in the church and at the end of the dinner we were sharing a message with her. We chose to talk about the Atonement. She had experienced great loss throughout her life. Her husband passed away in his 50s and her son passed away unexpectedly in his 40's. We asked her how the atonement has helped her and how she had felt it. She had no idea. She couldn't tell us how the atonement worked. If you have not yet had an experience in your life with the atonement I ask you to do so now. To turn to your savior and welcome his healing embrace in. He is waiting for you. He wants to help. I know that as we turn to him he can help us to mover forward and live in the now by accepting his atonement. 

The next thing to over come is living in the future. Often times we live in the future because our now does not look so hot. It may be because we have struggles or whatever is around the bend looks like it will be better. Of this mind set President Uchtdorf said, "We shouldn't wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available--all the time! Life

is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it." Brothers and sisters, no matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it." He speaks of daily joy. We can find joy daily in our lives as we live in the now. I'd like to submit three ways that can help us to find this daily joy.

The first is to focus on what matters most. Pres Monson said, "Despite the changes which come into our lives and with gratitude in our hearts, may we fill our days--as much as we can--with those things which matter most. May we cherish those we hold dear and express our love to them in word and in deed. .... Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows..... Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important--and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”3 We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us...... Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." 

What matters most truly are those who are around us. As we remember to cherish these relationships we will be blessed with joy.

The second is that Happiness is a choice. A well known author once said "Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend … when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present--love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]--the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.” 

As we remember the bigger picture and focus on the good in our lives and make that conscious choice we can have that daily joy. As we think of a picture let us remember that it is made up of thousands of brush strokes and we need all of them to have the bigger picture, the dark and the light. Elder Wirthlin teaches us a valuable lesson in his talk, "Come What may and Love it." That was advice that his mother gave him. He says "How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t--at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life. If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness."  As we remember that it is how we choose to handle each situation that dictates the outcomes. We can choose to face life with a good attitude.

The third is to live in the attitude of Gratitude. President Uchtdorf says "We can choose to be grateful, no matter what.

This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer.
When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace.
We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?
Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances. It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges.
This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind.
Being grateful in our circumstances is an act of faith in God. It requires that we trust God and hope for things we may not see but which are true.8 By being grateful, we follow the example of our beloved Savior, who said, “Not my will, but thine, be done.”

I know that as we learn to live in the moment and make the most of our current situation by focusing on what matters most, choosing to be happy and choosing to be grateful in all things we will come closer to the Savior. It is only through him that we can do this. Through his grace and atoning sacrifice we can change our lives to be in closer harmony with his. As we follow the message of the gospel and deepen our conversions we can have joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come. As we share our testimonies with others we will gain a deeper appreciation for the gospel and for what we have been given. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

That's my talk. Hope you enjoyed it. I love you all.

Sis. Adair

Transfer 12 Week 3

This week was pretty grand. We met a lot people. Had a great exchange with our lovely STL's who art amazing. Learned some good things. Taught some spirit filled lessons and grew closer to Christ. I hope to be able to say that every week of my, no scratch that, every day of my life. To say that I came closer to Christ today. Whether it be a super fun awesome fantastic day or a terrible no good absolutely horrible day. All days, no matter the sun or or the rain, should in some way help us to know our Savior better. After all, All things testify of God and Christ. I love you all. Read the scriptures. Share the gospel, if necessary, use words. And yes I stole that from Pres. Uchtdorf.

Sis. Adair