Happy Monday kids! Do you remember this sign?? I found it when I was serving in morrisville and took some pictures by it. We ran into it again (since we live by it now :))
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I've been doing a lot of studying and extra studying and it is really really happy making. I love studying. We had a really good district meeting this week about the holy ghost so I continued that in my studies for the past few days. It is seriously mind blowing the stuffy stuff you can learn when you study. I'll have to share it with yous some time. :)
We had a killer week! It was awesome! One of our investigators, Damien, came to church on Sunday! A member brought him home and mentioned the word of wisdom to him. So he texted us and asked what it was. We were able to teach him right then and invited him to pray to know that it came from God. he agreed to. A little later that night he texted us and told us that he had prayed and asked, the holy ghost had confirmed to him that the word of wisdom is from God! We committed him to live it and he said YES! He is a dream investigator and I know it is because he is truly prepared! He also told us how excited for his baptism he is!!! He reminds me of kollie if you remember him from west chester.
Today we are going to center city with the elders and a guy in our ward. He is a profesh tour guide of downtown and he is taking us on a tour :)! As for the Noreasters you may have been hearing about...the storms coming through philly have been rather pathetic luckily :). We must scare them off.
I don't have a lot of time to write but i'll attach some of sister cost letter home :) it explains pretty well how our week went in her perspective! how fun is that?!
Miracles always seem to happen on Sunday! So we got to church on Sunday and we arrived early for our usual PEC meeting every other Sunday. After PEC we anxiously awaited the arrival of our investigator Damien. Damien finally arrived with Sister Sameniego and we were so thrilled. We sat with them during Sacrament meeting. Then Sister Escadero and her husband walked in. For those who are a little behind and don't know who Sister Escadero is she is a member of the ward and we are currently living in her basement apartment. They had us in their home on New Years Eve and I was able to tell them about my conversion. They are very very nice people! Brother Escadero however is not a member, so when he walked into the chapel as Sacrament was about to begin my faced lit up entirely. I thought to myself "Could this day get any better?!" What a blessing it was having him there!
When church was over we met back up with him to see how things went. He told us he learned more about free agency during Priesthood and explained to us what agency was. I told yall this guy is really smart, like he just gets it. He reads the Book of Mormon and he knows how to liken it unto himself, he retains the things he reads and he tells us all about how it applies to him. He has recently been reading in Mosiah and loving it!! He texts us from time to time and asks us questions about the things he reads so that he can understand them better. He is a miracle and we are so blessed to be helping him come closer to his Father in Heaven through our Savior Jesus Christ!! After we departed and we were about to head out to a lesson at the Menezes home with another one of our investigators Tyrese the elders came and grabbed us and told us some guy had walked into our church and he was looking for the truth! WOWWW! Like what was even going on?! We went over to the other side of the building and met him. As we arrived Elder Millerberg was telling him about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy then they turned him over to us. Elder Zolman introduced us to him and told him we are "The best Sister Missionaries (he) has ever served with!"
We told him our names and talked to him a little bit more. His name is Gary Dean; he is in his 50's, married; wife is jewish, we don't know if he has children, he lives in a house with some people who are Atheist and one who is a "preacher." He told us he has lived here a really long time and had never seen our church before until just 2 days ago he was looking at the sunset and noticed a steeple. He called his dad to find out what the "building with the steeple" was and how long it had been there. Prior to any of that jawn he had been driving around looking for a church to join. He was looking into the Presbyterian religion, but he really wanted to know if the building with the steeple was what he was looking for in his life. We talked to him about the gospel and the joy it brings to our lives, we bore testimony of it being Christ's church and he was so touched by the spirit. He told us a little about his life and the trials he has been facing, then we exchanged contact info. We are going to start meeting with him as of Tuesday! He is yet another miracle in our lives!
Then we went and had our lesson with Tyrese at the Menezes home. We taught Tyrese about the gospel of Jesus Christ using the gospel nails. Tyrese is so awesome, he has been ready for baptism for quite a long time, the only reason he is not getting baptized sooner is because he wants his girlfriend Bruna to be there, but she is in Rexburg at BYU-I for college until April. We are hoping she will be able to get home so he can be baptized then, if not he wont get baptized until July. Keep him in your prayers, in fact keep all of them in your prayers, you can never have too many people praying for you!! After our lesson with Tyrese we went to dinner at Dana's house. Dana is going through a bit of a tough time right now with her fiancé right now and it is leaving her pretty depressed. So our company was very much appreciated! She is going to be okay though, we just know things are going to work out. We told her this is just another one of lifes trials she has to face but if she understands who wants her to give up the fight she will have an even stronger desire to hold on! Dana and Jose are the best and we sure love them a lot!
When we left Dana's house we had another wonderful miracle happen. So Sister Sameniego gave Damien a ride to and from church and she invited him over for lunch afterward. On the way back to her house Damien asked if he could stop by the store and get a cup of coffee (we had not taught him about the Word of Wisdom yet) Sister Sameniego thought "Well this would be the perfect time to talk to him about the Word of Wisdom!" She however didn't right off the bat. She stopped and he got his coffee. When they arrived at her house her husband Nelson was there -Nelson if I have not already told you about him is not a member, but he has been meeting with the missionaries for years and he knows more about the church than I do I'm sure! He is really awesome and he is the funniest guy ever- so Nelson told Damien "Damien don't you know you are not allowed to drink coffee?!" Sister Sameniego was like "Nelson!" Then she elaborated on why he was not allowed to drink coffee. Afterward Damien texted us and asked us to explain the Word of Wisdom, so we explained it to him and when we were finished explaining it to him we committed him to pray to know that the Word of Wisdom is of God. He said he would. We then asked him once he had a confirmation from Heavenly Father that it was if he would live the Word of Wisdom and he said yes. Later on that night he texted us and told us he had prayed about it and that he would commit to live it!! Such a miracle!! He truly is GOLDEN and we are super blessed to be apart of helping him grow closer to Christ!
I have decided the mission is kind of hard for someone who does not like change. We have a lot of changes coming up this transfer we think and I am slightly worried, but I know all things are inspired of the Lord out here and what ever it is will be something we need and will be for our benefit. God is so good to me. Sister Bailey read something to me the other day that really helped me: first she asked me "Did you think when you were set apart you were just going to be a missionary and get the missionary thing down?" I actually kind of did sad to say so I said "Yes." She said "God does not expect you to just come out here and be a missionary, he expects you to come out, put forth the effort and BECOME a missionary!" I needed to hear that. I often wondered since God is all knowing he knew I was going to come out here and have these struggles, so since he knew those things why did he want me to come out here in the first place? She answered that question right there. He does not expect that I have everything down right now, but he expects that I continually improve myself and put for the effort to get everything down. Everything in life takes time!! I am learning to be more patient with myself! Another thing that was told to me recently and that helped me out immensely is that "God knows we cannot be 100 percent obedient to his commandments, that is why he sent Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, as we continually repent (meaning feel deep sorrowful for our sins and short comings and ask for forgiveness) we are willing and have the desire to change and follow Christ. He loves us and he will forgive us. As long as we are seeking improvement through repentance and prayer and doing all other things to become more like Jesus Christ we are obedient, and through that we qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost! We need to constantly strive to become more like the Savior to have happiness.
Have I told you how much I love my mission and how much I love the people I serve around?! I am learning and growing so much it honestly blows my mind how much I am learning and growing. I am grateful for the trials I encounter because they truly do make me stronger. The Lord will make weak things become strong. He is ALWAYS there for us; we are NEVER alone!! He will be there to catch you if you fall. Put all your trust in him, I can promise you he will never let you down!! This is the true church of JESUS CHRIST!! I am out here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania doing his work and I know he is with me bearing me up in my time of need, he is making me become strong in Christ. I rejoice in being his servant and I would encourage all who are worthy to serve a mission. It will be the best thing you ever do in your life. Again "When you are in the service of your fellow man, you are only in the service of your God!" Get lost in the service of others, nothing will bring more joy to your soul! Do good to those despitefully use and persecute you! I love my Heavenly Father, I love my Savior, I love the Holy Ghost and the blessing he is in my life ( I say "he" because he is a he, he is a personage of spirit. He is the third member of the Godhead!) I know I am being lifted up by the angels that surround me, they are helping me, giving me strength to fight off the lies and deceit of satan! I will come off conqueror and when the time comes I will return home with honor! I love you all so very much and cannot thank you enough for your love and support! Read the scriptures and pray daily to be protected for the satan, go to church and partake of the Sacrament to renew your covenants with Heavenly Father, if you have fallen away COME BACK "there is room for you here" I know God loves you and he wants you to have happiness in your life! I can testify to each and every one of you that only true happiness comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ! I say this in the sacred name of OUR Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen!
I echo what Sister Cost has testified of! I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love you 100 degrees of goodness!
LOVE<3
Sister B
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