Marsha's Miracle

This has been one of the happiest weeks of my life! This week Sister Trawick and I have been blessed so much! So after the miracle of being led to happen upon Marsha at her apartment in the beginning of September, we continued meeting with her about once a week throughout the month. She started the Book of Mormon and fell in love with it! (After we helped her to see that the Book of Mormon does indeed contain the teachings of Jesus Christ- she loves 3 Nephi, especially). :) She expressed that she had always wondered about Jesus Christ ministering to other people besides in Jerusalem and surrounding areas, and she said she hoped so much that it's true! She read fourteen chapters of 3 Nephi in three days, then started from the beginning, studying carefully and praying every day to ask God if it's His word. She said she hadn't received a clear answer yet, but that God did tell her, keep reading. So that's what she plans to do! She trusts God and His timing so much, which I truly admire! At one point in a lesson, we invited her to be baptized. However, she did not understand why she would need to be baptized again, in this church, and we realized that she still did not understanding the need for the priesthood or a modern prophet. We tried to explain, but her confusion remained and our time was up, so we said we would address it the next time. During this past week, Sister Trawick and I prayed and studied diligently each day to know how to best help Marsha understand those vital doctrines and concepts. We prayed that she would receive answers to her prayers and have a desire to be baptized with the proper authority. When we finally met with her this week, I felt that although we had no idea what would happen, that we were spiritually prepared and the Spirit would guide us. We began discussing her concerns and reading some scriptures. Brooke Mcsheehy, a returned Sister missionary in our ward, was with us and asked, "Have the sisters talked with you about General Conference?" Marsha said yes, but that she didn't feel comfortable watching something like that when she didn't yet agree with the idea of modern prophets. A thought came to mind that we could show her just a clip right then and there. Marsha agreed, and Brooke pulled up the only video of a conference talk that was already downloaded on her phone, "Loving Others and Living With Differences," by Dallin H. Oaks. We listened for about seven minutes, and I told Marsha we could pause whenever she wanted. "Just a few more minutes," she said. When she finally paused it, she said she hadn't wanted to stop listening, that she had never heard anyone speak that way before, and that she believed everything he had said. She recognized that he was speaking God's words, with His power and authority! She was so excited!! We testified to her that Elder Oaks is truly called by God and that he was indeed speaking God's words. Then she agreed to have us over to watch the Saturday morning session of conference with her!

The next day she said she had been listening to old conference talks all evening, and that her questions were being answered! We watched a session of general conference with her and afterwards she expressed that she knew every man and woman who spoke had spoken God's words with His power, and that she was filled with the spirit and the love of God. She said she now completely understands the need for modern day prophets and leaders, as well as priesthood authority. She said she had given up looking for a church like this because she thought she had looked everywhere- now she feels like a hole has been filled in her heart! She said, "People have always known me to be a happy person, but now I really have something to be happy about!" I will always remember the image of her grinning with tears in her eyes as she recognized the witness that she had received that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's church on the earth, the same church established by Jesus Christ and restored through Joseph Smith. Now understanding the priesthood, she accepted the invitation to be baptized! She is so excited!!! I AM SO HAPPY FOR HER!!!! This morning we helped her officially move, and today when she unloads the truck in Georgia, the missionaries will be there to help- little do they know what's coming for them, the lucky ducks! I wish I could see her through her baptism, but I am so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me to be part of this incredible experience! My faith in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, the Priesthood, and the restored truths of the gospel have been strengthened so much. It was absolutely no coincidence, but a miracle, that God led us to knock on Marsha's door and that in one short month she is ready to make eternal covenants with Heavenly Father. I now truly understand the powerful feelings described in Doctrine and Covenants 18:15: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" I know this God's work and that He lives!

A New Chapter

The days leading up to Sister Stephens' departure were jam packed with saying good bye to everyone. It was sad, but Sister Stephens and I were kinda just floating along because it hadn't actually hit us yet that she was leaving Fort Walton. On Monday we had another awesome lesson with Jim and Vicki at the Nystroms on keeping the Sabbath day holy. Yogi was able to relate with Jim about feeling out-of-place in the priesthood class during church, but encouraged him to go and promised he would learn from it. Jim agreed to go with Yogi to the third hour of church, yay!


On Tuesday we had district meeting, visited some more people, and finished up packing Sister Stephens' belongings. We left for Tallahassee in the late afternoon and had a fun drive of laughing and singing together, telling stories, and drawing as much training advice from Sister Stephens as I could. We met the Sister Training Leaders at the Institute building that's used by the students at Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College, which is where Sister Stephens will be serving. It was so weird to be on a college campus again- some of the students were there and one of them had cooked up some racoon for everyone to try! It was super greasy, but didn't taste too bad! We stayed the night at the sisters' apartment, and in the morning we drove to the church building. I went to a trainer training meeting for the missionaries who would be training the new missionaries, and President Smith's remarks put me at ease a little bit. Boy was I nervous! Then we went into the chapel where he announced the companionships and their areas. My companion is Sister Trawick! She's from Monterey, CA and she's awesome! I said goodbye to Sister Stephens, and then Sister Trawick and I were on our way back to Fort Walton. I was sad to see Sister Stephens leave, and it's been hard without her; but Sister Trawick has a strong testimony of the gospel and strong desires to serve God the best she can. It's a little difficult being the only one who knows the people we teach and the members, and weekly planning was interesting, but Sister Trawick has a positive attitude that I really appreciate. She encourages me when I'm feeling stressed and is a willing learner. I'm learning a lot, too- I'm learning quickly to put a lot more trust in Heavenly Father to guide me. I can feel Him guiding us to know what to do, where to go, and what to say as I try to do my best to help Sister Trawick become the missionary God wants her to be.

On Wednesday, we had dinner with Laura and her husband and son. As we were clearing the table, we heard someone honking in the driveway. When they went out to see who it was, their next door neighbor jumped out of her car and declared that there was a bear in her driveway! Laura's husband grabbed his shotgun ("just in case") and asked us, "Do y'all want to see it?" I did, but I also wanted to keep Sister Trawick alive- I didn't think it would go over well to have to tell President Smith that the new missionary had been eaten by a bear... So I said no, and we ran inside until Laura came in and escorted us safely to our car out front. That was pretty exciting!

Yesterday, we had an amazing lesson with Melissa about repentance. We read Alma 36:18-21 and discussed the incredible change that Alma experienced as his sorrow and guilt was replaced by joy. I testified to Melissa that I know the Atonement is real and that repentance works because I've experienced my own sorrow replaced with joy- and the Spirit was so present and warm as it confirmed to me the truth of what I was saying. Melissa said she wanted to experience that change and joy for herself and said she could feel God's love for her at that moment. The gospel is so true! I know that by living the teachings of Jesus Christ and by accessing the powers of His Atonement daily we come near to God, become like Him, and can receive the ultimate blessing of eternal life with our families. That is what I want for all of God's children, and that is why I am a missionary. I love you all!

1st transfer

Good memories!
Sister Stephens-
Sister Jamison's 1st mission companion

 

 

 

 

Sister Jamison- Stays in Fort Walton Beach to train a new missionary

 

 Sister Stephens- Heads to Tallahassee to be a head Sister Training Leader

Transfers! Wow!

This week has been a little crazy! On Tuesday and Wednesday we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. On Friday we saw Marsha. I love Marsha and how happy she is! She had read the first chapter of the Book of Mormon but was having a hard time finding the teachings of Jesus Christ in it, so we helped her to see how the Book of Mormon is full of His teachings and testifies of Him and His Atonement. The spirit was very present as Sister Stephens and I bore to her our testimonies of the Book of Mormon. Her heart was softened and she said she would be willing to read more and find out for herself if it is true. I love the Book of Mormon! Along with the spirit, it is our most powerful resource in helping others become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

On Saturday we received a call from President Smith with the sad news that Sister Stephens is going to be leaving Fort Walton, but the exciting news that she is going to be a head Sister Training Leader in Tallahassee and that I will be training a brand new missionary here in Fort Walton! Wowwee! I was surprised, then scared, then very humbled, and now I am excited! I'm really sad that Sister Stephens will be leaving- she has taught me so much and we have had so many fun and spiritual experiences together- but I am really excited for this opportunity to learn and grow as I do my best to train this new sister. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing sometimes, but I know that God knows exactly what He's doing. I kind of feel like a deer in headlights, but I know that God qualifies those He calls! I trust that as I do my best and rely on Him, He will help me to be the kind of trainer that He wants me to be. We leave Tuesday afternoon to drive to Tallahassee, and on Wednesday morning I'll pick up the new sister! 

Sorry this is short- we have a lot of people to see this evening as everyone wants to say goodbye to Sister Stephens. :) I love you all! 

 

 

Such sweet mission companions

Wow!

This week has been crazy, but awesome! Last Monday for P day, Sister Stephens and I played volleyball at the beach with the other sisters, the English elders, and some young adults from the ward, which was super fun! That evening, we had an appointment with Justin who we contacted on the street last week. We found what we thought was the address and knocked on the door. But to our surprise, it wasn't Justin who answered, but Marsha, a lady who we had met two months ago! It wasn't even Justin's apartment! Back in July, Marsha's friend who is also not a member but loves missionaries told Marsha to call the missionaries for help with moving. She contacted us, and we had helped her move a ton of furniture into a truck, but we had assumed she had moved! Nope! Marsha invited us in, thinking we had come by to see her, so we went with it! She's officially moving in October once she retires. We talked about her friend's interaction with missionaries, as well as Marsha's background, her family, religion, etc. We found out she has a very strong relationship with God but hasn't gone to a church since she was little. She talked about her desire to find a church that fits her, and we talked a lot about prophets since she had a lot of questions. She was really open with us and she's so kind and willing to learn more about our beliefs! She is such a happy person! We came back another night and talked about the Restoration. She wants to keep meeting with us! It was a miracle that we knocked on her door! Sister Stephens and I later realized that we had looked at the address wrong, but we know that was no coincidence! Marsha is so prepared!

We did eventually get to teach Justin, too, but it was a little crazy because he kept having to chase his toddler down. :) On Wednesday we had zone conference in Niceville. Our zone has such awesome and diligent missionaries who are so fun! President and Sister Smith are the best! I learned so much from them and from the missionary leaders who taught at the conference.

One more miracle! One evening, we visited with a sister who hasn't been at church for a few years since she married her husband who isn't a member. We invited her to come to church on Sunday, and she said she would because she did miss it. Lo and behold, she was at church!!! She sat with friends and every lesson and talk made me think, "wow, that's just what she needs!" After church, she thanked us for inviting her and said that everything she heard was perfect and just what she needed to hear.

One of my favorite lessons at Zone Conference was "Teach People, Not Lessons; Be People, Not Robots" :) where we talked about utilizing the personality and gifts God has blessed us with as missionaries and being ourselves as we do His work. We each have unique things to offer to God and to others as the individuals we are. Our goal is to become like Jesus Christ, but that does not mean we are all going to be the same. We each have different ways to bless others' lives that become evident as we serve them and as we strive to be more Christlike. We can pray to recognize our strengths so we can focus on developing and utilizing them as God would have us.

I love seeing the strengths and characteristics that others possess! It helps me to love them more.

P.S. A lot of the pictures are from other weeks, so look back at old stories. :)

 Relaxin'

Bike Selfies

Elephant cupcakes!

Facial fun!

Some beautiful flowers

Nicky met a new friend, but their taking it slow ;)

Helmet head!

A healthy breakfast of Nutella and caramel...

Working hard with masks

Service!

Beach volley ball fun!

Turtle

Sister Stephens and I have been blessed so much this week! We were able to teach a lot more lessons and see more of our investigators and other people. On Monday we had dinner with Christophersons. Brother Christopherson and his son told us all about helping with the flood cleanup efforts in Louisiana. We heard from them and a lot of people in the ward that went, and how they gutted homes for people and hauled out all the destroyed items.They said there were about 9,000 Mormons over there helping. Everyone camped outside the stake center in one of the towns and there were two enormous sacrament meetings of standing room only! They said the destruction was awful, but that it was an amazing experience to be able to help people there. Sister Stephens and I wish we were allowed to go to Louisiana to help, but it sounds like they have a lot of people helping, which is awesome.

On Tuesday we went on splits with Alli and Alivia Brill! It was way fun! Alli came with me to teach Melissa. She told us she didn't feel ready to be baptized in a few weeks. She really liked coming to church and wants to come more, and she believes the Book of Mormon is true, but felt like she hadn't received an actual answer from God yet. On Sunday she wasn't able to come to church because of work, but afterwards, Sister Stephens and I went by her house. She said she had really wanted to come to church, but that she had received an answer that the Book of Mormon is true! She said she feels closer to Jesus Christ and has been happier from reading it. She's progressing so well!

On Wednesday we went with Sister Tedonne to Susan's house (a different Susan than the one I've previously written about.) This Susan we met while she was walking her dog. She's a sweet lady in her seventies who's from the Philippines. She told us all about how she met and married her husband who was an American stationed at a military base in the Philippines. She kept laughing about how she married a stranger, but that it worked out. :) They were married for 52 years until he passed away two years ago. Susan is Catholic, but she's interested in learning more about our beliefs. We talked with her a little bit about the Plan of Salvation and are meeting with her again this week.

Later that day, Sister Brock picked us up to go teach some lessons with us. On the way to one appointment, we saw a big turtle in the middle of the road! We didn't want it to get hit or anything, so we found a plastic bin, helped the turtle into it, and drove down the street to a gully that led to a big pond and freed the turtle there. :)

Something I've been studying this week is the nature of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Their whole desire and purpose is for us to live again and be able to have eternal joy. They are perfectly kind, loving, selfless, and possess every virtue in its complete form. Everything they do is to direct us to the source of true joy, which is Jesus Christ and living a life centered on His teachings. I know that Heavenly Father is the father of our spirits and that we can become like Him. Jesus Christ suffered and died for us so that we can overcome every challenge, weakness, and sorrow we face, and ultimately become even as He is- perfect.

Lotsa Service!

Not a lot happened this week, so this is going to be a kind of shorter email, but that's okay! 

On Monday we played volleyball with both pairs of elders and the other sisters in the church gym, which was super duper fun! That evening we had breakfast for dinner with the Brills! I love the Brills! Brother Brill shared some awesome stories from his mission in Germany and we had fun visiting with their daughter Allie who just came home from England. 

On Tuesday we had an awesome district meeting about talking with everyone we meet. That's something Sister Stephens and I are working on! God commands missionaries to open our mouths "at all times and in all places" and we're trying to be better at that! 

We taught Roderick and Akeria about Entertainment and Media and helped them to download some awesome music from lds.org. Then we had a dance party to some of our awesome mission-approved songs. As long as it directs our thoughts to Christ and invites the Spirit, we can listen to it. Roderick and Akeria can be so crazy, but we sure love 'em! That evening we had dinner with the Orse family. We had cheesecake for dessert and talked with them about their family mission plan, which was awesome! It helps families set goals and make plans for how they can do missionary work as a family. 

On Wednesday we tried to see a bunch of former investigators. Sister Tedonne came with us to go see her sweet neighbor from Holland. She took a Restoration pamphlet, but she wasn't interested in learning more. Some day! :) Wednesday evening we went to Young Women's- Sister McSheehy likes for us to come so the girls can see that missionaries are really normal people and that being a missionary is awesome! It seems to work- a lot of them want to go on missions, which is super cool! We made sugar cookies, frosted them, and delivered them to some less-active young women. 

Also this week, we taught Jim and Vicki about the Law of Tithing and Tess and Yogi Nystrom's house! Wow did Jim and Yogi click! They're practically best friends now! They bonded over their heart problems, the insulin brand they take, and their crazy adventures from when they were younger. And they both love to talk and talk. :) And Jim and Vicki both committed to pay tithing (Jim once he's baptized.)

On Saturday we went to Sarah's house with all the missionaries to tackle a bunch of projects. We ripped out the inside of a closet that needs to be re-walled and tore down an old shed in her back yard. Then we went with the other sisters to help clean someone's house. 

Church was so powerful yesterday! I learned so much- about having a firm foundation in Christ, the importance of family history, and the importance of the family. Since being on a mission, my desire to have a family of my own that's centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ has increased so much. God is our Father- His perfect joy comes from His perfect and eternal Fatherhood, and He knows that having righteous families is what will bring us the most joy. Despite the world's disintegrating views on the family, we can stand firmly and faithfully in the teachings of Jesus Christ through scripture and modern day prophets that teach us how to have families that bring joy now and in the next life.