Movings and Weddings

We had a really good week last week, aside from us spending two hours in the Urgent Care for Sister Thorup's arm. We're working with a lot of less actives in our ward and a few investigators. Brother Chappell might be getting baptized in September. Sister Thorup is guilt tripping him a little bit since we are pretty positive that she will be leaving next transfer. Speaking of transfers, we just had them on Wednesday. Elder Posadas went to Decator and we got Elder Veenker, a new missionary from Utah. He is pretty cool and seems so prepared to be serving a mission. He seems to be doing a lot better than I did my first week in the field. Elder Arnold is adjusting to being a trainer but seems to be doing fairly well. He's a good example for Elder Veenker to follow.
 

We helped someone move out and attended a wedding on Thursday. I feel like we are losing all of our solid ward members who aren't crazy. We've had around 70 people move out of our ward, most of them to Utah. Brother Hintze was one of our ward missionaries that helped us out a lot and Sister Hintze was in Young Women's. Our ward is a turnover ward so we get all the students that are attending UAB and they move out once they are done with school. But we also get lots of new people once school starts up again. The wedding we attended on Thursday really didn't feel like a wedding. It was two of our recent converts, Yolanda and Lawrence. Yolanda was baptized in February and Lawrence was baptized in May. Yolanda and her two girls and her dad have been living in Lawrence's one bedroom apartment for the past few weeks because Yolanda's lease was up and they had bed bugs and they didn't want to sign a new lease if they were going to move in with Lawrence when they got married a month later. So it's kind of a complicated story but everything is good now. Bishop May performed the service in the Relief Society room and it was a pretty quite affair. Yolanda told us the wedding was going to start at 7, but she didn't even show up till 6:50 and it didn't start till 7:15. We assumed they would be bringing something to decorate with, but when they didn't, the Georges and Sister Thorup and I searched in the Relief Society and Young Women's closet for stuff so it wasn't so plain for them. Afterwards, they invited us out to dinner to celebrate with them. Take a guess as to where we went with this black family. Golden Corral is the best way to celebrate a wedding, obviously. I'm not complaining, though because Sister Thorup and I were paid for. I love this family so much because they are so funny and love to be happy. They may not have it all together, but together, they have it all.

 

On a more spiritual note, here are some of my favorite quotes from Sunday's Relief Society lesson.

"We ALL have trials. It's just a matter of how we handle those trials."

"If you just have a spiritual shell, you will crumble under pressure."

"Just because we do all the right things doesn't mean everything is automatically peachy keen."

"There's a positive  for every negative ."

"Be thankful for the weeds. They teach us that when we pull them out, we can be beautiful."

Bug Bites and Transfers

Sister Thorup and I sat for two hours in the doctor's office waiting for someone to come look at her bug bite. We noticed it on Saturday and it grew on Sunday and there was a line going up her arm towards her heart. Kathie {who is a recent convert and works at the UAB hospital} was concerned about the trail going towards Sister Thoroup's heart so she had us go to another member's house where they are both head ER people. They said it's called cellulitis and we should get it checked out so we went this morning. The service at the Urgent Care wasn't very urgent. We sat in the room for about a half hour before the doctor even came in, and then another twenty minutes for someone to give her a shot and send us on our way. So that's how I've spent most of my P-Day today. Sister Thorup just Google'd it and apparently if it's not treated it could become life threatening, so I am so thankful that we took those two hours to get it taken care of.

We had transfer calls on Saturday.  Sister Thorup and I are staying together! Yay!! She has mixed feelings because she has already been here for four transfers {six months} and she knows this will make it a thousand times harder to say goodbye to the people here. She loves this area and we make a great team, but she also wants to see other areas of the mission. We are both excited for this transfer because we have a lot of potential with several people. Elder Posadas is leaving this transfer, so we had a dinner at Kathie's to say goodbye. Kathie got baptized in May because of Sister Thorup so they have a really tight bond. Kathie loves having the missionaries over and all four of us have grown close to Kathie and her husband Mike and their grandson who has been staying with them. Elder Posadas made plantain and green banana chips, Elder Arnold made sticky rice and Sister Thorup and I made brownies. It was a good dinner. We're sad to see Elder Posadas go, but he's going to do great wherever they send him. Both Elder Posadas and Elder Arnold will be training this transfer.

No baptismal dates yet but we are working towards a couple. Our favorite family is a part member family. The husband JP is less active but wants to start coming back and the wife Crystal is interested in learning more. They have two little girls, Ember and Jade. Crystal is about to have another baby, she hopes within the next two weeks. There is a recent convert who kinda went less active but has started coming back to church and the elders have started teaching her husband, so we're hoping he will get baptized soon as well. He likes to meet with the missionaries and seemed to enjoy church yesterday. Brother Chappell is still slowly progressing in his way but we are going to get him baptized this transfer since Sister Thorup is staying but this will most likely be her last transfer here in Vestavia Hills.

Civil Rights and New Best Friends

It poured last Monday and we got caught in it. It was super fun though cause we were walking around this park that is across from the Civil Rights museum in downtown Birmingham. There were statues and signs that told a little bit of the history of the area. We saw the statue of the four little girls who were killed when someone bombed the Baptist church. It was really interesting to learn new things about the Civil Rights movement.

My interesting story for this week includes my companion getting a new best friend. We got dropped off at an appointment by a member in what's called "Southside" about a half hour drive from our apartment. We couldn't get anyone to come out and get us, so we were hanging out on a street corner waiting for the bus. Everyone is so friendly here in the south, some even a little too friendly. We simply said hello to a guy across the street and we ended up hearing his whole life story about crawling in some bushes and getting poison oak and how he writes Christian rap songs. Sister Thorup wanted a picture just in case he "got famous one day." We were not expecting him to put his arm around her, which explains her expression in the picture. Luckily for us, we met an inactive member of the Church down in Southside. He approached us and talked about how three of his siblings served missions and he likes to talk to missionaries whenever he sees them on the streets. He found out we were stuck without a ride, so he insisted on driving us home. We had to walk to his house to get his car, so we got his address. You know we will be visiting his family soon with cookies and a lesson about the gospel. Jimmy Stout is so cool and I hope he starts coming back to church soon.

We got a revised ward roster this week since we had 68 people move out of the ward. It used to be 4 pages and now we're down to 2. Sister Thorup went through and highlighted all the active members in pink and the inactive/less active members in blue. There is wayyyy too much blue on these 2 pages, so we've decided to clean up a bit in the Vestavia Hills Ward. We're going to be focusing on those members who haven't been to church in awhile. We met with one family already last night, J.P. and Crystal. J.P. is a member, but his wife and two girls aren't. He has expressed interest in coming back to church and loved the idea of us going back this week and teaching a lesson. I'm way excited to meet with this awesome family again. It reminded me a bit of home when we were there visiting. It was about 7 in the evening when we went over, and they were all in their pajamas. The girls were watching a movie and doing dishes and the house looked lived in, like ours is. J.P. is in the middle of a work project, so there was paperwork everywhere and Crystal was helping him. It was a bit chaotic, but there was a feeling of love and family, something I haven't felt in other homes that I've been in out here where there's only a mom and kids or where someone smokes and everything is just covered with the smell. It was so nice to be in a family friendly environment where the Spirit could dwell even among the paper work. I'm excited for this family.

Adventures of Week 3

I cannot believe I'm starting my fourth week here in Alabama. I've been here for a month already! The time sure does fly by so fast.

This week was another good week. It rained so Sister Thorup and I decided to walk in it and go store contacting. We put on jackets and boots and just enjoyed the walk. We passed one other person out in the rain, a man named David. He seems pretty cool and he seemed to like the Mormon.org card we gave him. Maybe something will come of this contact, maybe not. At least we tried! That's sometimes all we can do is try and let people use their agency to accept.

I went on my very first exchange with the Sister Training Leaders. It was an interesting experience because they are the Spanish sisters in our area. I went to a new apartment for the night but I was still in my area speaking Spanish. I know enough Spanish to know what's going on but not enough to communicate back. I just stood there while Sister Pickett contacted or taught a lesson. The Spirit was still strong in the lessons, though. It showed me that it doesn't matter what language you speak, you can still feel the Spirit. 

We had a baptism this week, but I had no part in it. We went because Sister Thorup had taught him a few of the lessons. It was cool to be able to feel the Spirit even though I didn't know him personally.

 

I'm including a picture of how creative the elders have gotten when it comes to making food. We were over outside their apartment trying to correlate our investigators and their investigators for ward council. Elder Arnold being a typical boy and looking for food wanted a hot dog but they were out of buns, but not tortillas. They made me try it too and it was actually pretty decent. Elders are funny.

That's about as exciting as it gets around here. We're still teaching Wayne, hoping he'll stop smoking soon so he can be baptized. Here's a picture of him and his wife. These two are my favorite people. Hope ya'll have a blessed week!

I'm in LOVE

It's official. I have fallen in love with Alabama. I love it here and I don't ever want to leave. I love the people and the way they can talk forever. They are so nice and you can strike up conversation with almost anyone. The homes of Alabama are so pretty with their sloping green lawns and abundant green trees. I even enjoy the weather here {it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be}.

We visited the Chappel's again on Thursday. Sister Chappel loves to hear her own voice and sometimes I feel like she's the missionary because it feels like she is teaching the lesson. But I honestly don't mind it.  I love to listen to Sister Chappel talk because she can say the best things. We're trying to help her husband overcome smoking so he can be baptized. Thursday's lesson was focused on receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Sister Chappel would make comments on what we were talking about {sometimes turning them into long tangents} and I love some of the things she said. I pointed them out to Brother Chappel, hoping his wife's testimony will help him realize the importance of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Sister Thorup and I know he will be baptized soon because he does have that desire and he knows the gospel is true. He's been coming to church with his wife ever since she was baptized 11 years ago. As soon as he turns to the Lord to help him get rid of the things in his life that shouldn't be there, all will be well.

As we were driving away from the Chappels', we can see downtown Birmingham. With the sky turned red from the setting sun and the city's twinkling lights below and the Spirit still with me from the Chappels' lesson, I fell in love with Birmingham. I'm so happy this is where the Lord sent me.

Friday was such a great district meeting. Elder West {our district leader} read us a letter that his dad had written and it really helped me as we're struggling with our investigators. I realized that I need to have patience and respect for others' agency.

"When people focus on the light, the darkness fades away." All we can and should do is focus on what people, our investigators, are doing right and what we can do to bring more light into their lives.

"Some people will need time; time to accept what they hear and time to change themselves."

"You aren't going to see baptisms everyday, but you will see miracles."

I had a really touching experience in church yesterday that made me really miss my home ward. In Relief Society, at the end of the lesson, the teacher had her twin daughters and her son sing a song about the strength the youth need today and they were holding hands and it was so precious. It reminded me of our youth and how amazing they are and that they really do need to be strong to stand in today's world. I know it can be hard but we all need to hold fast to what we know to be true. We must rely on the Lord to help us through this life if we want to truly be happy.

Remember the Lord

I would have written yesterday on P-day, but we got caught up helping a family move and spending time bonding with our zone. And by "bonding", I mean getting hit in the face three times with a soccer or volley ball. It was great, reminded me of home and my three rough brothers!
We also had a sweet recent convert take us out to get our nails done. Kathie sure does love to spoil us since Sister Thorup was her missionary and has helped her through some rough times. I'm just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.
It was kind of hard to say goodbye to my district last Wednesday. We had all become really close and I didn't want them to leave. But they are all in good places and doing good things, so I'm happy for them. My trainer Sister Thorup is so amazing. She is such a hard worker and has been here in Vestavia Hills for like 6 months, getting lots of results. She leads by example and kind reminders and I have already learned so much from her.
We have four investigators right now. Three of them started with Sister Thorup's previous companion Sister Murry and one we just got on Sunday evening. So I have my first investigator! The three are all so close to baptism. Arshawn is 17 and waiting on his mom's permission for baptism. He loves the church and can't wait to be baptized. Brother Chappel has been going to church with his wife since she converted ten years ago. Sister Thorup is confident he will be baptized soon, because he went from smoking a pack of cigarettes a day to just half a cigarette a day. He is so close to kicking that habit. We asked him last week to pray about a baptismal date and are meeting with him tonight to see what his answer is. According to Sister Thorup, Linda finally received a testimony of the Book of Mormon and was able to answer all of the baptismal interview questions. We think it's only a matter of time before she commits.  Catherine is the brand new investigator we just got. She and her father are from Kenya and haven't seen each other in seven years. He joined when he came over to the United States and now that she's here, she wants to know why her father joined this church. I have high hopes for Catherine.

My bike should be here within the next week or so, so that's good. Sister Thorup likes to drive anyways because it's so hot and there are a lot of steep hills. I'm hoping we'll at least get some bike riding in when my bike comes, though. I think it might be more effective when we go out contacting, to be able to talk to people on the streets.

I'm excited for a new week of work and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. Each new day is a great learning experience and I am hopeful of the things I will learn.

I hope all is well with you. Remember that the Lord has His hand in everything you do!

Alabama, Day One

So we made it to Alabama yesterday afternoon and spent time at the mission president's home with him and his sweet wife before going to the hotel. I love Sister Hanks. She is so sweet and so kind. She reminded me a lot of my mom, and it was good to have a motherly figure for at least one night after my two weeks in the MTC and having little contact with my own mother. It was a fun and spiritual evening, all at the same time. 

There was a Hermana at the Atlanta airport who joined us, making a total of 18 missionaries. She was at the Mexico MTC and had been at the airport by herself since about 7 until we showed up at 1. We didn't even know about each other, but we have bonded so fast. Sister Calamity, Hermana Taylor and I all slept in the same hotel room last night and had a blast telling our MTC stories and laughing our heads off. But we were all in bed by 9:30 cause we were so tired.

Today was another bittersweet day because they split up our zone and sprinkled us all over the mission. I'm serving here in Birmingham with Sister Thorup, but I haven't been able to remember what our area is called. I'm sure time will help me to remember it, and then I won't be able to forget it!

I am truly grateful for this opportunity God has given me to serve Him and His children here in Alabama. I can't wait to see what new adventures await me!

MTC, Week One Done

This is how my first week at the MTC went:

Sister Voss {my host} got me all set up with my name tag and books for class, then dropped me off at my classroom where I met my district and teachers. There are four companionships, two sisters and two elders. All of us are going to Birmingham and we will all be on the same flight when we leave. We're all pretty happy about that. We have grown so close in such a short time. The four elders remind me so much of my brothers and the sisters have become sisters to me. It has been such a neat experience to see how much all of us has grown in the gospel since being here. We had a really cool open discussion about the Plan of Salvation yesterday during study time. 

My companion is Sister Calamity from Cedar City, Utah. She is part Navajo and so sweet. We get along great and have a blast studying and preparing lessons together. Yesterday was our first Training Resource Center lesson with and investigator. It was such a cool spiritual experience, and we didn't even use the lesson we had planned for Patty. She had some questions for us that we answered for her. One of the questions was about what trials we have had that affected our lives, and why didn't we turn away from God? I was prompted to share with her our experience with my little sister Marissa, who was a miscarriage. Patty has a son who passed away and she is still grieving over his death and where he is right now. I was able to share with her my knowledge of the spirit world and where Marissa and Patty's son Joseph were. I also told her that if Joseph didn't have a chance to hear the gospel on Earth, that is where he would be taught. The Spirit was so strong in the room last night, and I am so certain Marissa was in there by my side, helping to testify the truth of my words. Sister Calamity and I will be visiting with Patty again tomorrow, and we can't wait!

 Sister Calamity and I!

 {Left to Right} Sister Robison, Sister Maxwell, Sister Calamity, Sister Woodard

This has been what my schedule was like:

We arise and get out of bed by 6:29. Our branch president likes us to do this, and be in our room for quiet time by 10:14, so we do.

Breakfast is at 7:00 and morning class starts at 7:30. We have class with Sister Porter until lunch at 11:30. Sister Porter served for 5 1/2 months in Birmingham waiting for her visa, and she tells us fun stories about the area and the people. One time they made a street contact and asked if they could leaver her with a prayer. As Sister Porter opened the prayer "Dear Heavenly Father..." the lady repeated {insert black lady voice} DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER! And Sister Porter wasn't sure what to do, but she continued the prayer, with the lady repeating words and such. When she closed, the lady said "amen, amen, amen." It was really funny and all us missionaries were cracking up the whole time. 

Class with Brother Meteer starts at 12:15 and goes until 3:15, when we have personal study until 4:30 and dinner starts. I like Brother Meteer. He has a different way of teaching than Sister Porter so some of the others don't like him as much as we all like Sister Porter, but I'm learning a lot from him. He is mine and Sister Calamity's Progressive Investigator and I'm learning a lot about how to teach someone. He portrays Adam, an investigator he taught on his mission who wasn't really sure if there is a God and if there was, God didn't care about him. It's been interesting to try to teach someone who is curious but not really open to learning about God's love and the gospel.

 

After dinner, we have district study and zone study. Last week Brother Norman would come get us to watch the other missionaries' TRC lessons, then afterwards give us a topic to study in the classroom. This week we teach our own TRC lessons during that time, but still have a topic to study.

Some days we get done by 8:15 and have gym time until 9:15. If we don't have gym time, we stay in the classroom until about 9:30 because they don't like us to be in our residence halls until then. So we basically live in our small classroom, but we find ways to make it bearable and even fun. 

Sunday was my favorite day in the MTC. I learned so much without being cooped up in a classroom all day. Relief Society was awesome with two speakers and several of the branches meeting together. After lunch, we had sacrament meeting as a branch. It was so weird to me to have the bread and the water over within 5 minutes. We were asked to write talks on the Book of Mormon and be prepared because the branch presidency wouldn't tell us who would be speaking until 30 seconds before we were to get up if we were chosen. I was prepared, but I'm glad I wasn't chosen. 

For the Sunday evening devotional, Sister Sheri Dew spoke to us about working with the Spirit of God on our missions and using the divine enabling power of the Atonement. It was a really good talk. After the devotional they show films until 9:30. My district stayed to watch Elder Bednar's talk "The Character of Christ." IT WAS SOO GOOD. Seriously, look it up and watch it cause my words can do it no justice.

I have seriously grown so much in just the few days of being here. I am so happy the Lord called me on a mission and I obeyed. There is nothing I would rather be doing than serving the Lord. 

The Wait is Over, the Trials are Not

Well, I'm here in Provo with my parents, spending some time with them before I report to the Missionary Training Center TOMORROW! I can't believe it's here. My time to serve the Lord in the mission field has finally come. It's been hard waiting for my report date, but it's been great at the same time. It has shown me the different tactics that Satan uses to try to get me off course. He has tried to use distractions, {such as boys, worldly gain through work and school, activities that I would be missing out on} and self worth issues {I don't know enough to be a missionary, people won't want to listen to me, I'm not good enough to preach the gospel, etc}. If you have been experiencing the same things I have been, I encourage you to stay strong. Think about the righteous reasons that led you to desire to serve a mission. Always be on the Lord's side and you will conquer Satan.
I have a friend who has recently started taking the missionary discussions and we were talking about questions he could ask the missionaries. I was thinking how grateful I was that my friend had someone to answer his questions. Then I realized that that would be me very soon, and I started to panic, thinking I was not prepared enough to be doing this, crying repentance to the people of Alabama. But I have felt a calm reassurance that I will not be the one teaching, but rather it will be the Holy Ghost doing the teaching and I am merely the vessel through which He works. Although I haven't memorized all of Preach my Gospel and the scriptures before I enter the MTC, I have been prepared enough to teach with the Spirit. I was blessed to have been born and raised in the Church. I grew up attending Church meetings, going to Primary and ward activities, learning lessons in Young Women's, and participating in service projects. When I was getting set apart, my stake president told me and my family that he could tell that I had been prepared to serve a mission, which was comforting to hear. So even though I don't yet know the best teaching methods to use, I know that as I trust in the Lord and invite the Spirit into every lesson, I will be able to touch hearts and make an impact in people's lives.
This morning at breakfast, my parents were telling me how hard a mission is. Both served missions, in the same mission, actually{that's where they met!} so they know what they are talking about. My dad wasn't prepared for how challenging it would be. People only told him the good sides to a mission, not the rough sides. But he says he wouldn't have done it any other way, that his mission made him who he is today, which is a strong priesthood holder who fulfills all of his church callings and takes care of his wife and family. I know that my mission will be hard. I'm not expecting it to be easy. As I learned on my stake trek when I was about 15 or 16, "I can do hard things." That trek was the hardest thing I had done until the point, but it was also the most fun I have ever had. I'm counting on my mission to be the same thing, the hardest thing I will ever do, but also the most fun thing I will ever do. One of the apostles said "My mission was the best two years FOR my life." I truly believe my mission will be the best eighteen months for my life.
This is my last post before going into the mission field. I'm hoping I will have some time on Preparation Days to post, but if not you'll be hearing from my mom as she relates from my letters all that is happening in Alabama. I hope you all have a happy Tuesday!

Setting Apart and Farewell

I was set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tonight. It was an amazing experience. My immediate family was there with me, as well as my second family the Allen's, my cousin Nephi, my past Young Women's president Audrey Fox, and two really good friends, Josie Wright and Austin Lange. I hadn't officially invited Josie and Austin, but I am grateful they were there to support me. I also think it was good for them. Josie is a new convert and the only member in her home and Austin grew up without a priesthood member in his home, his dad not being a member, so his testimony is not as strong as it could be and he wasn't sure about serving a mission. I could see both of their testimonies growing from this experience.
It was a sweet experience to feel the Spirit in the High Council room and see the emotion on everyone's faces as they felt it. President Lawes had me bear my testimony to the group, and then my grandparents, parents and finally Bishop Jones shared his. I know that this is what the Lord wants me to do and I am happy to be doing it for Him.
I also spoke in church today, so I thought I would leave my talk here for you readers and hope that I can touch someone's heart through the Spirit.

I want to start with my favorite scripture, and that will probably clue you in as to what my talk will be about today. 1 timothy 4:12. When I was in young woman’s {that was only a year ago, so it’s strange for me to say} my first mutual theme as a beehive of 12 was “Be thou an example of the believers” and it has always stuck around in the back of my mind. I entered high school at 14 and sort of remembered that phrase but it didn’t hit until junior or senior year that I was an example of the believers. I attended and graduated from Queen Creek High where there was a high population of LDS kids and a seminary building for release time seminary, so almost everybody on campus knew about the LDS church. I would be very surprised if someone didn’t at least know the name considering there was a church building right next door to the school. But I came to realize that just because people knew the name of our church didn’t mean that they knew what we believed in.

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said this about members being examples in the October 2010 General Conference.

“Each member can be an example of the believers. Brethren {and sisters}, as followers of Jesus Christ, each of you can live in accord with His teachings. You can have “a pure heart and clean hands”; you can have “the image of God engraven upon your [countenance].”  Your good works will be evident to others.  The light of the Lord can beam from your eyes.  With that radiance, you had better prepare for questions. The Apostle Peter so counseled, “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” 

“Let your response be warm and joyful. And let your response be relevant to that individual. Remember, he or she is also a child of God, that very God who dearly wants that person to qualify for eternal life and return to Him one day. You may be the very one to open the door to his or her salvation and understanding of the doctrine of Christ. 

“After your initial response, be ready to take the next step. You may invite your friend to attend church with you. Many of our friends do not know they are welcome in our Church buildings. “Come and see” was the Savior’s invitation to those who desired to learn more about Him.  An invitation to attend a Sunday meeting with you or to participate in a Church social or service activity will help to dispel mistaken myths and make visitors feel more comfortable among us.

“As a member of the Church, reach out to those you do not know and greet them warmly. Each Sunday extend a hand of fellowship to at least one person you did not know before. Each day of your life, strive to enlarge your own circle of friendship.”

Our choices have consequences and one of the consequences for living my standards daily was that people saw it. They saw in me the glow that all of us Mormons apparently have and they wanted to know why. I have had several missionary experiences because I have lived as an example of the believers.  Most of them have been simple questions on why we do things a certain way and once their simple curiosity is satisfied, they don’t ask any more questions and I haven’t seen any fruits from our conversation. Except one person. This person is a great example that just because you didn’t convert someone after a few conversations doesn’t mean that you didn’t plant a seed and get things moving. Many of you know my friend Josie Wright. I helped her come into the Church a year ago, but I want to give credit where credit is due. If Hannah Smith hadn’t taken Josie to Mutual, Josie wouldn’t have been telling me about it the next day in class and I wouldn’t have gotten the prompting to invite Josie to my mutual activity that evening, which led to missionary discussions in my home and a deeper bond between Josie and myself. The moral of this little story is that you might not be the one to lead into the fold, but you could be the one to get someone going in the right direction.

I really couldn’t tell you how much of an example I have been to Josie, but I can tell you how much she has been one to me. Josie and I met in our sophomore math class but we didn’t become close friends until our math class in senior year. If you had told me sophomore year that Josie and I would become close friends in two years, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. And it wasn’t that Josie was doing anything bad or was an awful person. We talked a bit in class and she was really sweet, I just couldn’t see us spending anytime outside of school together because our activities didn’t really line up. But I am so glad we have become so close. I noticed a difference in Josie our senior year. Throughout the beginning of the year, she made some changes. She chose a different group of friends, started wearing lighter colored clothes and was looking for ways to be happy. Josie wanted to change, so she did. As I have reflected on this, I truly believe that Josie prepared herself to receive the gospel. There is no doubt in my mind that Josie would have found her way into the gospel whether or not Hannah and I were there to help her. Josie is now the only member in her home and she has told me how she struggles to balance living the standards of the Church and pleasing her family, whom she loves dearly. Her family will sometimes do or say something to get her to go against the covenants she made at baptism, but she has remained steadfast and immovable. Josie enjoys going to church and it shows in her countenance how much she loves this gospel and that she knows it is true. We have talked and I know things are hard for Josie, but I can tell by just looking at her that there is no way on Earth that she will let go of this gospel. She will be obedient and endure to the end. Josie is my greatest example of the believers, pushing through her trials and always seeming to come out on top.

I have related to you a modern example of the believers, and now I wish to share with you a Biblical one. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were all children of Judah taken captive by the kingdom of Babylon. They were chosen to go to the king’s palace and partake of the king’s meat and wine so that they would become strong by it. Now, I don’t know about you, but if my land had just been taken over by another king and that king wanted me to eat his food, I would have done it without much fuss, grateful that he was sparing my life. We’re lucky the other three had Daniel to follow and not me. Daniel remembered what he had been taught throughout his childhood and chose to fear God instead of man. If we turn to Daniel 1:8, we read….. Daniel had found favor with one of the servants of the king and was able to persuade him to provide the food Daniel and his friends were accustomed to eating, having been commanded of the Lord to do so. They had a little contest to see which group of children would be healthier, Daniel and his friends who ate pulse, which is foods made of seeds and grains, and drank water, or the ones who ate the meat and drank the wine. Well, the Lord has given the word of wisdom for a reason, so of course at the end of the allotted ten days, Daniel, Hananaiah, Mishael, and Azariah were healthier. Daniel 1:15. Because these four boys stood for what they believed and knew was right, the Lord blessed them. Daniel 1:17, 19-20. We know that Daniel went on to interpret King Nebuchadnezzer’s dreams and survive the lions’ den, and Hananaiah, Mishael, and Azariah, also known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, survived the fiery furnace. These mighty miracles could not have happened unless these four boys put their faith in God and stood as examples of the believers.

I guess what I’m hoping you will get from this talk with these amazing examples is that you become aware that you are an example yourself. You youth may not realize it like I didn’t, but it’s true. Everywhere you go, people are watching you. They are listening to the words you speak and how you talk to different peers. People are watching your actions, how you react in a situation, how you treat others. Your teachers and classmates and even your siblings are taking note on whether you are living up to the name of Christ that you took upon yourself when you entered the waters of baptism. We are told that we are baptized at the age of 8 because that is when we become accountable for our actions, when we know right from wrong and can actively choose for ourselves what to do. Even though we do realize what is bad and what is good, we don’t really quite understand all the covenants we make at baptism, at least I didn’t. We partake of the sacrament every week to renew these covenants, but do we know what the covenants are that we are renewing? For a long time, I didn’t quite understand myself. If you are like me and you realize you are not entirely sure what covenants you are renewing, study the sacrament prayers found in Doctrine and Covenants section 20: 77, 79.

This topic is near and dear to my heart because I had so many great examples to follow growing up. I had so many wonderful young women’s leaders and older girls to look up to. The young men, though a little bit crazy at times, are true gentlemen who inspire me to do better when I’m around them. Even the young primary children have been such great examples of Christ-like love. This ward has been so loving and caring, raising me almost as much as my own parents have with the same standards that have been taught me at home. I want to thank you all for everything you have done for me and my brothers. We are who we are today in part because of what each of you have shown us through your examples.  

As Sisters in Zion

One of my favorite things is to read emails from my sister missionary friends because, as I sit here with feelings of inadequacy, wondering if I'll ever be able to know enough {not if I'll know all of the things that the gospel teaches, because I already know I won't be able to learn it all before or even during my mission} but just enough to answer someone's burning curiosity, it brings me great comfort to see what they are doing and how they are relying on the Lord to pull them through. These girls were already amazing, but I can see small changes in them through their emails. They are so happy and bright and cheerful. Things may be tough, but I can tell that they know that things will all work out in the end. I take great comfort in their scriptures and words of wisdom that they send, unknowingly helping me through this tough time of waiting and preparing to serve. Here are some that they have sent that might bring you comfort as well.
From Sister Albrechtsen, still in the MTC, but called to serve in the Independence Missouri Visitors' Center:

I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had to grow through my struggles and trials. I know that in every trial there is something that I can grow from. We just need to endure it well. After everything happened last week, it was really hard. When we got to go to the temple last Thursday I came across these scriptures. They are when Joseph Smith is in Liberty Jail and he was asking the Lord:

"O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?

In response he received this: (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9)

 7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high;thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

Remember that no matter what we are going through, we are never alone and that we can get through anything that we are facing. Whenever we are facing anything, remember that our trials will pass and that we can make it through! Remember to rely on the Lord, and stay positive. If we do so, the Lord will bless us!

From Sister Hunt serving in Cleveland, Ohio:

• Before we can 'hasten the work' we MUST hasten ourselves.
• Your mission should be the template of your life, if it isn't, that is a call to repentance.
• "Kick when you don't want to kick, and stroke when you don't want to stroke."
• This is Real Life. Capital R capitol L. Don't treat right now ( on or off your mission ) as some kind of game. This is Real.
• We must teach with POWER and AUTHORITY.
• ASTONISH people by the way you live your life.
• This church is true. Elder Holland wouldn't be dedicating his life to some cunningly devised fable or a fairytale. This is the way the truth and the light.

I hope these Sisters' words can bring you as much comfort as they did for me. I know that the Lord forgives my inadequacy, knowing that I am striving for perfection but won't be able to reach it on my own. This is why He gave us the Savior and the Atonement, to be able to repent and become perfect through Him. We can only become better if we turn to the Lord. He is waiting, but He cannot help us if we don't first seek His help.

I found this picture on Instagram and set it as my background because it brings me comfort whenever I look at it. It's a great reminder that I need to stop worrying so much and put my faith in the Lord.