Category Archives: Missionary Monday

Missionary Monday: Elder F. in Ghana!

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My trainer is going home. This is the last picture we took.

This last week Elder A. and I had the wonderful opportunity to venture into the Upper East region of Ghana, where the Church has one branch. We conducted companionship exchanges with our elders up there, and it was a blast. The branch there is doing AMAZING. It was great to go up and teach a bunch of people. Thursday I was with Elders A. and S., we rode bikes all around the area and taught like crazy. I love building relationships with the members of our zone, and it was really great to see our elders that are so far from our area (about 3 hours to be precise). The scenery is different than our area, I tried to take some pictures to show you.

We also had a zone conference this past week. President Cosgrave came up and the whole zone gathered for the meeting. We talked a lot about the power of prayer and what it means to plan with a purpose. As I looked around at all our zone members, I could not help but feel gratitude in my heart for each and every one of them. T. really is a special place, and the missionaries in our zone are what make it so great. I will be so sad to see some of them leave on transfer.
I have come to understand that one of the reasons I love T. is because of the challenges. In order to succeed here, you need to consciously rely on God in everything you do. My prayers have become a lot more sincere since I came to this place. I have started studying the life of the Savior in greater depth. I have committed The Living Christ to memory, and I always recite it to myself when times are tough. T. is such a blessing to me and my conversion, and I will forever be grateful for it.
I hope many of you were able to see the broadcast from the new First Presidency. We are so blessed to have inspired leaders on the earth today. I know that as long as we follow their counsel, we will be blessed. I hope all of you have a great week, and remember to KEEP ON THE COVENANT PATH!
-Elder F

Missionary Monday: Hermana W. and Sister H. in Georgia!

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Dear Family & Friends,
I think I can honestly say these past two weeks have been the best of my life thus far. Sister H. and I have seen so many miracles, our days have been so full, and we have been just loving these people.
So it is really difficult to say goodbye to her in a few days…  she is going to TN, which is apparently pretty country so that will be fun for her, and as for me I’m getting a brand new missionary that I get to train here in the best place in the world. So excited.
People I care about and a few miracles
La familia R. – we showed up last week way earlier than usual because of some scheduling conflicts without telling them and to our great surprise and joy, their son M. opened the door! We love him and his daughter and just had a wonderful time talking about Jesus Christ over Peruvian cheese and popcorn. He asked us to give him reading assignments to whip him into shape to start reading and we are so excited to be a part of his life.
La familia D. – So this is an awesome story. About two weeks ago we first talked to a young guy D. as he was walking out of his car. He grabbed some chairs and we had an epic first lesson. Then we come back, he’s not there but get this his brother J. is there and we have a great conversation in the door and give him another Book of Mormon. We come back a third time and everyone is partying inside but J. invites his whole family to stop and listen so we have a crazy but awesome lesson. Then we teach J. and D.’s sister M. and her boyfriend J. with their mother M. They tell us to come back every day. We teach J.,M., J. and D. the next time and ask them to read the plan of salvation pamphlet. We come back yesterday and M. hands us a paper of all the questions and answers they found in the scriptures together and they stayed up until 3am doing it and she didn’t want to stop! We had a fantastic lesson and then stayed for dinner with homemade tortillas, Chile relleno, arroz, y flan. They just made us a part of their family and I love, love, love, love, them. In the end we sang songs and played guitar and their kids begged us to come back for dinner tomorrow.
D.!!!! – D., a woman I wrote about from England whose door Sister M. and I knocked on is getting baptized she had been “taught” by sisters in the past but really started to take it seriously when we came. She didn’t like church at first but we promised her that it is a place where the spirit can be felt if she is open to it and here it is God really does back up our promised, when we’re not there to see them be fulfilled
E. F. – an absolute miracle. We went to the bank to cash a check and the English/Spanish teller read my name tag and was curious about who we were and what we do. We awkwardly spewed out a couple points from the Restoration and then gave him our number and HE called US that night. That never happens! We met up at a his pizza joint and talked for hours about all his questions about religion, our lives, him growing up in Central America, his dreams to do good and give back in the world, our dreams. He is so intelligent and wonderful- It was so nice. We walked out beaming ear to ear. And he’s already started reading the Book of Mormon
At the D.’s last night I asked them the question before we really got into our lesson on the plan of salvation what is joy? They responses ranged but mostly centered on family and learning about God. In the end they told us that what we were doing right there with them was joy. They thanked us for our sincerity and honesty and told us they were feeling something they hadn’t felt in 20 years. That was joy. I know that joy comes from God. Joy isn’t a fleeting sensation though it was so intense last night. Joy comes from learning about and knowing our part in God’s plan, and then making it happen by serving Him and reaching out to his children in need. Paint a bright spot in your heart for me and do something for someone else today!
Hermana W
and Sister H
(written by Hermana W)

Missionary Monday: Elder W. in Argentina!

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Hola!

This week we will be having our zone conference with the visit of Elder Bragg a member of the Quorum of the seventy.  He is visiting our mission, and he will speak to us on the 8th.  We will be traveling to listen, and to have our zone conference, with our Christmas dinner with president and his wife.

This last week we found and taught three new investigators.  They are just getting to know a little more for now we will see how it goes this week,  we also had a great lesson with our branch president and one of our investigators named A., we invited president to go with us and he was more than happy.  In the lesson the investigator expressed his desire to find the right path, and the right religion.  He is looking for the truth!  He didn’t come to church yesterday, and that was a little disappointing, but I’m sure he will progress with time.  We promised him that if he prays with faith and a sincere heart he will find out that the Book of Mormon is true, and therefore find the right path, just like the promise says. (Intro. of Book of Mormon)
It is good to have a member come with us on the visits with the investigators, we have been trying to work more with the members here. We have done a lot of service this week, one of the service projects was move “power poles” and we were able to go with the branch president on that lesson, and we hope to be able to have more lessons with a member present.
I know that Christ lives and loves us,  I know that God is a God of order, and He is perfect,  The Church is true, and we see miracles all the time.
Thanks for all the support, I love you!
Elder W.

Missionary Monday: Sister H. in Tennessee!

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Nov. 6th, 2017
Family and friends,
Today my email is mostly Written by Sister S, but I feel as though they are my words too
 This was a solid solid solid week. We were able to pick up a couple of new investigators and had some really awesome lessons with some current ones! One of the new investigators we found was named A.
We actually went to go visit one of our old investigators named R. but he couldn’t talk so we decided to tract his street. There was this SUPER CUTE kid just walking around his yard yelling who-knows-what, and it caught our attention! Then we saw a lady yelling at him to be quiet and decided to talk to her! She was so nice! We shared the “Because of Him” video with her and she started to really open up with us about her life. She started crying and told us that she didn’t know what to do or where to turn. She was going through a lot of really rough things and felt completely alone. BOY DID WE HAVE A MESSAGE FOR HER! We talked to her about finding peace through the Savior and His Atonement. We shared some scriptures and our testimonies and left her with a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet. She said we are welcome to come back so we will be seeing her next Saturday! But yeah that was a pretty cool experience.
Some of the current people we’ve been teaching are L. and C.! This last time that we went over there we decided to just have a lesson where we use the Book of Mormon to address any concerns they might have. Right off the bat they had some awesome concerns that we were able to address and WOW it was a spiritual lesson. It’s crazy how no matter what the concern is, you can always find answers through the Book of Mormon! Then we gave C. a church tour so she would feel more comfortable with coming to church for the first time. THEN THEY BOTH CAME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY! Wow it was so good to see them! They both had an awesome experience and kept telling everyone they would be back.
We also went back to teach D. and M. a baptism follow-up lesson but decided to spend time just talking to them and shared a simple video. THESE KIDS ARE THE CUTEST. We hadn’t been over since their baptism which was a few weeks ago and D. just kept saying how much he missed us. He kept saying, “it’s so good to have the sisters back again!” And hugged us probably 10 times each. WE LOVE THESE KIDS SO MUCH.
Wow it is so good to be a missionary. As some of you know, our mission just got approved for Facebook and that has been so good! I was a little skeptical at first. I really didn’t want Facebook. But after I’ve become friends with everyone in the mission, my news feed is completely filled with positive and uplifting messages and I just love it so much! Imagine how much good we could do if every member of the church just posted 1 uplifting thing a day. IT WOULD BE SUCH A POWERFUL THING. I encourage everybody to use social media for good!
We have had a great week, I love being a missionary.
Love, Sister H.

Missionary Monday: Sister H. in North Carolina!

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Dear Family,  I am doing really good!!! My first area is North Carolina.
Sister S. my trainer, is awesome, she is from Utah, she plays basketball and lacrosse, she has been out 10 months and this is her second time training. She is pure awesome.

The landscape here… there is no horizon because the mountains our view is mostly always trees. There are a lot of winding back roads, but it is beautiful! the leaves are starting to change colors. The people are mostly nice, even if they don’t want to talk to you. I have already had a good experience with rejection on the door step.

We are teaching some cute kids right now, they are a part member family. They are 8 and 9, and super cute. Their baptism date is planned for oct 22nd, so hopefully that will happen.

Tracting here is so different, the houses are not close to each other. Most of the time we drive to the bottom of a hill, hike to the top where there are three houses, hike back down then drive to another hill and hike up it to three or so houses, hike back down and continue the routine. We mostly get to the top and are kindly told they are baptist and not interested. Then we head off the hill and I make up some song about just wanting to give out a Book of Mormon or trying to get into houses.

The work is good 🙂

I AM HAPPY

LOVE YOU!

***Sister H.

Missionary Monday: Elder F. in Ghana!

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One of my favorite artists back in the U.S. said “I’ve achieved a lot in life, but what’s a lot with more to gain” and “I’ve been patient, never complacent”. This past week I talked to some of the return missionaries here in this area, and they have really helped me gain a better perspective on life and on missionary work. A lot of times in life I think we see things through narrow vision. We set our sights too low. We get caught up on small things. I see it happening to myself all the time. One of the most dangerous things that can happen to us is getting stuck on our successes. It is good to celebrate, but we should always be looking to expand and work harder. We should be patient, but never complacent. I am a firm believer that the adversary uses laziness and stagnation to deter us from our heavenly course. Don’t let him get the best of you.

The work here in this area is progressing well. Brother I. will hopefully be baptized this week. We are meeting new people all the time. One of the coolest things ever happened this week. Elder D. and I started teaching someone who Elder A. decided to drop from our teaching pool. We began teaching him and reminding him of the wonderful things he felt when he was taught the first time. In a lesson we taught him about the Holy Ghost and baptism, Elder D. felt prompted to do something really powerful. He looked at this brother and said “I want you to be silent for 60 seconds. All of us will be quiet and I really want you to focus on how you feel. I know that you will feel the Holy Ghost. When the 60 seconds is up, tell me how you feel.” We all went quiet. 5 seconds later, he exclaimed “I know that this is the truth!”  It was so amazing to see him find the truth so boldly and instantly. He is a man of great faith. He came to church on Sunday and I know he will progress well.

Life is great. We got water back. I am learning how to cook all sorts of great Ghanaian dishes. People here loooove cassava and plantain. They use it in almost everything. They also love pepper, which is alright with me! The soil in Ghana is very fertile, so a lot of people have farms, where they grow all their cassava and plantain. Ha. It is one of the most popular professions. People here are also super good with their hands. Seeing a Ghanaian in the kitchen will blow you away! The people here are absolutely amazing. I will send a video of me pounding fufu very soon. I am learning new things every single day and trying hard to become like a Ghanaian!

Have a great week everyone. Stay blessed.

-Elder F.

Missionary Monday: Soeur S. in France!

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KateSimpson

Je sais qu’il vit, mon Rédempteur! – 28 mars 2016

What a glorious spring day after a beautiful day of celebrating the resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ. Though we should remember Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection everyday, I find it joyous to celebrate it on a specific Sunday as well.

It was another great week in the N. A week well invested and enjoyed. As always, there were highs and lows, miracles and tragedies, and so many blessings.

As I am sure everyone is informed, more so than us probably, of the missionaries from this mission who were injured in the Bruxelles attack, I don’t need to write much. However, I am simply grateful for each one of them, their service, their examples to me throughout their missions, and their attitudes and courage through this time. I know each of them, Elder Norby and Elder Wells more than Soeur Clain and Elder Empey, but each of them have taught me something and I am glad to know they were protected and kept alive. I never thought I would experience 3 major terrorist attacks on my mission and be so close to it all, but it has been such a learning experience and testimony to me that God watches over and comforts His servants.

I have gained a better glimpse of how badly this world needs the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is truly by studying and living the teachings and following the example of He who was perfect. To finish my work in France with Easter has been such a blessing, especially following the events of the week. I know that this life is not the end. I know that Jesus Christ suffered and died for us just as I know that He lives for us. He lives! He has been resurrected and He lives today! What great joy and hope I have because of Him.

I cannot express in words how grateful I am to have been given the honor, privilege, and responsibility to share the restored gospel with the people in France for the past 18 months. It has been absolutely incredible. Words simply cannot convey what it has been like to serve in this mission. I know that this is the work of God. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true and living church of Jesus Christ restored to the earth today. It was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith by the priesthood authority of God. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true and it is real. The power from reading, studying, and applying it is real. I know that God has a plan and it is a plan of happiness, eternal and everlasting joy. It is in knowing this plan and doing the best one can to live the gospel by faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and finally enduring to the end, that we may achieve true happiness in this life and in the life to come.

Jesus Christ lives. He is our savior. He is the Son of God. His Atonement is real.

I love my savior and I love being a missionary. I have been bracing myself for the retour but I know that I don’t have to stop being a missionary once I am released and remove my plaque. This work needs everyone, member and missionary, every single person to being doing missionary work. It is the most important work. Inviting others unto Christ. Living the gospel daily, helping others know Christ through our actions and words, inviting them to partake of the joyous and delicious fruit of the gospel. It’s what it’s all about.

Je vous aime tous. Merci pour votre soutien et amour. Vous êtes les meilleurs.

À jeudi,

Sœur S

Missionary Monday: Elder H. in West Virginia!

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I’m being transferred to a new city, as a District Leader! I leave tomorrow. The last 3 days we have been with out our car because someone tried to break into it and damaged the door. So we have been walking a lot! So the last couple of days have been slower than others. But good none the less. I’ve been saying some goodbyes to investigators and members that I truly have come to love and It has given us a good excuse to let us go teach other people right away, so that been nice. It’s still pretty nice here, the colors are starting to come in so that’s been really beautiful to see.
-love Elder H.

Missionary Monday: Sister F. in Finland!

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DSCN2384

Well, Family.

You did it!
You made it through my mission.
This Sunday I was talking to a man in our ward and he said
“Your family is excited to see you.
They’ve been waiting around for you for a year and a half,
they are ready to have you home.”
That’s when I really realized…
This mission has been hard, sad, long, fast, short, happy, and great for you, too,
just as it has been for me.
You’ve just been living it with me from a different perspective.
So. I thank you for sticking with me through it all.
This last week was a good one.
Heavenly Father has been absolutely pouring out the blessings on me.
The hardest day was definitely Sunday
because it was my last time seeing the ward.
We had already sat down in the chapel when the little girl of one of my favorite families came over and said “Sister F! It’s your last Sunday!”
So then I had the special treat of getting to sit next to her for sacrament meeting
which never happens because she gets a little distracted by the missionaries.
It was one of the sweetest experiences I have had on my mission.
We started the opening hymn and try as I might,
I couldn’t hold back my tears as I realized it was one of the last times I will hear a hymn sung in Finnish in sacrament meeting.
I quietly cried through the beautiful sacrament prayers as well.
I will miss that. I will miss those prayers.
After the sacrament ended, the little girl looked up at me with her sweet face and said “Sister F, it’s okay to be sad. I love you.”
Throughout the whole rest of the meeting she would look up at me and whisper little things to me.
“Sister F, you’ll have happy times!”
“Sister F, I will miss you.”
“That’s what happens when you get used to a place, they move you right out!”
I can’t wait to show you pictures and tell you all about her and her family.
She and I shared a few tears that day.
This ward here is absolutely incredible.
They had me give the first testimony of the meeting and I got my first greeting sentence out and then I had to pray that Heavenly Father would help me speak because my heart hurt almost too much to say any words.
At the end of church they sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again
and all the Young Women came and said bye to me..
It was super sad. But I am so grateful to have been in this ward for five months and to have gotten so close to the people here.
I love my mission so much.
Getting on that plane will rip my heart out, but I know this isn’t the end.
I’ll bring Finland with me wherever I go.
This mission has given me a rock-solid foundation upon which I can build and rely
and I know it will never crack or disappear.
The greatest gift I have ever been given in my life is this mission.
And I look forward to being able to share it with each of you.
God lives. He is real.
He has never been so real to me as He is now.
I love Him, and I trust Him.
And I thank Him for this precious, precious gift.
I don’t think I can type much more because at this point I can’t really see the screen through my tears. My mission has definitely made me super cry-y.
I will see you in soon.
And I promise that as hard as it is to leave Finland,
I really am sincerely excited to see each of you.
I just have to leave something I love so dearly
to come home to something else I love so much, too.
See you on the other side of the Finnish line.
We’ll have “happy times!”
Rakkaudellani,
Sisar F.

Missionary Monday: Sister S. in Missouri!

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ElizabethScottMissionary
I love the peace that you can find in the temple! It almost brings me to tears of joy. It also is so nice to see so many friends and friendly faces! This week was great!
And there was also a special surprise. Elder and Sister Holland and their family came to the Liberty Jail around 8am on July 16th. We got a call around 9 from Sister G. telling us that he was here and he wanted to greet us! Sister S. and I headed over as quickly as we could. Smiling face with smiling eyes We all stood in a line at the front. When they were finished in the rotunda, we were able to meet the family. Elder Holland wanted to shake all of our hands, but he apologized for being in his pday clothes (a blue checkered button up shirt, blue pants, and sandals.) He kept reaching for his unbuttoned collar, you could tell he preferred to do this in a suit. He shook all our hands, Sister S. and I were last. When he shook my hand he said, “Where did you get your hair?! Flaming, just flaming!”Smiling face with smiling eyes Sister Holland also gave us all hugs, she was just so sweet, and she also admired my hair! Smiling face with smiling eyesWhen they were about to leave he decided that he wanted to take a picture with us, usually he doesn’t do that unless he is in a suit, so, to hide the fact that he wasn’t properly dressed he said he would stand behind us. He said that they had to take a picture with these beautiful Sisters. Wow, what a neat and special experience! It was an answer to my prayer,”Heavenly Father, if Elder Holland comes, all I want is to be able to shake his hand. That would mean so much to me.” Smiling face with smiling eyes
Also this week I received a revelation that I thought I would share! While I was in the second narration I received some revelation. There was a group that had just come from the Navoo pageant I was reminded of all those who come to protest at things like that. All the anti and all the bashing, etc.. As I was there in the second narration, where Joseph and the other prisoners were brought to the jail, It really solidified the fact that truth will always be opposed. (There was a huge group of people who had gathered to see these “monster like” men. As Joseph was entering the jail he turned to the crowd and said, “Good afternoon gentleman.”) I have thought about that in the second narration before, but it never hit me quite like that before. As I shared what stood out to me, more came. Truth will always be opposed, we are seeing evidence of that all over. We will be asked to stand up for those truths that we hold dear. As we do that we can, and should, respond like Joseph. We should respond with kindness, love, and compassion; we should respond like our Savior. We can and should be Christ-like. D&C 123:17 “Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.” Our investigator really wants to be baptized! We are just trying to work out a few details so that we can have him on a specific date. He asked our bishop if he would perform the ordinance! We also are trying to see if we can still teach them because they are moving to another town. Fingers crossed!

Well I love you all so much! I know that the Church is true! I Know that our Savior lives, and I love getting to share that testimony on a daily basis. This really is the best thing I could have done. I am so grateful that I followed the spirit and came  on a mission. The Lord really has blessed me so much! I love you all!!!
Mucho Love! Smiling face with smiling eyes Sister S.