Pages

Monday, June 15, 2015

6/15/2015

 Two of the greatest people ever!
 Companheiros!

6/15/2015..Go Help someone!!

This past week was ABSOLUTELY amazing! Man... .the days are blurring together in a fantastic and crazy way. I feel like I can remember fondly the events of the past couple weeks but I have no clue when any of them happened. All I know is that they happened somewhere during this light speed transfer!
Mmmm.... alright, if you are reading this right now, open up another tab and look up the album "Redeemer" by the Nashville Tribute band. It is the most amazing album ever!! It is a collection of songs all sung about the Savior from the perspectives of different people he ministered among. It if life changingly good! :)
We had an absolutely fantastic lesson with some non members this past week! We were able to teach them  about the Plan of Salvation, the Law of Tithing and the Law of Chastity. One is on track to be baptized this upcoming Saturday! Also, Darrin , an amazing man that I taught in Pocatello is being baptized on that day! Also, on Sunday, we get to participate in a Musical Fireside this upcoming Sunday! It is at a Stake Center over in Ammon and I get to sing in a choir and also sing "Come Unto Christ", the 2014 Youth Theme. My goodness... that song is so amazing! I get to sing it with another sister missionary and we are going to switch off parts with a choir in the background singing during the chorus! Oh man..... it's going to be great! Also, President and Sister Brinkerhoff will be there and it will be the last thing that I do "proselyting wise" on my mission! I hope everything goes well! :) Mmm.... what else.... oh! We had our Departing Temple Trip! 26 missionaries that will be heading home this next week all flocked to the temple for a morning session! It was SO sunny, SO beautiful and SO special! I absolutely love that temple! I can't wait to be able to go there more often this upcoming Fall! Also, we got to have Subway sandwiches in a park and go to Kiwi Loco (a frozen yogurt place).
Mmmm...... I want to express some appreciation for Elder Jordan. Elder Jordan has been the greatest companion to have as my mission is coming to a close. He has helped me to stay focused and has been an incredible friend. Having him help me through these past couple weeks has been a wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father!
I absolutely love the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I love the fact that we can develop a relationship with a loving Heavenly Father and become better each and everyday as we apply the principles of the Gospel. There is nothing better than the beautiful plan that our Father has for us. As we live the way that he would have us live, we will be happy and peaceful, trusting that beautiful things make up the future in front of us!
I really can't think of anything else to say..... I love you all SO much! Thank you for all of your support and for everything you do! Be safe! Be happy! Stop reading this and go help someone!!! ;)

6/8/2015

President and Sister Brinkerhoff and the Missionary Leadership Council! What an amazing day it was! I will forever be grateful for everything I learned serving on this council! :)

6/8/2015..Moving along

When I was in Pocatello, I had the honor of teaching a man by the name of Derrin . I was with Elder Bertoch at the time so this was about 14 months ago. We had SO many spiritual experiences with him and his wife, a LA member. We watched the Restoration Video with them along with Mountain of the Lord, Legacy, and the Testaments! We s and the reality of Christ's church being restored. We were able to plant a little seed and see it pop through the soil just enough for him to attend a baptism with us but that was about it. I was transferred to a different area for 3 months and then to Idaho Falls where I have spent the last 10 months of my mission. I got a call from the Zone Leaders serving in Pocatello who oversee the work in that area. They told me that Elder Clark and his companion, the missionaries now visited with him and through the Grace of God, Brother and Sister B came to church with them!! Afterward though, Elder Clark felt a prompting that told him not to go back for about a month, so, that's what they did! About a month later though, his name came up in Ward Council and the elders decided to visit him. Some of the first words that came out of his mouth was "I want to get baptized and we want to be sealed." I was told this and could not hold back a shout of pure joy!!! I am so excited!!!! :) On top of that, he wants me to baptize him!! He baptism was scheduled for the 23rd but because I will be returning home on the 23rd, they set up the baptism for the 22nd and we are working on getting permission for me to baptize him the evening before I go home in Pocatello!!! Sigh.... The Lord is SO good!!! We never know what He has in store for us but we can rest assured that because He loves us more than we can possibly imagine, his gifts and blessings will always be abundant and beautiful. :) I thank him for the opportunity I had to start teaching Derrin and his wife with Elder Bertoch and now for the opportunity I have to see him be baptized. :) I know that God loves each and every one of us and He never gives up on anyone!!! :)

Other than that, it was another absolutely crazy week full of many councils, meetings, teaching appointments, a couple sun burns and a few prayers every other minute! :) I love this work and I love the Lord with all my soul!!! :) Have a fantastic week everyone and please go find someone and help them!! :)

Sunday, June 7, 2015

6/1/2015..A wonderful baptism!!!

The Munioz' baptism! What a special day!!! :) Brother Munioz was baptized first and the joy that filled him was such a sight to see! Then, his sons followed his example! :)

6/1/2015..Miracles around us!!

Amazing experience #1- So, the stage is set. Elder Jordan and I are driving down the road. Prior to that, we were discussing who to visit and felt prompted to go visit one lady. On the way to her home, we saw this guy walking down the road with a guitar. I asked Elder Jordan, "should we get out and talk to him?" In response to my question he said, 'Why not?" So, we sped up, parked on the side of the road, jumped out and started talking with him about guitar playing. We asked him to play something for us and he played an Em chord! It was awesome! ;) He told us that he had had dinner with Elder Nelson 5 times and that his grandparents live right next to him. That rung a bell for Elder Jordan! As it turns out, we had heard that same story from his mom, a LA member! We told him that we knew his mom, mentioned we had had an appointment set up but it had fallen through. He hung his head and said that he was the reason it fell through. He had gotten into some trouble and his mom had to cancel our appointment as a result. THAT is when the miracle happened! This boy was humble enough to admit his mistake and the spirit just came rushing in! As it turns out, he was heading to Salt Lake tomorrow (today) to get some help. Elder Jordan then went on to tell him that his story was and is the EXACT same. EXACT same situation, exact same scenario and he invited this boy to magnify the opportunity that he had been given, to go to Salt lake, read the Book of Mormon, pray and come back a changed man. They boy said he would and also said, "I'll probably never forget this experience." We then said goodbye, returned to our car, said a prayer and actually never got to talk to the woman that we felt inspired to go and visit! Haha! We now have much stronger testimonies of talking with everyone though and I truly know that the Lord puts us where He needs us. I look forward to that boys return and hopefully, he can serve a mission someday, just like Elder Jordan is right now. :)

Amazing Experience #2- We were teaching one of our investigators, about the Restoration of the Gospel and the lesson was going so well! We invited her to be baptized on June 20th @ 6 and with gusto and excitement she exclaimed, "Oh wow! I have a date!!!" and then went on to laugh and clap for joy. Wow is exactly what I was thinking and probably the word that was written on my forehead for the next couple moments. It was amazing! She will be baptized the Saturday before I return home and her and her fellow shipper,  a returning to activity member, came to Stake Conference yesterday! They cried a lot and loved it! Can someone say, "Miracles?!?!" We are loving it! :) We have another appointment with her this evening and will be taking her on a church tour! :)

Amazing Experience #3- This wasn't really an amazing experience but it was definitely a funny one! Alas, towards the end of May..... Elder Jordan and I ran out of miles...... SO, we were forced to ride our bikes (one of which is quite broken and inconvenient to ride) to our area and in our area. Maybe I'm a wimp who is way to comfortable with his car BUT, it was terrible!!! Haha! It was definitely a humbling experience though and we are better because we went through it though! :)

Overall, this past week was amazing!! It rained a lot, we had a thunderstorm last night, we had Stake Conference which was AMAZING, and this week I get to have dinner with the Axlines! (an amazing family from Pocatello) Life is good! :) I love you all!! :) My invitation is for everyone to take some time this week to read from "Preach My Gospel" and "Power of Everyday Missionaries" by Clayton M. Christensen! it will change your life! Have an amazing week! :)