Missionaries Forever

Hello from Toronto :)

I can't believe this is the last week of the transfer! Time has flown. There are six weeks in a transfer. And sister's serve about 12 or 13 transfers. I dont like to think of my mission in terms of transfers, because then it seems short... And it is short! This time is so sacred. When I was in the MTC I watched a talk from Elder Holland and he talked about how this is a unique time because 100% of your time, efforts, thoughts, everything is dedicated to serving the Lord. Then he said, "Don't miss it." So even though time is flying, I'm doing my best not to miss it :)

This week was an awesome week :) We kept seeing our investigators and recent converts in random places! Just running into them. I would call them coincidences, but I dont believe in that. God is in the details of our lives. We saw Theo on Saturday when we were walking out of the Brampton Public Library after teaching a lesson! He was walking in as we were walking out! So we sat down with him and talked about the Holy Ghost because he was confirmed yesterday and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. And we saw Conrod, Fiona, and several other people this week just randomly!

 We went on exchanges this week and it was really different teaching with someone else. We have Sister Training Leaders in our mission now so that sisters can go on exchanges just like the Elders. I was with Sister S. She is from Brigham City and goes home the first week of July. This is her last week. It was a neat experience to teach with her because she has been out for so long. I loved working with her, but I also realized how much I love Sister W. We are pretty much the same person! We even say the same things at the same time sometimes. That's when you know you've spent a lot of time with one person :)

We had a powerful district meeting this week. Our district leader, Elder S, shared his testimony of the Atonement and it's healing power. It was incredible. The Spirit was so strong and he really stressed the importance of teaching the Atonement in every lesson as well as focusing on the commitment. Because when we teach someone without committing them to do something, according to Elder S, "It's a waste of the spirit. Just a friendly conversation. We're here to commit them to change. Repent. We can't do that without extending commitments." Sister W and I are seeing miracles as we focus on the Atonement and the commitment we're extending in every lesson. Aw man being a missionary is the best!

We taught Chinonso this week about the word of wisdom and the plan of salvation. We had a member, John, come with us. My testimony of working with members grew sufficiently that day. We as full time missionaries need members. John and Chinonso really connected and John got his number and is following up with him about the word of wisdom. That is so much more effective than when we follow up with him! I hope you all got a chance to watch "The Work of Salvation" broadcast last night. If not, go watch it. It's incredible! I decided last night that I want to be a missionary forever. I don't mean being set apart as a full time missionary forever, because that's not possible, but missionary work is not possible without the help of the members. The video at the beginning of the broadcast about how families can share the gospel really hit me. I loved it! I also noticed that Joseph Smith's quote "The greatest and most important duty is to preach the gospel" was shared multiple times last night. I love that quote. And it applies to all of us! Let's be missionaries forever okay? :)

I hope you all have a great week! This is Christ's church. He is in the details of our life because he loves us. Individually. Love you all!

Love and prayers,

B

                PS. If you're going to send mail, start sending it all to this address:

                197 County Court Blvd Ste #203

                Brampton, ON

                L6W 4P6

                Canada

Just in case I get transferred :) I don't think I will, but you never know where the Lord needs you to go! Hahaha. Have a great week!

June Photos

Baptism

Hello :)                                                                                    June 17, 2013

Wow this week was awesome!! We had a baptism yesterday- Theo:) Sister W and her last companion met him the day I flew into Canada. We taught him my first day in the field. He was the first person I ever taught in Canada. And he was baptized yesterday! It was one of the most powerful experiences. In his testimony after his baptism he talked about how he is so grateful to know the truth and looks forward to going to the temple and raising a family in the light of the Gospel. It was music to my ears :) He quit smoking to be baptized. It's truly a miracle to watch people change through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We also had four investigators at church and to the baptism yesterday. That was also an answered prayer! We have church at noon, then we have "munch and mingle" right after church (In YSA wards and they need frequent food and flirt time). But if there is a baptism, it happens right after church, the whole ward attends, then we have munch and mingle. So it was a good day! Sister W spoke in Sacrament meeting and I sang "Love at Home" as a solo for the musical number. It was a busy day! A busy week :)

We also had Zone Conference this week which was powerful! I love President and Sister Scott! President Scott talked a little bit about "The Work of Salvation" because there is a broadcast this coming Sunday, the 23rd, about that very topic that we will be watching. I'm super excited for it! Sister Scott gave the most INCREDIBLE talk! She talked about how a missionaries daily schedule shows us what the Lord values.One of my favorite things she said was, "The bookends of our daily schedule are prayer. All three members of the Godhead are involved in every prayer." I have never thought about that before, but it's true.

I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know this Gospel is true and that we can only return to live with our Heavenly Father through the Atonement. Teaching people about the Atonement has really helped me understand it more fully. It's personal. It's for everyone. I love that I have an opportunity to tell people about it. Have a great week! Dont forget to pray :)

Love, B

Ps. There is a picture of a whole flock of Canadian Geese crossing the street! It made my day! Hahaha! Only in Canada eh?! The others are from Theo's baptism. What a good Theo :)

I'm so glad you have had a good week! Oh how I love you all :) This first picture is of the sticker we put on a recent converts car because he's a soccer player! Hahaha. He's a black guy named Curtis and he's awesome! The next one is of the rear view mirror with a sunset. The sunsets are gorgeous here! There are no mountains to block it! Pros and Cons :) The next picture is of Sister W and I with Tamires and Guliano. They are two Brazilians who have been living here for the past couple of months. Tamires is a recent convert, she was baptized last month. And Guliano is her cousin and a member. He baptized her :) They were some of my first friends in Canada. They flew back to Brazil yesterday. I was sad to see them go :( The last one is of the tamales the spanish elders made for us! Hahaha! We ate them and they were good, but wow. I've eaten some crazy food since I've been here. It's awesome! NEVER FORGET HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU! I'm so glad you enjoyed your surprise package! I thought I was so sneaky :) Love you tons! Til next week :)

This is a picture of the Spanish elders who gave the food to us. They are hilarious! We did service this week for the salvation army. We planted gardens and it was a blast! This is Elder C last transfer. (He's the tall one) And Elder V quotes movies with me! They're awesome!

Miracles

Hello :)                                                                                                              6-10-13

This week has been awesome. Man I love being a missionary! We taught Kashra twice this week. She has incredible faith in Jesus Christ and is scheduled to be baptized on June 30. But I've got to tell you about the miracle of the week. (There are so many miracles, it's crazy! I'll just tell you about one of them) My first week in Toronto, Sister W and I were walking around the campus at Humber College just talking to people, and we met a guy named Chinonso from Nigeria. He seemed interested, but we couldn't find a time to meet with him until this week. We met with him on Thursday night in a classroom at Humber College. There were a couple of his friends there working on homework. So we started talking with Chinonso and one of his friends, Joseph and started teaching the Restoration. They were so distracted it was almost rude. I just wanted to yell at them and tell them how important this message is! But I was blessed with patience :) They were "half listening" for the first half of the lesson, but when we recited the first vision from memory, they were all ears. They closed their laptops and it became a discussion instead of us talking at them. After we finished teaching about Joseph Smith and the Holy Ghost we invited them both to be baptized and they both said yes! Joseph said, "If Christ was baptized, then I better be to." They are scheduled to be baptised on June 30! We gave them each a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet and they promised to read and pray about it. Sister W and I got in the car after that lesson and looked at each other with a "what just happened in there" kind of expression on our faces. I definitely have a testimony that this gospel is true. Joseph Smith is a prophet. And there are so many people out there that have no idea that Christ's true church is on the earth in it's fullness. I took that for granted. But now I'm talking to people everyday that don't even know who God is! They don't know that the Supreme Creator is the literal Father of our spirits! I'm so blessed. So incredibly blessed.

Sister W birthday was on Saturday :) I wanted to surprise her somehow, but when you're with someone for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it's kind of hard to surprise them... So I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said, "New investigators" :) Hahaha. I think that is every missionaries birthday wish! We had a fun day though. I asked her at the end of the day what her favorite part was, and she said our lesson with Jason. We were supposed to meet with Jason in the Brampton Stake Center, but it was all locked up and we didn't have a key. So we walked across the street to the Toronto Temple and taught him about following the prophet while sitting on the lawn of the temple. It was a gorgeous day and we had two recent converts, Ashley and Curtis, at that lesson with us. We asked Jason some of the Baptismal Interview Questions and he is so ready to be baptized! We even asked him what is keeping him from being baptized and he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Myself I guess." Ashley and Curtis then bore powerful testimonies of why they were baptized and how it has blessed their lives. It was definitely one of the most powerful lessons we've ever had.

I studied the Psalm of Nephi this week in 2 Nephi 4 and it brought me lots of comfort. I think this week was so awesome, because it was so hard. But I read the 2 Nephi 4 and felt so strengthened by Nephi's words. He has become such a real person to me as I've started the Book of Mormon over again. I have really come to love Nephi. He said, "If I have seen so great things, then..."

·   Why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh?

·   Why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow?

·   Why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul?

I them made a list of some of the "great things" I've seen on my mission. And I really have seen great things. I really have. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the opportunity and privilege I have to be set apart as a missionary at this time. The Lord is calling more missionaries into the field, and therefore, He is preparing more people to receive them. Sometimes they're hard to find. But the elect are out there. I love being a missionary. I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you for your support and prayers. Have a great week!

Love and prayers forever,B

May Photos

Hello one and all :)                                                                                                  June 3, 2013

This week has been a weird one. We've had lots of appointments set up, but people don't show up! Sister W and I have talked a lot about it, and we decided just to keep being obedient, proactive missionaries and the Lord will provide according to His will. I noticed that it would probably be normal to feel discouraged at this point, but I was honestly just looking for ways to improve myself as a missionary. God knows what I need. He knows when I need it. He just knows.

Study time is definitely one of my favorite things about being a missionary! Personal study is from 8am to 9am and Companion study is from 9am to 11am everyday. (For the first twelve weeks of a mission, the trainer and trainee have an extra hour of companion study. After the first twelve weeks, it will just be one hour of companion study). In my personal study, I've been focusing my study on three conference talks. The first, "Obedience to the Law is Liberty" by Elder L. Tom Perry. One of my favorite quotes from that is, "Each choice you and I make is a test of our agency-whether we choose to be obedient or disobedient to the commandments is actually a choice between 'liberty and eternal life' and 'captivity and death." As a missionary, obedience is everything. As a child of God, obedience is everything. That's probably why it's the first law in Heaven :) The second, "We Believe in Being Chaste" by Elder David A. Bednar. He said, "I can think of no blessings to be more fervently desired than those promised to the pure and virtuous...for the pure in heart 'shall see God'...and they shall feel at home in His presence." The more I think about that statement, the more the reality of it sinks in. I love that talk! And the last, "Lord, I Believe" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. This talk has been significant in our study because two of our investigators with baptismal dates are concerned because they don't feel like they know enough and aren't ready to make that decision. We just keep praying and keep trying to help them experience the Doctrine of Christ. I love it when he said, "Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe." This statement is so applicable to not only the investigators that we're teaching, but to all of us.

We found the coolest lady this week! We were on our way to one of our appointments, and she was just standing at a bus stop. We talked to her and found out she is from an island in the West Indies. Her name is Kashra (Kuh-she-ra) and we have an appointment with her for Tuesday :) I'm super excited about getting to know her! That day we did a lot of walking around and talking to people because all of our lessons fell through. I definitely got a sunburn that day! The weather is so unpredictable here. I wore a sweater on one day, and got a sunburn the next day! How does that work?! It definitely keeps me on my toes :)

I am so grateful to be a missionary in Canada at this time. I love being a missionary! It's so comforting to know that I am doing exactly what my Father in Heaven wants me to do right now. Keep smiling and have a great week! :)

Love and prayers forever,

B