Christmas Morning Photos

Chirstmas Cinnamon Rolls and Read-a-thon with the Missionaries

Beautiful Morning

Oh what a beautiful morning! :)                                                  Dec. 30, 2013

 

The sun it out today and it's looking like it might warm up... but I'm not so sure. There is a member in our ward who texts us when the weather might take an unexpected turn and the forecast says it's going to be cold this week. It's supposed to be -19C today. All I know is that is pretty cold!

 

This week was awesome! On Christmas Eve we had our read-a-thon and read the four gospels in 9 hours straight. I've never read the Gospels that fast so it was cool to see what was repeated in all the books and some of the other details only contained in one of the books. It really brought the spirit of Christ into the season for me though. Then on Christmas we got together again and started the D&C. We got through 60 sections in four hours! It was crazy! There were probably 25-30 missionaries sitting in a big circle in the relief society room and we each read a verse and went around the circle and just kept going and going. We're finishing the D&C and the Pearl of Great Price tomorrow and New Years Day. We had tropicana orange juice and cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas! (It's tradition!) Then went to the read a thon. Sister Dyer and I left the read a thon a little early to go skype our families and it was so worth it :) It was so good to see them! Then we visited a girl named Kate that just got her mission call to Mexico! It was crazy because she's exactly a year behind me! She put her papers in last November, got her call in December, and she leaves at the end of April! I'm so excited for her!! Her Christmas presents looked a lot like what I got last year :) Mission preparation gifts. Hahaha. Christmas was so great!

 

Austin is amazing! We met with him twice this week. In the first lesson we finished teaching him about the Restoration and set him with a baptismal date for the 19 of January. Right before we quoted the first vision in Joseph Smith's own words I told him he would feel the influence of the Holy Ghost. After Sister Dyer said the first vision, he sat there for a minute and then touched his chest and said, "I feel it right here." It was one of those undeniable moments! It was so powerful! Then we taught him right before church yesterday and our branch mission leader sat in on the lesson. It was another powerhouse moment. Austin loved church! He was such a trooper because the guy who gave him a ride had to come early to church to come to branch council and then had to stay late for a little while so Austin was at the church ALL DAY! And he loved it. Sacrament meeting is last in this branch, so at the end of all of it we asked Austin how he felt and he said he felt the Holy Ghost. I love the way he describes the spirit! He said it feels like vibrations from really loud music at a concert, but instead of those vibrations going into you, they are going out from you! Isn't that awesome?!

 

Church was not only an amazing experience for Austin, but for me too. I needed it a lot. Taking the sacrament was so sacred because I hadn't taken it the week before because of the ice storm, so I felt the difference. In our combined meeting for the fifth sunday the branch president talked about the stake's new theme for 2014. It's "Feed the Spirit. Nourish the Soul." So we had a really good conversation about that. We read some of my favorite scriptures in the Gospels. John 21:15-17. As we read it there was a connection in my mind between three scriptural phrases. "Feed my sheep" "The first great commandment" "If ye love me keep my commandments" The greatest expression of love we can give to Jesus Christ is to "Feed His sheep." And the first great commandment is to love God. It all just made crystal clear sense in my head that if we truly love God and are motivated by that love to keep His commandments, the first thing we naturally do is share the Gospel. I don't know if I'm explaining it very well, but it was super profound for me.

 

I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for the opportunity I have to "Feed His sheep" full time. I love being a missionary. I love this work. I hope you all have a happy new year filled with lots of new years resolutions to not only live the Gospel more fully, but to share it.

 

Love and Prayers, Sister Felix

ICE STORM PHOTOS

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!                                                                               Dec. 23, 13

This upcoming week is going to be amazing! As a mission we're doing a read-a-thon on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day. Since proselyting wont be super effective or welcome on any of those days we're going to read the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price in those four days! I'm really excited about it. We'll be reading it together as a zone in Kitchener. We also have our quarterly interviews this week with President and Sister Scott. I'm super excited about that too!

We had some changes in our area this week. On Wednesday we got a call from the Zone Leaders and they told us that the Guelph North sisters would now cover all of Guelph and attend the family ward and Sister Dyer and I are now GUELPH YSA! :) Crazy huh? So we will be finding and teaching YSA in Guelph and attending the Kitchener YSA Branch! I've never been in a branch before, so it will be a great new experience. There are lots of YSA here in Guelph because it' a university town, the only problem is they are all home for the holidays. Hahaha. It's okay because we're still seeing miracles despite that. It's so interesting how the Lord knows everything. Both Sister Dyer and I started our missions in YSA areas (S. Dyer was in London) and now we're in Guelph opening a new YSA area! I've enjoyed the challenges and adventures that come along with opening an area.

We found two new investigators this week. Onneetse we found tracting and she is from Botswana. She is awesome! And Austin we found while walking around in a neighborhood. He was shoveling snow in his driveway so we just went up and started talking with him. We're having a second lesson with each of them tonight, so I'm pretty excited to start watching them progress.

The craziest part of this week was yesterday though. There was an ice storm!! Crazy. I always heard about ice storms happening back east. And here I was. Back east. In an ice storm. Church was cancelled so we stayed inside for some of the day and did productive missionary things and went tracting for another part of it. It was crazy though. Thick ice covered EVERYTHING! It was like a blanket of ice was just thrown over the world. It was absolutely beautiful!

I hope you all have a great week! Have a wonderful and very merry Christmas!

Love and Prayers, Sister Felix

Staying in Guelph

Hello!                                                                                                          Dec. 16, 2013

Here's the transfer news: I will be staying in Guelph for another six weeks! And the best part is-Sister Dyer is staying too! :) I'm so happy. SO HAPPY that we get to be companions for another six weeks :) One of our investigators, Laura, said she prayed for us to stay here for another transfer. It was a great way to show her that prayers really are answered :) That reminds me of another cool story about answered prayers that actually happened last night. We went home for dinner then we were going back out again to do some tracting in the winter wonderland :) As we were going out the door, I grabbed a name tag to put on my coat and decided to put it on in the car. After we brushed all the snow off of our car, and after I backed Sister Dyer out of the driveway, I got in the car and couldn't find that name tag for my coat! I looked in my pocket, my bag, and everywhere else I could think, but didn't find it. Luckily, I was wearing another tag on my scarf so I just moved that one to my coat. When we got home, Sister Dyer and I went and got our flashlights and decided to look around the car where it might have fallen. We said a prayer that we would find my tag then went and looked. I looked in the car again and out in the road where I had stood while backing, but couldn't find it... Just as I was thinking about giving up the search, Sister Dyer kicked up some snow and found it lying on the ground next to the car!! It was turned upside down so the white back of it blended in with the snow and then it continued to snow while we were gone so it was buried. It was a miracle that we found it :) We went back inside and said a prayer of gratitude. It was a simple experience, but it once again confirmed my testimony of the Lord answering faithful prayers that are according to His will.

Gabby was baptized yesterday! It was one of the most spiritual baptisms I've ever been to. She was glowing :) Sister Marler and I sang a musical number and Sister Dyer played the piano. We sang the words to "Father in Heaven, We Do Believe" to the tune of "There is a Green Hill Far Away" and it was powerful! The last verse (verse 6) of "Father in Heaven, We Do Believe" is about baptism and we sang it in A Capella. Sister Marler sang the melody and I sang the notes to the bass part. Gabby was just beaming at us the whole time! That moment was definitely a holy place in my memory.

Laura is doing great as well! She has a baptismal date for the 5th of January and is looking pretty solid for that. She is reading from the Book of Mormon and praying daily. At the end of one of our lessons this week she told us that she wants be living all the standards of the church before she is baptized so she can fully give a life long commitment to God. It was so amazing! 

I WENT ON EXCHANGES WITH SISTER WALDRON! :) It was so wonderful. It was amazing to work with each other again and see the changes in both of us. She has been a Sister Training Leader for the past six months, so it was awesome to see my trainer, who I thought was perfect already, improve and continue to become more Christlike. It was a wonderful day.

Juliana fed us dinner this week and it was so good! She made us food from her country, Ghana. It was rice with foo foo? I think that is what it was called. It was lamb with a tomato sauce and vegetables and spices and it was delicious! She is doing so well! We talked about temples and family history work with her and she is really excited about the  concept that she can be baptized for her deceased family members. I love it when recent converts feel the Spirit of Elijah! It truly is a joy to redeem the dead :)

I hope you all have a fantastic week and a Christ centered Christmas season! 

Love and Prayers, Sister Felix

O Christmas Tree

Dec. Zone Conference

Hello!

So much has happened this week... I don't even know where to start. How about with Zone Conference! :) Tuesday was our Zone Conference and it was here in the Guelph chapel, which was really nice! I saw Sister Stoddard there! (She was my MTC companion) She is training a sister from France! So that's pretty awesome! President Scott talked a lot about repentance and we discussed in depth how we repent and how we help others do the same. It was incredible. One thing he said that I really liked was about influences on our thoughts. If our thoughts are directed in the past and looking  backward with despair and disappointment, that is Satan influencing you. If your thoughts lead you to want to do better, that is the Holy Ghost. And if your thoughts are directed toward the future with hope and faith, that's the Savior. I loved that. "Know who's influencing you!" he said. Sister Scott talked about the Christmas season and basically compiled scriptures together about the Savior's birth, life, and mission and read them as a power point of pictures of Christ played behind her. It was beautiful! She said, "We hope you have a Christmas that is outward focused, Christ centered, and filled with joy." After Zone Conference, the assistants came and talked with us for a minute and told us that some changes would be happening in our area! 1. We have permission to teach YSA!! (There is a University here and there are TONS of students everywhere!) 2. We would get a car! :) Then we can drive to Kitchener to attend the YSA branch. I have loved riding the buses, but it truly is a blessing to have a car! Especially because it's getting colder and colder! We don't know how everything is going to work out yet, but it will. We already got the car, so now we're teaching families and YSA until the end of the transfer (Which is this week), but then we don't know what is going to happen next transfer. We'll just have to wait and see what transfer calls will bring :)

This week we did some service for a family in our ward named the Parkins. They are an older couple and have a lot of health problems. We called and asked if we could come over on Friday morning and do some service for them for a little while. She responded promptly with a, "Yes please! I'll put you to work decorating my Christmas tree and making ginger cookies!" My kind of service! :) It was so nice to hear the Tabernacle Choir sing Christmas songs while we made cookies and decorated a Christmas tree! It was a highlight of my week! Sister Dyer and I were too cheap to go buy a Christmas tree, so we turned our couch on the side and taped a paper Christmas tree to the bottom of it :) So it was nice to decorate a REAL tree! Hahaha. 

Gabby is scheduled to be baptized this week! We're so excited for her! She called us yesterday and told us she couldnt come to church because she was in Cambridge staying at her aunts house. If she didn't come to church, she couldnt get baptized on the fifteenth because she has to come to church a certain number of times. So she was really sad! We told her she could go to church in Cambridge and could still get baptized on the fifteenth. So she went to church in Cambridge with her aunt! What amazing faith that eleven year old girl has!! She has taught me so much. Juliana got confirmed yesterday and it was beautiful! We watched the Restoration video with her this week and she loved it! We gave her a couple other church videos this week and she watches them all the time :) 

Another miracle of the week! Remember Laura? We found her a long time ago and taught her a short lesson then scheduled to go back and she wasnt there. She dropped off the face of the earth! So we decided she probably got anti-ed. But we dropped by her this week and we're starting to meet with her again! Both she and her baby have been incredibly sick and there were other complicated reasons why that time wasn't right, but we talked with her about repentance again, and she is so excited! She came to the ward Christmas party last night and the Christmas Devotional and loved it! I feel a really strong connection with Laura. I feel that she is one of the people I was sent to Canada for.

We had a unique experience on Saturday. On Wednesday we got a text saying that Elder Hallstrom from the presidency of the seventy would be in town and that we would have the opportunity to meet with him! Sisters Waldron, Crandall, and Sorensen were all there, so I got to see all of my companions this week! I sat next to Sister Waldron the whole time and realized how much I have missed her! We didn't get to go on exchanges this week because of this last minute meeting, but we're going this week, so don't worry :) 

Some of my favorite things from Elder Hallstrom: 

"The depth, foundation, and influence [your mission] has on you is up to you." He talked a lot about how this time is a time to build a spiritual foundation for our lives and then all of our other life experiences should build upon that foundation. And that foundation should be built upon Jesus Christ. 

"We know the spirit is speaking to us when we have the desire to repent." 

"3 elements of change: 1. Gain Vision. (Eternal Perspective) 2. Be willing to make commitments (Covenants) 3. Develop the self discipline (Consistency in vision and covenant keeping)"

As he was closing, I had one of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my life. He bore witness of God our Heavenly Father, our Savior Jesus Christ, the Restoration of the Gospel, the reality of living prophets and priesthood keys, and as he did so, I felt the spirit bear witness of the reality of his calling. To testify of Jesus Christ. I felt the spirit so strongly! It was as if there was another element running with my blood through every vein in my body. Then I had this thought: "You can not deny this feeling." I am accountable for the spirit that I felt that day. I have no doubt of the reality of God, our loving Heavenly Father and His divine Son, Jesus Christ. The fullness of their Gospel is on the earth today and I am so grateful, privileged, and blessed to have the opportunity to share that with others, full time. I love this work. I hope you all have a great week!

Love and Prayers, Sister Felix

Juliana Baptism

He sees me as who I can become, but loves me as I am

Hello!                                                                                                      Dec. 2, 2013

What a beautiful week it has been :) I'm so grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord. My studies this morning were amazing. I always read at least one chapter from the Book of Mormon to start off my studies every day because it brings the spirit instantly. So I read a chapter from Alma then dove into a study about Jesus Christ. Our mission president has asked all of us to study repentance and the birth and mission of Jesus Christ in preparation for Zone Conferences this week. I have had some extremely profound experiences in the process and feel like my testimony has been strengthened on both of these topics. I want to share with you this one insight I had as I was pondering on the personal meaning of the life of Jesus Christ: He sees me as who I can become, but loves me as I am. I am so grateful for the unconditional love of our Savior and our Father in Heaven. If I could sum up the things I've learned thus far on my mission in one statement, it would be the reality of our loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. It's almost overwhelming when you think about it.

Juliana was baptized yesterday :) It was an amazing experience! After she came up out of the water, I asked her how she felt, and she said, "The Holy Ghost speak to me." So I said, "What did He say?" And she said, "I can't explain in English." She says that sometimes when we ask her to explain things back to us after we taught a principle to make sure she understands, but this time it was different. Because I couldn't explain the way I felt in English either! The spirit will do that to ya :) 

We took Warren on a tour of the chapel and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we went along. We talked about faith when we showed him the classrooms and how we learn at church to increase our faith in Jesus Christ. We talked about repentance as we pointed our paintings on the walls. We showed him the picture of Alma baptizing at the Waters of Mormon and then opened up the baptismal font as we talked about this sacred covenant we make with God. Then we took him into the chapel and talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. It was amazing! The spirit was so strong! I know he felt it. He cried as Sister Dyer said the closing prayer. Now we just need to help him act on that feeling.

Zone Conference is tomorrow, Tuesday, and it will be in the Guelph chapel, so we don't have to go far :) I'm also going on exchanges this Saturday in Brampton with SISTER WALDRON!!! I am so excited!! I saw her briefly on transfer day and that's the only time since the first 6 weeks of my mission. I've changed so much since then, and I'm sure she has too, so I'm excited to learn from each other again.

I hope you all have a great week! Enjoy the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! 

Love and Prayers, Sister Felix