2 Weeks

Since I didn't write an update last week, I am going to try and write an update for 2 weeks.

These past two weeks have been dry in our teaching, and this past week, we had no member presents. Everyone has been getting ready for the school year (which started yesterday) and I am guessing that could be one of the reasons why we couldn't get any members out to lessons (besides a lot of our investigators kept cancelling on us). 

Last week, I encountered two ex-communicated members. We tried to visit this one sister who lived at the same place (their daughter) many months ago, but she wasn't there. This time, she wasn't there either, but we met with her parents, instead. They had committed adultery and they had been recently married as of the first week in July and just got back from their honeymoon. They want to come back to church and they have strong testimonies of the church, regardless of their transgressions. We cannot teach them at this time because they have to wait for a period of time, according to the bishop. These people want us to teach one of their friends about the gospel in their home, and the bishop ok'ed it; we just can't teach the excommunicated members. This is the most interesting situation I have ever encountered on my mission thus far. 

We have also been teaching Jackie the 15 Step Addiction Program to help her quit smoking. As of today, she has made it a week and 2 days. We made signs for her to put up in her home but she likes to flip through them instead and she leaves them on her coffee table, and that's fine. 

At the celebration party of one week (just Sister Mahler, Jackie, and I,) I blew bubbles the moment we walked in and we read about David and Goliath in Samuel and we compared it to her smoking. She conquered Goliath (smoking) with a sling shot (15 steps), and with the strength of God (The Atonement). It was a good little party and we plan on encouraging her this week as well. 

We Taught Natalie the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we have been getting her ready for Baptism. She still does not have a date yet, but hopefully soon.

There was a day where we had a member drive us to a lesson to a less-Active Sister, and it did not go well. My companion and I sat there most of the time while the member and the less-active member kept talking for at least 40 minutes. We couldn't interfere because as missionaries, we cannot council members, or anyone, on their problems or personal problems. It would create an inappropriate relationship, and is against the missionary rules. Because we didn't help the member out on her problem, the member told us in the car that we as missionaries were not fulfilling our purpose (but we were). The less-active member was going through a hard time, and someone had just recently passed (we didn't know that until the next visit) and it was just a... stressful situation. We barely got any of lesson 3 in, but we did mention a little bit on Faith.   

We met with Robbin and Larry last week, but it was brief. As of right now, they have been cancelling and scheduling appointments. 

We haven't been able to meet with Margie for the past 2 weeks, because she wants to focus on moving.  

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This past week has been a little discouraging, but I am still going. 

My companion read a quote to me that said, "We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see" -Boyd K. Packer. 

The  full paragraph of this statement is in here: 

"Those who talk of blind obedience may appear to know many things, but they do not understand the doctrines of the gospel. There is an obedience that comes from a knowledge of the truth that transcends any external form of control. We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see. The best control, I repeat, is self-control." 

There is nothing greater than being free because of being obedience to God's commandments. 

A lot of blessings come from living the gospel, and I hope at some point my investigators see that. 

Another thing I have heard this past week was about how religion doesn't change lives, behavior does. That is also a true statement. Acting on our beliefs, especially in the LDS religion, makes all the difference between someone who doesn't act on what they believe, and those who do. 

Being a missionary is definitely harder than I had expected (I am the first in my family on both sides to serve a mission), and it is definitely an experience I will never forget. 

See you next week,

Sister Marshall  

 

Drought Week

I don't have time to write as much as I would like to on this week. We didn't do so well in our numbers, but that went for the Elders as well. 

Write to me, if you can! I sure miss you all.

-Sister Marshall 

Missionaries in your Homes

Make sure you feed the missionaries! And, with a lesson, this gives the missionaries great opportunities to help you receive revelation on how you can spread the gospel. Last week, Sister Mahler and I did not have one meal all week scheduled (except when we mentioned it to the relief society president, and then we had a meal the next day). She told us, "don't let that ever happen again" and Jackie said the same thing, too. "If this happens, call me." 

Feeding the missionaries is important, and I am not saying this because I am one. I recognize the importance as it gives us an opportunity to help families come closer to Christ. The food's good, too. ;) 

Good Week in Progress

The week is over... oh wow, where did the time go? 

Our numbers were good this week, and my companion and I strived to meet our key indicators. We had 5 investigators show up to church yesterday. That is a high number if I do say so myself. 

We had a lot of appointments cancel and reschedule, and cancel again. One of them was with Darlene, and we haven't seen her for over 2 months. But, we keep trying, and trying. We brought a member with us to teach the lesson, but Darlene was all the way in Jacksonville, even though she said she'd be here at the scheduled time she said she was going to be here. Oh well. Soon after that, We met with Sister Hall, and went over the word of Wisdom. She is recently back together with her husband, and he just got out of surgery that previous Friday. She had some concerns on what it meant when it said that we are commanded to eat meat sparingly. Sister Sparrow and Sister Hall got along well. 

We are teaching Jackie, the sister who does our laundry. We are helping her with the things she needs to work on in order to meet her goal of attending the temple by the end of the year. We are excited to help her meet this goal. Jackie jokes how the whole ward is going to be there. Many want to see her attend there, especially to receive her endowments. We are excited. 

Deep clean is the first Tuesday of every month, and boy do we need to seriously clean! It wasn't super dirty, but the President of our Mission is going to check each missionary apartment and we have to though away a bunch of things previous missionaries left behind. A lot of these things are going to Good Will. 

We are not going to teach Marie anymore because she cannot grasp that much within the first lesson. 

We also taught Sally, and we are helping her to be grateful, not matter the circumstance, just like Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk mentions. 

We had a good lesson with Kim, and the lesson was great. Even though she's married, we went over the Law of Chastity; it is a lesson that is required for baptism. 

On Wednesday we had exchanges, and I got to be with Sister Hymus for a day. She is such a wonderful missionary, and I am glad she came to New Bern for the exchanges. With her, we found a new investigator, even though just before, one after another, appointments cancelled and fell through. 

We went to Brother Hill's house, to teach his wife; they are separated, and so she is now Sister Roundtree. We went to her location, and she had completely forgot what was going on in the Book of Mormon and has been attending a different religion. Her mom was there, and she was standing in the doorway inside when Sister Hymus and I sat down. She asked, ["Where in the Book of Mormon does it mention Jesus Christ?"] and we told her it does. Then, she said, with great boldness: "Show Me." My companion and I smiled wide at each other. That is one of my favorite things anyone can say to me, especially as a missionary.  We showed her some places in the Book of Mormon, such as the Title page,  which states, "Another Testament of Jesus Christ".  Instead of focusing on Sister RoundTree, the lesson went to her mother. Her name is Annie, but she likes to be called Ann. Sister Hymus and I were sitting around her on the floor as she sat in the recliner. She wanted to see how the Book of Mormon was just like the Bible, and we flipped through many scriptures that were mentioned in the Bible, and Book of Mormon. One of them, in the Bible, Exodus, briefly mentioned how we can obtain eternal life. Then we flipped to a passage in the Book of Mormon that expanded much more on how we can obtain it.  We also flipped through the verses both in Bible and the Book of Mormon which mentioned how God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and Ann was super excited about that. "See, that's what I'm talking about!" she exclaimed. She also asked a question about why do we need both the Bible and the Book of Mormon if the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel, and why they have to have two different names for both books. We mentioned that the Book of Mormon is a second witness of [God, and ] Jesus Christ. At this point, Ann's daughter was out of the house and on to do something with family.

We also Taught Carol, and we taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She said she will attend our church services by the time her pastor doesn't have church on one of the upcoming Sundays. That is going to be fun.

We also taught Colleen, and she fed sister Hymus and I dinner. I had never had a meal at an investigator's home before as a missionary. Definitely a new experience. She had a lot of questions about the introduction page and what certain things meant. We are going to teach her the Restoration soon.

We had another lesson with Lashanda; She's been taught by missionaries since last year, and she still has not opened the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is the key to conversion. If it's not read, then nothing about the LDS religion will make much sense. 

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This week: I made Apple-Cinnamon bread since it's been on my mind since last year when Joseph said he really liked it. He said he couldn't find it anywhere outside the Farmer's Market. I wanted to make some, and it turned out pretty good. Hopefully Joseph will want me to make some for him by the time he gets back from his mission.

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Also. 

Sister Mahler and I taught Gospel Principles class on Sunday. It went pretty well, and it was a small crowd, which made it easier. Two investigators were in the class; one of the Elder's, and one of ours. 

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We texted the Elders to come and unscrew the cap for our light bulb in our apartment because we could not do it. When they came, we stepped out of our apartment and the Elders went in. They pretended to work hard and we couldn't see what they were doing. It was very funny. Then, there was silence, and Sister Mahler pointed that out loudly as she exclaimed that from the front door.  The elders were messing with our stuff in the room. When they left, we went to check to see what they did. The elders put a picture of Jesus and stuck it to my Frame of Joseph and I, and positioned it standing the 6 x 4 way instead of 4 x 6. They stuck a sticky note on the lampshade on the desk that said, "have a nice day." They also turned off the fan by using the switch, which we sisters cannot reach because we're so short. Sister Mahler was paranoid and wanted to see what the Elders did to her stuff, for they messed with mine. . She didn't find out until the next  day when someone called us in the morning (today), and she flipped through her planner (she couldn't say much of anything when talking to a member was on the phone; it was funny) to the current day, and one of the elders left a sticky note, inside, that said, "Don't forget to Flush." Her face was priceless. When the phone call ended,  I burst out laughing. Our toilet had broken again and it was so nasty. She was laughing, but at the same time, embarrassed; we thought they didn't check the bathroom! Well, the elders were sneaky. We couldn't help laugh in companion study. I kept laughing when I saw her planner. Goodness. 

Well, that's all I can say for now. 

I love this gospel, and the peace it brings. I am proud to call myself a Latter-day saint. I hope each of you can feel and recognize God's love in your lives, even through difficult times.

I am so grateful to be on a mission. I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything.

-Sister Marshall 

  

 

Photos from August, week 3

Sister Hymus and I 

Sister Mahler and I (my current companion <3) 

This Transfer's key indicators (Week 3 was last week)

A piece of the Apple-Cinnamon Bread I made from scratch (I thought of Joseph when I made this) 

Photos From the Previous Week

Quincy and I 

Sister Bowen and I 

Elders got sister Bowen good! 

Sister Bowen and I 

Tracting Week!

This week, we taught Mary about Baptism; we also watched the Restoration DVD by the next visit. In the first lesson, she said she was already Baptized; we went over more in depth why baptism is important. We went to the next lesson, which was last Sunday, and she told us that this lesson would be her last lesson with us because she is going to be working 10 hours now. 

We taught Shenika, a new investigator on our street about the Restoration. She said she had been reading, and she said the introduction was very interesting. She said that she doesn't really repent of her sins, and we invited her to do so. 

We taught Pearly the Restoration, and she is not interested in our church. She does believe that there is a possibility that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ appear before him, but she still likes her own church.

We taught Sister Arnold about the Atonement, and she says she is grateful for it.

We went over "Grateful in Any Circumstances" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf with Sally since she has been going through a hard time. She said that it helped her out a lot; it is good to stay positive, even when times are rough.

We taught an investigator Marie about the Restoration. She said she would pray to know the book is true. She is Baptist (a lot of people are in the south.. it is for sure a different experience). 

We taught Joe and Kerri and we found them while tracting on Spencer Avenue. Just before we were about to go to their house, they pulled up in their driveway (one of those awkward missionary moments) and we talked to them. They said they had groceries and we asked if we could help, and we did. We went into their home, and they had a lot of cats. They picked up strays and they had a bunch of things they made for the cats to play on... they had stepping stones, and a bridge for them to cross, and about three scratching posts in their small front room. We were able to share the restoration with them. They mentioned that Joe had grown up Baptist, and him and his wife were not part of any denomination. They said they would pray about the Book of Mormon and about the restoration. A few days later, they called us and said they are not looking for a church right now... so, we were dropped! Oh well. At least we planted a seed. 

We taught Robbin and Larry about the Atonement in Arby's. The lesson went well, and they are still set for a Baptism date of Aug 30th. They are still not drinking coffee and they are still smoking about a half a pack a day instead of a pack and a half of cigarettes. 

We also taught a lesson to Jackie, who does our laundry. We read 2 Nephi 2 together. I made her a spice loaf and I gave her a piece of the carrot cake I made the previous night when she came to be a member in our lesson with Mary, yesterday. She has done so much for the sister missionaries, and I wanted to treat her to a little something to say thank you. :) 

We also taught Margie, and we read "We Never Walk Alone"  by President Thomas S. Monson. It really helped her out. Her orange kitten was playing with my shirt's strings the whole time while it sat in my lap. It didn't bother me, and I found it rather cute. Near the end of the lesson, she gave Sister Mahler a spiel on what has been going on, and she admitted that she was picking on me on purpose because I was new and wanted to make me feel bad and to put me down to see if I would give up, "..and you didn't, and you finally shown through" (<- because I cried at one point in one of the lessons while testifying of a Patriarchal Blessing) "...and you still came. No one has ever done that for me" is what she said. I have no idea what to say to that exactly, but I guess she was doing her own mini test to see my character. I had no idea what was going on, but somehow she trusts me more after her test. Yeah..........

We taught Kim this week and the spirit was very strong. My companion pointed out the spirit in the lesson and I am glad she did that. She still has the desire to be married to her husband for Eternity. Her and her husband are so cute together, especially since they have been married one year (they are in their 30s and 40s). 

Insights I have received this week: 

Since we represent Christ, and we are his disciples as missionaries, we must expect to go through some of the pain he went through. For Christ, it was never easy, and we shouldn't expect it to be easy, too. (Elder Holland mentioned that in one of his talks).

With the gospel, we are able to overcome the negativity of the world; we are able to gain the strength to do what is right, and positive. We are able to keep ourselves pure, and worthy, so that we can live in the presence of God again. With the gospel, we apply the atonement in our lives; when we fall short, Jesus Christ makes up for those shortcomings. It is through His mercy and His grace, and his long suffering, that we are able to face our trials. The gospel is so good, and so pure, and brings pure happiness and joy. Who wouldn't want that? Only those who do not realize or understand how good His word truly is, and "...and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it" (Doctrine and &Covenants 123:12). 

In Gospel Principles last Sunday, Brother Christensen asked how our attitude can affect us. I responded, "If you think about it, attitude can be like the Atonement. If we have a positive attitude, things seem easier and our burdens feel light; if we have a bad attitude, things seem more burdensome and less enjoyable". I said something like that.  

-I learned that if someone has been in a bisexual relationship in the church, they are excommunicated. 

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This week, I looked back on my life up to this point, and I realized how a lot of people did not like me because of my faith. It is still the same way today. Now, it's funny when my companion and I exclaim, "We're missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", and someone says, "Oh, we're Christian." Or, someone asks if we believe in Jesus Christ - o.O. Christians believe in Jesus Christ. So do the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". 

This world is declining in values, but the Lord does not. He stays the same, always, and forever. 

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I know that my Savior lives, and I know the importance of Charity and reaching out to people. I would be nothing without this church, and I am so blessed to be a member of it. This church is the only true church on the face of the earth, and that Thomas S. Monson is indeed a living prophet today. I know that by having Faith in Jesus Christ, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, Baptism, and enduring to the end, we can make it to Heavenly Father's presence again. 

What would it mean to you if you could be in the Presence of God? Ask yourself. Because there is a way you can. "Ask the missionaries - they can help you!" 

I am doing well, and I miss you all.

Have a great rest of the week!

-Sister Marshall