Feb 16 - 23 2015

Hi, Everyone! This week was packed with a lot of things, especially the snow.

Monday - 

All four of the sisters went to Jamestown Settlement. We went to the exhibits and learned more about the natives that were in this area way back in the 1600s. We went inside the huts and there was an actor in the hut in Indian clothing. He told us about the culture of the natives here; what they ate, what they did, and how they made their huts. The huts were located close to their original spots, as they had found [bamboo] pole markings deep in the ground (the natives burried the bamboo deep in the ground so that they could grab the moisture they needed to bend the sticks, and so they could not crack as they worked with them). 

We walked on an old ship and one of the actors there told us about what the people did as they were on there for months at a time. I had no idea that back then, they had their own small cup to 'use the bathroom' next to their sleeping quarters. 

We took a bunch of pictures!

Tuesday - It snowed so much overnight and the missionaries in the area weren't allowed to drive at all for the whole day. We found some service opportunities and we shoveled some driveways. 

Wednesday - 

Signs of a cold came about since Monday and I haven't been feeling my best (Feb 16 -23rd).  There was a time were I was instructed by the mission nurse to stay home for the rest of the day because of how I had been feeling. 

Thursday - Weekly planning day. We are using the new guidelines for how to plan; it is very effective and we have checkboxes for our tasks that we need to complete. 

Day of Transfers. Sister Parry is now in Portsmouth. It was a very sad day for all of us. She has such a wonderful spirit about her; she is very caring, loving, and committed to the work. It doesn't feel the same since she left, but hopefully I'll be ok as the  time goes on. 

We now have Sister Fife and she is now companions with Sister Thornton, who is still in training. 

Sister Fife is wonderful, and adds a new spunk to the apartment. I look forward to having her this transfer, and I know she has so much to offer in the mission. 

. . . 

Investigators: 

-Beth - She is still steadily progressing in learning more about the gospel. She is doing great!    

-Riley -Him and his family came to church this Sunday! It was great, and he was very happy. 

-Cecil - He came to church; we could tell that the spirit had touched him. He is accountable and so we will continue to teach him. 

-Sharon - we dropped her because her son told us she was about to go to the hospital. We also saw her go into the ambulance by the time we were walking out of the building.

Things Learned: 

-I learned how to make my own corn tortillas with just corn flour, salt, and water. They taste better than store-bought tortillas, and it does save a great amount of money. I made several burritos with them and I enjoyed every single bite. 

- I have noticed that I have been trunkier the longer I have been out on the mission. I sat in sacrament meeting and I thought about the Savior. I drew a T chart with 'My Sacrifices' on one side, and 'The Lord's Sacrifices' on the other. 

My Sacrifices: 

-Friends

-Family

-guitar

-clarinet

-piano

-computer

> digital computer entries

-time

-energy

The Lord's Sacrifices: 

-heart

-soul

-talents

*-will

-mind

-energy

-His life, so that we may live

I was tempted to put down the word 'everything' and only have that word in the box. I pondered on how much my sacrifices, were not really sacrifices at all, and how the Lord submitted his entire life, and will, to fulfill the work of His father. I have no idea how the Savior did it, but He did. His vision was to fulfill all righteousness, and to be that perfect example. 

I think many times throughout the week, "what more can I do?" and I think of ways on how I can contribute to the work and how to consecrate myself.

. . .

Oh! Good news! In March, the whole mission has the opportunity to go to the Rolley Temple in North Carolina. We all were filled with joy and excitement as our President told us this during our conference call last Saturday. This may be the only opportunity I get to go to the Temple here on the mission. 

. . .

To wrap things up,

I want to bare my testimony that I know this church is true. I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that the Book of Mormon testifies of God, Jesus Christ, and the gospel principles. I know that we can truly come closer to God as we pray, and we can also come closer to Him when we read the Book of Mormon. It is such a great book and I know this book is true. The spirit has testified to me of the truthfulness and I hope that each of you will be able to feel the way that I feel when I read the Book of Mormon.

. . .

I miss you all, and I hope y'all have a great day!

-Sister Marshall 

  

 

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10 Month Mark

Hi, Everyone!

Today, February 16, is my 10 month mark. I have 8 more months to go on my mission. My companion is right on how a mission can be compared to a toilet paper roll. The roll speeds up the closer we get to the end of the roll. 

I know for a couple of weeks I haven't made posts. I have been busy and I did receive a lot of email (which is actually quite nice!). 

Last Monday, we had dinner with the Wheeler family. We had Hawaiian Hay Stacks, and I enjoyed them. I don't think I've had them for quite sometime.

On Tuesday, The Jamestown sisters and my companionship left early in the morning to go to a Sisters' Conference. Here, our Mission President Spoke, along with his wife. There were a lot of sisters who attended the conference, and I got to see my past companion, Sister Putnam. I also got to see Sisters Averett, Hymus, Romney, Dalton, and others. 

In this meeting, there were a lot of great insights. The theme was "Write thy name upon thy heart". I liked this theme because as missionaries, we need to write the Savior's name on our hearts. We wear our name tags, but, most importantly, we also need to be converted to the Gospel, and to the Lord, as well in order to represent Him. 

There was a massive clothing exchange; all of the sisters brought clothes that they did not want anymore. My apartment found a lot of cute outfits, and I have this feeling that I am going to have a hard time deciding how many outfits are actually going to fit in my suit cases by the time it comes for me to arrive home in October. I guess I'll worry about that later. 

We had a great lunch and the gym was decorated with branches and hearts. It was beautiful. 

. . .

Lessons:

We taught a man named Cesil this week, two times. He also came to church. 

We saw Beth this week; I love watching her grow in the gospel. By applying Christ's teachings into our lives, we are able to find greater happiness than if we had not. 

We taught Riley the Law of Chastity, and Follow the Prophet. When we follow the prophet, we will not be lead astray. The Prophet follows God's council. We are able to come closer to God, and Jesus Christ, by listening to their words. The Prophets are a mouthpiece from God, to us. He says what God wants him to say, and he guides us the way God wants him to guide us. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet on the earth today, and the Holy Ghost has testified to me that this is true. To go along with this, the Law of Chastity has been restored through Joseph Smith, a modern-day prophet. It mentions many times in the Bible to be sexually pure; the fullness of this truth has been restored. When we obey the Law of Chastity, we can be safe from emotional, physical, and psychological damage that can come from breaking the Law of Chastity. We stay away from Pornography, and we do not allow ourselves to dwell on unclean thoughts. We fill our activities with wholesome ones which invite the spirit into our lives, and others. We do all that we can to remain chaste. Not doing this, violates God's moral standards. We will not be as sensitive to the Holy Spirit. God has this high moral standard so that we can experience joy and that we can have a strong relationship with our spouse, for the family is ordained of God and so much is gained in a family when founded on the Gospel. 

We also taught Madison, and Hwasun. 

With Hwasun, we watched the Restoration DVD in Korean. She definitely understood the message a lot better than how my companion and I have been teaching in English. Hwasun said she felt a fluttering in her heart when she watched how Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as two separate, distinct beings. We pointed out to her that was the  Holy Ghost testifying to her that what she had seen, is true. The spirit in that section of the DVD is undeniable. It is by the spirit that I have come to know for myself that the experience Joseph Smith had, is true. 

The Holy Ghost testifies of truth. Truth is defined as something that does not change with time. 

We wanted to go see Sharon (investigator) this week in the nursing home, but she was sound asleep. We went to go visit a member of our ward and I met her for the first time. She had a severe type of dementia, and her daughter was there. She said that she couldn't remember anything, and how her mother had forgotten how to swallow so she was on a feeding tube. For me, that is hard to see; I love them both dearly. I know that God loves each of them.

We had dinner with the Hagges this week. I haven't tried home-made tortillas before, and they were very good. I want to try and make some for myself sometime. They are a very nice, and loving couple. I am so grateful that I got to meet these people here on my mission. 

. . .

Updates on Transfers: Sister Smart and I are both staying in Williamsburg. Sister Parry, from the Jamestown ward, is getting transferred to Portsmouth. That was the area that Sister Smart came from. I am devastated to see Sister Parry go, but I know she will do well there. She has a powerful testimony and she is such a great missionary (seriously. She puts so much effort into her lessons and testimony and I don't think I could ever be as great and wonderful as her :p). 

. . .

Anyways, that is all I can write, for now.

-Sister Marshall 

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Into the Month of February

I didn't make time to write an update last week, but I will try my best this week to write one. 

On Tuesday, we did more work for Restore; my companion and I organized fake fireplaces and we put them in a place where they would be best displayed. Our hands were covered with charcoal afterwards. We also got our picture taken and by the end of our shift, we were played on a flyer along with other members of the Restore crew from their service. 

We had exchanges on Wednesday, and we did a fair amount of tracting (going door to door). The area we were in had a lot of Baptists. We encountered a man who was baptist, and he believed in the saying "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" and so he also implemented the gospel to us, but in his way. He admired what we were doing, and he told us he was not interested, but in a very polite way. 

We also went to see someone who we set up an appointment with, and her grandson came out and told us that she was in bed rest. We asked him what his beliefs were about God, and he said that he did not have any. He also told us that he was in the military. He said it was about killing, and God was not. Sister Dalton explained how our church says that we need to fight for our religion, even if it implies death. I liked how she tied that in. She thanked him for his service for our country. 

We had a good lesson with Beth at the church. We had a church tour with the Relief Society President. She saw the baptism font and she beamed when she saw it. She still needs to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet and restore the true church, and if Thomas S. Monson is the current prophet today. I know this can be difficult to accept since it adds to her current faith. 

On Saturday we had a Baptism held for Briana, who the Elders were teaching.  Her countenance changed after she baptized. I truly saw a difference. I was so happy for Briana and for the road she is now going to be on. She will be confirmed and will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost  February 8th, since this past Sunday was Stake Conference. 

. . .

I finally was able to obtain a copy of 'The Fourth Missionary' after being out 9 months. I love how Lawrence E. Corbridge talked about the different types of missionaries and how each type of missionary develops; it also talked about how each missionary is changed. A lot of the change that happens in missionaries comes from deep within, and cannot be measured by the human eye (such as by other missionaries, companions, or people). That has truly brought me peace because there were times where I have been trying to do my best but others did not see it, especially those who were out longer than I was at the time they told me. I have learned that spiritual development increases, as we concentrate ourselves and as we serve our best. Before I was a missionary (and as I am the first missionary on both sides of my family) I thought that once someone serves a mission, they come back instantly changed, and they become this great, super Christ-like being. I also thought that returned missionaries couldn't fall away from the gospel. After being on a mission, and after reading more of 'The Fourth Missionary,' I've discovered that there are missionaries who may not even be 'changed' on their missions because they did not have their heart in the work. Those missionaries who did not have their heart fully in the work can easily fall away, especially as they go back to their old habits, or as they slip and fall into making bad choices. The missionaries that are changed by their missions, give everything up to the Lord, let Him be apart of His missionary work (The Lord can do His own work  [2 Nephi 27:21], but we have the privilege of helping Him as missionaries), and most importantly, have Charity. If we withhold our heart, it will not prophet us anything. 

"For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. " - Moroni 7:6. 

I believe this to be true. The work can be done, and many people will be blessed by our efforts, but without real intent, and if the work is done grudgingly, it does not do us any good. 

. . .

Also, we got our mail lock fixed. The Jamestown sisters went back into the post office and they went to the lady who they had talked to earlier. She sent the man over who changed the wrong lock to change ours instead. 

. . . 

We had stake conference Saturday, and Sunday. There were a lot of good things that were said. Our Mission President Spoke and he said that living the  gospel can sometimes be awkward. He said it was awkward to be in his calling as a Mission President. I am grateful that he is open, and honest. I cannot even imagine all of the things he has to do over this mission, and take care of 100+ missionaries in North Carolina and Virginia. Yet, he has the power and keys to be over the Chesapeake Mission. He is truly a gifted, and wise man. The longer I serve my mission, the more I appreciate, respect, and admire his service. 

. . . 

There are many days where the mission is hard, and I cannot come to others about personal matters; many do not understand where I am coming from, or do not know how to comfort me during the times of trial. These times are when I feel alone and I have to rely on only on the Lord for comfort. I guess these times teach me how to be self-reliant on the Lord. This will be useful in the next phases of my life after the mission. 

. . .

New Treats: 

Coconut Cashews at Trader Joe's. They are my new favorite. 

. . . 

Anyways, this is all I can say for now!

Y'all are incredibly missed! 

-Sister Marshall  

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9 Months in, 9 More Months To Go

Hi, Everyone! 

Since January 16th, I hit my half-way mark in my mission. At first, I was excited. Next, I didn't know what to think. Later on, though, I feel a little stressed. This means that I need to work even harder in the work. There are many missionaries who feel the need to slack on their last week in the field, but that is not going to be me!

. . .

One of our investigators came to church with her son. She has been to sacrament meeting enough times to be baptized! She is still thinking about a Baptismal date. 

. . .

In this post, I wanted to state the Missionary Purpose. Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, though the 5 basic principles of Christ's Gospel, which include Faith, repentance, Baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. 

I also want to state what goes on within missionary work. 

As missionaries, we visit Active Members, Less-Actives, Potentials, and Former Investigators. We have many teaching records for these people and we also write down what we've taught them, how they responded, and we keep a record of their Book of Mormon reading. As missionaries pass through the area, they get to see what previous missionaries wrote and what they had previously taught.

We..

Wake at 6:30 AM

Exercise until 7:00 AM

Get ready

Eat breakfast at 7:30 AM

Be at studies by 8:00 AM

Personal Study until 9:00 AM

Companion Study until 10:00 AM

12 week training until 11:00 AM (our whole mission is doing the training)

After that, we have Proselyting time until 9:00 PM (or, be in our living quarters by 9:30 PM).

9:00 PM is nightly planning. The next day starts at 9:00 pm. 

In Bed by 10:30 PM.

And it starts over again.

I can honestly say that I feel a little burnt out after 9 months, but I know I must continue in the work. 

Missionaries cannot listen to the radio.

We cannot watch TV.

We cannot look at the Magazines in stores, or read any other books unless they are from the mission library.

We cannot keep pets.

We cannot call home, or talk to home except through emails on Monday (We have 1.5 hours here in my mission) or Mother's Day or on Christmas, for about 40 minutes max. 

We cannot hold children in any way.

We cannot give the opposite gender, hugs. 

We cannot have dinner appointments with the Elders, or sit with them at church. 

We cannot stop and visit other people just "to talk;' It is not allowed to visit Elders to 'just talk,' either.

We cannot visit the beach, and we must be about 2 blocks away. 

We cannot proselyte in businesses. 

We cannot tell you our first names; it's part of the sacredness of the calling.

We cannot Bible-Bash. That drives away the spirit.

We seek to find the elect, those who are ready to accept the message. 

We cannot give council to people with specific problems in their personal lives, or tell them what decisions they need to make (For example: "You should take this medicine!" "You should dye your hair this color!" "You should stop dating this person!" "You should eat a Ham-and-Cheese Sandwich!" ) but we can invite them to come closer to Jesus Christ and the people will receive the revelation they need in their own personal lives; the Lord can help with the choices they need to make in life. 

This is a brief list of what we missionaries do. It helps us to  focus on the work, and I have a testimony of this.  

. . .

The longer I am out, the more the newness wears off. Missionary work is exciting, but not in the same excitement that one may find when going to an amusement park, from receiving a package in the mail, or from going to a new movie that just came out. I am excited about the spiritual progression of other people, and I am excited about how I can help someone out in my mission area. With this excitement is tied with immense love, patience, anticipation, and maturity that only comes from serving a mission. 

. . .

As missionaries, we love receiving letters in the mail. I love receiving letters from my family, even though I've personally received very few.  Our mailman got in an accident about a week ago and this past week we did not receive any letters in the mail. 

. . .

I appreciate every email sent out to me, and every package received. 

Anyways, I miss you all! 

-Sister Marshall 

   

Miracles, Miracles, and More Miracles

This week was a decent week, and I am so grateful for the things that have happened. 

1. Holy Ghost Prompting

- Sister Smart and I stopped by a less active  family and we planned to teach about the Plan of Salvation. The more we taught, I had this impression to ask the wife, who was a convert, "...have you received your patriarchal blessing?" and she said she hadn't. None of her children, not even her husband had one. She said she was afraid to receive one because she didn't know what was going to be in store for her future. I bore my testimony on patriarchal blessings and I have also told her the different I have seen in someone when they hadn't received one, and when they had. There is a huge difference. People are more confident with their everyday dealings in their life, and they also feel like their life has more meaning. They also see God's love and hand in their lives as they see what God promises them in the blessing. 

2. Gospel Changes Lives

- One of the investigators we are teaching came to church; afterwards, she told us that she met with the Bishop and that her and her boyfriend were planning on splitting up and he was moving out so that they could obey the Law of Chastity. She has a strong desire to do what is right and she was the one who requested for that lesson to be taught next. I love both her and her boyfriend and I love their strong desire to follow the Lord.

- We taught a small portion of the Plan of Salvation with an investigator who speaks Korean. By the time we saw her, my companion and I could tell there was some definite change in her life. She seemed a whole lot happier, and she was very excited we were there with Sister Copeland. 

   + When the Jehovah Witnesses called her cellphone, she told her phone, "Nobody here!" when     it continued to ring. I thought that was pretty funny.

   +Sister Copeland bought over the Korean Plan of Salvation Pamphlet. Our investigator was so     excited to understand the reason why Adam and  Eve partook of the fruit:

    "22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

 23 And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

 24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

 25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:22-25)

Because Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, we now know good from evil, happiness from sadness; we know the opposites of everything around us (There is opposition in all things 2 Nephi 2:11). 

3. I received a package from the Big Rock Ward!

- The package was sent to my last address and it was forwarded to my current address by the Zone leaders. I enjoyed every letter and I loved the goodies inside. That really made my day! Sadly, the ornament did not make it but I appreciate it all the same. 

4. I bought a Wedding Planner

- I felt like it was appropriate for me to buy a wedding planner since I am getting married on December 1st 2015 in the Seattle Temple (which is actually in Bellevue). The book is great; I wondered if they have an LDS planner (but I couldn't check because I can't use the web to look things up on my mission) but I think the planner I bought will be what I need. 

- Rehearsal dinner? Bachelor/Bachelorette parties? Renting out a place that costs money? I don't think so! The Temple's free!

------

On the Contrary...

I have been having bad headaches lately that have lasted for more than a few hours. On Saturday, I have one that started from later in the morning, to in the evening. I've taken Ibuprofen and at first, it did not do anything for me. The second time I took Ibuprofen, I upped the dose, and then it worked at least 4 hours after I took it. 

I hope I can find out what exactly is causing my headaches! 

--- 

I love each of you!

-Sister Marshall 

Transfer #7

The destroying angel passed by this apartment on the day of Transfer calls and no one got a transfer call. My companion and I get to stay in Williamsburg for another Transfer, which will end a few days after Valentine's Day. 

There has been a great amount of miracles this week. One of our investigators told us that she wanted to schedule an appointment with the Bishop because she had a lot of repenting to do. She also said that she has this strong desire to teach the gospel in the church to the younger children, and she cannot get this thought out of her head. 

Another great thing that happened this week was that her boyfriend came to church (a returning less active) and he came by himself. That takes a lot of  confidence to sit alone, and it also shows true conversion to go alone to church.

Something that is not on the spiritual side of things was I was given a 1998 Furby for free from Restore. In the one I work at on Tuesdays, they do not sell toys; I was told that someone had dropped off the Furby and the Training Booklet. By the time I got home from Restore, I put batteries in and I was surprised that it works. My last two Furbies I had in my childhood eventually broke and the voice stopped working, but it continued to function. 

Also, when missionaries are given a Furby, I have discovered that a Furby is a great Role Playing tool with the "yes/no" answer game. The Jamestown Sisters, my companion and I asked it questions which pertained to the Gospel. I am glad that Furby has a strong testimony of Joseph Smith (this session is recorded from my recorder). What is pretty cool, too, is that we had 30 seconds to answer, and so we were able to practice asking short, but inspired questions. We tightened up our lengthy questions, and made them more direct. It was great!

But, as much as I used to like the Furby 17 years ago, this toy really creeps me out. It has scared every one of us sisters when it randomly turns on. 

. . .

Church now starts at 9:00 am instead of 1:00 pm. I got ready early with 20 minutes to spare and I used that time to read the Book of Mormon. I felt very refreshed and I got about an hour and 20 minutes of extra studying time. 

. . .

During this past transfer, I learned something that I felt like I didn't learn before. Regardless of how exactly obedient my companion and I are, there is not a direct correlation with Exact obedience and Numbers. Sister Smart is such a great companion; we get along well, we try our best in the work, and we teach great together, and yet the numbers are not high. Our Mission President told us that it's not about the numbers. We still touch lives, even if it cannot be written on paper.  

. . .

New Years Eve: 

The sisters bought Pizza and Sister Thornton face painted the other two sisters' faces. I wrote in my journal, looked up scriptures, took a nap, and made gluten-free brownies. 

...

A boy texted us and said he was interested in taking the lessons. He said that he was the boy we just finished talking to and we were in our apartment having our studies. Apparently, some members had been doing their missionary work and he thought he was talking to one of the girls that visited him. It was a funny yet interesting situation. We thought the Jamestown sisters had given them our number by mistake, since they were going to church at a later time. We haven't heard back from him after we asked him who he talked to last, but hopefully we haven't scared him. 

This is all I can say for now. 

Miss y'all!

-Sister Marshall 

Merry Christmas

This week was such a great week, especially on the mission. 

On Christmas Eve, the apartment watched 'Legacy,' a movie produced by the church. It was a great movie; it explained more about what the pioneers had to go through as they had to move locations because of how the towns did not want them to settle because they were Mormon. That was my first time watching that movie.   

This Christmas was one of the greatest Christmases I have ever had. What made it special was instead of the focus on Santa, Presents, and shopping, the main focus was on Jesus Christ, His birth, and His Atonement. I definitely felt the Savior's love, and I have come to recognize and understand how much greater a gift He is to the world. Because of Jesus Christ, we are able to become better, and improve. Because of Jesus Christ, there is more to come after death. We are also redeemed from our sins, and wrong doings because He died for them on the cross. We can feel peace in our lives, because of Jesus Christ. We can become so much more, because of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for my Savior, and my redeemer. 

I also realized how much my family and my future family mean to me as well. My love for them has grown so much since I have been away from them. During the Skype call, I got to hear Joseph's Family, Joseph, and my family. That was truly a great experience and I miss and love each of them very much. 

Anyways, this is all I can say for now.

I love you all!

-Sister Marshall