Monday, April 28, 2014

Baptism!!

Hello hello!
I don't have a lot of time to email today and so I'm just going to focus on a few things.  This week was really great!  We saw a lot of miracles and a lot of wonderful things happen.  We met new people and had new lessons.  No one exactly is progressing a lot, but I know that this area is going to explode next transfer.  
On Saturday night JACKIE GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!
Yep.  I am beyond filled with joy!
I had never felt joy like that in my life.  It was amazing.  Things got figured out and she was able to be baptized.  I walked in the door and she was so excited!  She said the sweetest things to me.  It just made everything worth it.  There were tears, and sweat, and so much laughter with them, while we taught them the Gospel.  They are so special to me.  When Jackie walked in the room in white, I just felt so much warmth.  Sister Wright and I were talking and when we were in the area teaching them, there was a big hill that we had to ride up every night when we left their house.  It was my least favorite thing to do.  We said that the hills would be worth it, if they got baptized.  It would have been worth it either way, but this just made everything worth it.  Jackie told me after that she felt something amazing.  That what she felt, she wanted to feel it forever.  It was amazing for me to see the hand of the Lord work in the time that she needed it most.  So cool!
This transfer, we got the transfer calls.  I am leaving Downey, and will be going to Torrance in a English area on a bike, with a companion who has been out four months.  I am so sad, but I know that it is the will of the Lord.  My President said he fought it so hard to let me stay as a STL this transfer, but felt impressed he needed to send me to this new area, and that the Lord had other plans.  I'm just trying really, really hard to see that, as well.  I love my area and my companion, I don't want to leave.  My heart has just super been hurting.  I am learning so much still.  A lot about being humble.  It is hard oftentimes, but we need to submit to the will of the Lord.  I am saying that right now, because it is something that I need to do.  It is pulling a bit at my heart, but I am trying so hard.  I know that He has a plan for me and that this next transfer is inspired, that He needs me to be there. But don't worry, I really am okay!
Sorry this is short, but I have to go!  I love you with all my heart!
Love,  Hermana Michelle

Monday, April 21, 2014

Temple!

Hola hola!
I don't have much time left, so this might be short, but you'll be happy to know that I have been writing in my journal every night- even details.  So you'll know all about it one day!  It was a great Easter!  I wish I would have had more time to sit and enjoy it.  I wanted to study and have time to meditate, but we didn't have time for that.  Headaches are better!  I have been feeling good.  I got a really great blessing for help, it was awesome.  It was a good week, we reached a lot of our goals and worked really hard.  
Downey Zone outside of the Los Angeles Temple
We went to the temple this week, and it was amazingggggggggggggggg!  I love the temple so much. I wish people understood the temple better.  Not everything, because it's hard to understand everything.  But the importance of the temple.  The feelings that we have the ability of feeling.  If people understood the help and revelation we receive in the temple, it'd be a lot more filled :)  I was able to receive answers to some big questions that I had.  It was super cool.  I learned a lot about diligence and sacrifice.  The gospel is about sacrificing what we have for the Lord.  You decide how hard it is.  On my mission I have to put aside things that would take me from the work, but it's worth it.  It's all about changing and become who the Lord wants us to be.  So it was awesome!
We had a cool experience this week with a man named Jose.  He didn't really seem interested but we still set an appt. with him and went back the next day.  As we talked to him, the Spirit was so strong.  You could tell that we were both really searching for the things to say from the Spirit.  To know what he needs.  We talked to him a lot about change and how we can change and be happy in the Gospel.  We saw the Spirit working in him as we talked to him.  It was a super special experience.  He said that he would do anything to be able to have the things that we were telling him about.  Super cool!  Sorry - words, don't even adequately explain this very well.
We had another great contact this week.  There was one that we were talking to -- this guy that seemed really closed.  We asked inspired questions and eventually we opened him up and he told us his desires and fears.  We taught to him and they accepted a return appt!  Sadly, he lives outside of the mission, ha, but SO cool! 
Something I have been learning a lot about, is service.  I think oftentimes we think of service as putting on our preparation day clothes and getting dirty, or something heavier.  But service is the little things too.  Doing someone's dishes, cleaning up the floor, etc.  We really focused on doing that this week.  It helped us build a bond with those we teach and visit, as well as soften their hearts.  As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, service should be our biggest priority.  We must always look for opportunities to find those who are in need.  I know that as we serve others we will find those who are prepared.  We will help our brothers and sisters.  We will bring others unto Christ as we show Christlike attributes.  Be the member that you would want someone to be to you.  We need to work harder as members to love others. We must always live what we believe.  They is always more to be done!
I'm sorry I know I didn't answer your questions!  It was an up and down week.  Goods and bads, but I am learning and growing a lot!!  I love you both so much!  Love, Hermana Michelle

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

My dearest mother,
Your email was sweet, it brought a lot of peace to my heart.  Thank you for the words that you shared with me.  You are wonderful.  I'm not going to have a lot of time to talk about this week, but I am going to answer your questions.  This week was a little harder.  Yeah, this is going to sound really lame, but it was hard simply because I kept getting these migraines.  I so badly wanted to be out working and finding and getting to our appointments, but I just felt yucky.  I have been thinking about the why's of this (because it's been going on for a while....) I'll let you know when I figure out, but for now, I think it's teaching me patience.  But every time we went out, we saw a lot of miracles.  The Lord really made up for the rest.  A big tender mercy of mine was a less active that we saw this week.  His wife is trying to get back to church slowly.  It's cool, she has been having a lot of anxiety and said that every time she feels that way she opens the Book of Mormon and reads until she calms down :)  But he has never been into the church.  We went and visited him while his wife wasn't there and he opened up more.  His daughter is 9 and really wants him to baptize her.  He told us that he really does want to be able to baptize her.  There really isn't anything miraculous that we said in this lesson, but the spirit was SO strong and undeniable.  We really felt the spirit working through us, as we testified of the blessings of eternal families.  It was awesome. 
Another one is our recent convert that got baptized last Saturday.  She came with us to a lesson with this man and his wife.  We were talking and Sister Landon turned over to her and said, invite them to be baptized.  She just said yes, and then shared her testimony and invited them to be baptized.  It was sooo cool!  She had no fear with it.  
I learned a lot in a lesson we had last night with a less active.  He hasn't gone to church in a long time and has a lot of doubts.  He kept stating questions that he had.  Sometimes, when people just ask question after question, we just want to answer them and make all their doubts disappear.  But, that's not how to do it.  We answered his questions with the doctrine that Christ taught.  We didn't answer specifically all of his doubts, but we gave him the basics.  It's based on knowing that the church was restored by Joseph Smith, that Jesus Christ organized this church - therefore we need an organized church, and the simple truths of the Gospel.  We don't have to fight for every question to be answered, it is a matter of praying to develop our own testimony.  I'm not sure if any of that made sense.
I am learning so much.  I know that I am supposed to be here.  Ahh, I love my mission!  Keep reading the Book of Mormon every day as well as PMG :)  I'm glad you found mine, I hope you enjoyed reading it :)  Don't forget to love people.  You are sooo good at it, just remember.  Especially those that don't accept you, or aren't as nice as you hope.  Everyone is a child of our Heavenly Father.  Everyone. Okay!  I am excited to get your package, momma!  Thank you for everything, you are amazing.  Hope you get to enjoy your week. I love you so much! Hermana Michelle
This is Tere - my Mexican twin!  I love her!
Hi Daddio!
I forgot that Easter was next week, it crept up on me!  I am so excited.  I love that I truly understand what Easter is.  It will be different this year, even different than last year.  As I look at my mission, I have had hard, hard days.  I have suffered a bit, but I have learned what I need to.  I have been shaped and still am being shaped.  I have had to change in ways that I felt were impossible.  Things that I didn't realize that I needed to change.  I am completely different.  I am grateful that I get my mission to learn these things.  
I had a lot of migraine headaches this week, ugh. Investigators are good.  No one is progressing right now because people are soooo busy.  But we have sooo many potentials!  So next week I will tell you how allllllllllll of our investigators are doing!  Sister Training Leader is going so well, I am learning a lot about how I can be better and understanding my leadership more.  I love it!
Please do a little easter egg hung with non members too!  Ah, find all the non-members and just love them.  Love our neighbor.  When you see her, serve her, do anything you can to just love her.  Whether she accepts the Gospel or not.  I have thought about her a lot.  I love you daddy :)

Monday, April 7, 2014

Conference Blessings...

Hola hola!
I LOVED CONFERENCE!  Seriously it was amazing.  Another reason as to why I am grateful for my mission, it has helped me understand the need for a Prophet and Apostles, as well as to receive their counsel.  So not only should we receive their counsel, but we need to find ways to apply it.  I took the notes that I wrote during conference and have been highlighting the parts that I feel I need to apply to my life.  It has honestly been very inspiring.  I feel like they spoke directly to me!  I went in with questions and I was able to have every question answered.  As I was reviewing my notes this morning this quote stuck out to me.  President Eyring said, "If the blessings were immediate, choosing the right would not build faith."  Wow.  As well as Elder Holland said, "Pure Christlike love, flowing from pure righteousness, can change the world." Again, wow!  I received so many answers from this.  I know that Heavenly Father guided those who spoke to us.
Downey Zone!  Almost half are Sisters!  Sooo cool....
Between conferences we went to work in our area super quick.  We went to try and find a referral that we had tried before.  We started talking to this guy that didn't really want to talk to us.... but we kept talking to him anyway, haha.  Then this man pulled up to us and was like, "Hey, are you Christians?  I've been looking for a church."  Turns out HE was the referral and he told us about how he had really been struggling.  He has been going to different churches but hasn't felt anything.  He is so sad and just needs peace and hope in his life.  It was really a great experience!  We testified of the strength we receive from the Atonement and the joy that the Gospel brings us.  Sister Landon promised him blessings, and you could tell he could feel the Spirit.  So hopefully, things start going well with him!  Another thing Conference taught me - promised blessings!  When those who spoke, promised the blessings, it really made me want to do it.  I hope you ALL heard the talk from Elder Ballard about reading "Preach My Gospel!!!!!"  Just my favorite book in the world, haha.  He focused on the basics.  If you aren't reading the Book of Mormon/scriptures everyday, I invite you to repent.  Haha, but really, I do.  Because it is a commandment.  We have to, we must have that spiritual strength in our lives.  I know that if we read the scriptures and pray daily that we will have a greater strength.  We will understand why we must share this Gospel.  I am so happy.  I love my companion, she is such a good example to me.
I loved this week!! I love you so much!  Hermana Michelle

Hi daddio!  

I loved conference this week, it was amazing.  I didn't want it to finish.  Weird to think that I'll be there next Conference, speaking of, can we get tickets and go to the conference center next conference?  I liked your story haha!  It's not funny, I just liked it.  It reminds me of how we have to be prepared for anything.  I am really working on that.  I'm working really hard on organization. Missionary work is so good.  If the whole mission worked like the MLC (leadership), we would have 30 baptisms a week.  Will you tell me a story from your mission?  My head hurts really bad so I am going to be lame and stop there.  How are you doing?  I love you!  Hermana Warner
 Nasty Cockroaches!
A little piece of home!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Baptisms & Earthquakes!

Hola hola, familia!
This week was soooooo cool. I don't have a lot of time to go into details, but I'll tell what I can. So every week we have a leadership call with all the ZL and STL's [Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders]. President said that if we were working with anyone that was close to baptism, to do everything in our power to have them be baptized that Sunday. Often times we, as missionaries don't fight hard enough for our investigators. We allow them to push back their baptismal dates and take it slow. But when that happens, we know that we are allowing Satan to get in the way. I have never really thought that hard about that. But it is true! We had two investigators that we were going to push their date back because they didn't feel ready. We prayed really hard to know when they should get baptized, and then heard what President said. So we worked for it. We worked so hard and fought for them to be able to be baptized on Sunday. We felt the Spirit work so strongly through us in our lessons this last week. We only opened our mouths when we felt the impressions. We were talking about it, and we know that they were able to feel how much we love them and how strong our desires for them, through the lessons we had this week. And it all worked out. Yesterday Gina and Brenda were baptized! It was an incredible service. The spirit was so strong and you could literally feel how happy Heavenly Father was of them. They were so pure and just looked as though a burden had been lifted. I love them so much and was able to feel a huge love for them this week. It brought so much joy to my heart. I also saw how wonderfully the sisters before me worked with her. It taught me a lot about how Heavenly Father wants us to help His children. We need to fight for our investigators. I am truly going to be a better missionary after this experience. Heavenly Father is helping me so much to learn. 
I felt the EARTHQUAKE this time! We were actually parking our car and Sister Landon was backing me (this really cool thing we do as missionaries, ask an RM about it). She was standing outside and was like wow... what is that?!! And then the car started moving back and forth. So she hurried and got in the car and we just sat there while the ground was moving!! It was soooo weird. We felt a lot of little ones after, but nothing that big. I wasn't scared though, it was kind of cool actually. We have been reading a sheet about what to do in case of an earthquake, so no worries. I won't die. 
Sister Shepherd went home, I cried a lot. I am soooo grateful that I was
her sister training leader when it happened. I know that that was such a
huge blessing for both of us, from Heavenly Father. She is my best friend. 
We had a cool miracle last night.  It was 9 o'clock and we parked kind of far from our house. I was so tired.  A man walked passed us and me and my companion looked at each other.  We turned around and talked to him.  We made a really good connection with him and asked questions that really opened him up.  His name is Oscar.  He agreed with what we said, as well as he accepted a return appointment!  The Spirit was so strong. I know he felt it.  I am so happy here.  I love sharing what I know to be true with others.  Thank you for always being my ray of sunshine!  I love you all with all of my heart!
Okay I really don't have time anymore, I am so sorry! Hope you got my card this week! I am trying to write in my journal! Ah momma, I love you so much! Have a great week and enjoy every second of General Conference, I know I will! 
Love, Hermana Michelle