Last week was my 20th birthday, and we were able to teach a lot of
people that day! It was a birthday miracle. Really the only gift a
missionary wants is to see their investigators progress- but that's
not always realistic haha. We had coordination with our bishop that
night (or what was supposedly "coordination") which turned out to be a
surprise party! My sweet and wonderful parents set the whole thing
up...it was such an awesome night! The next night we taught a lesson
at mutual, where there was another surprise party from the youth! They
all sang and signed a card and gave us cake! Literally we have enough
cake to last us through winter- 3 other members have given us cake the
past 2 days! I love the ward so much- they're so good to us!
Our investigators are causing us a liiiitle bit of stress- probably
because none of them will CALL US BACK. Or answer the door. Or get in
contact us. It's kinda frustrating...especially because we'd been
blessed so much to find these people! So our week has been spent
mostly teaching less-active members and recent converts. Which
actually has been awesome! We went out to see a man named Vern (who
hasn't been to church since he was 12) with his non-member wife, and
it was SWEET! For one, he owns a pony farm. For two, they're super
great! He's so funny and your typical back-woodsy dad-joke trucker.
She's hecka spunky. It's the perfect combo. We're going back this week
to teach her and hopefully start the process of re-activating him! We
would have never gone out to see Vern if we'd been able to teach our
other investigators, so it was a total blessing in disguise! (But if
we could also contact our other gators in the next few days that would
be great too). BUT Aaron and Taylor came to church yesterday! It was
awesome!
We had zone P-day last week and spent the day at the lake (admiring
it, not physically getting in it!) The weather was perfect! We did a
less exciting version of the olympics, complete with matching uniforms
for each companionship. #swaggy Afterwards all 18 elders got super
sick- probably because they all slept in the same dirty boy's
apartment and readily admit they don't wash their hands...like ever.
Gross.
Little spiritual thought! In life we're expected to deal with trials.
With trials come temptations, and sometimes we give in to those
temptations. It can be really disheartening when we keep making
mistakes in life! When we sin, a lot of times we feel like there's no
way we can ever overcome those tendencies and get forgiveness for our
past. But Heavenly Father with His perfect foreknowledge knew that
would happen. That's exactly why He gave us a Savior! Jesus Christ
wasn't our backup in case we messed up- it was already a known fact
that we would sin. Forgiveness isn't just PART of the plan, it IS the
plan. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is central to God's plan of
happiness, and we can all be partakers of his mercy and love- no
strings attached!
3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading
your cause before him--
4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no
sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which
was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be
glorified;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name,
that they may come unto me and have everlasting life. (D&C 45)
Love, Sister Brett
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name,
that they may come unto me and have everlasting life. (D&C 45)
Love, Sister Brett
Sunday, September 25, 2016
This Week was great!
This week was great! We got a LOT of work done! The Lord has been
preparing people here for sure, because in the last 7 days we've found
some of the most golden people I've ever seen on my mish! One of those
is Nikki and she is awesome! She requested to meet with missionaries
online, so we went over to see her and we clicked immediately! It was
actually her birthday, so she shared her b-day desserts with us
#realfriends. She was baptized in the Lutheran church, but while we
were teaching her about the restoration of Christ's church, she was
like, "Oh, I get it! It's like, the Lutheran church is almost like
saying it's Martin Luther's because he put together the teachings, but
your church is Jesus Christ's church because He's in charge of
everything, right? Someone didn't decide what to teach, they just do
what God tells them to do." There are so few people who just
straight-up GET it right off the bat! She's amazing. Once you come
to know the truth it's not hard to make the decision to leave it behind and
follow the Savior. High hopes for her!
Sis Grover and I have been counting how many churches there are in
town when we drive by them...we're up to 22. We basically live in
Palmyra. I definitely understand how confused Joseph Smith was trying
to find a church to join- you name a denomination and Eau Claire has
it. It's insane!
Speaking of unorthodox teaching opportunities, the Jehovah's Witnesses
keep sending us letters and leaving pamphlets in our mail box, so we
decided to do the same for them! We sent them a letter attached to one
of our church pamphlets thanking them for sharing their beliefs and
then taking the opportunity to share ours- I'm not sure they were
expecting that sort of response :) We're anxiously awaiting their
reply...we'll keep you updated! #penpals
We've been able to find a lot of new investigators on the college
campus in town. We show them our super cool iPad app that has these
interactive pamphlets about different gospel topics, and it's been
really successful! These last 10 months I've never seen so many new
investigators fall out of the sky like this- I give all the credit to
Sister Grover's greenie faith! Institute also started on campus, so we
get to go to the Eternal Marriage and Families class. T-R-U-N-K-Y. I
love it. Only 8 more months, right? Just kidding. Kinda.
**Miracle of the week: someone broke into the apartment's storage unit
and stole some stuff, but they didn't take our bikes! (Actually I
don't know if that's actually a miracle or not...biking isn't my
favorite thing about being a missionary!)
Also- it POURED over the weekend, but the rain helped us find a new
investigator! #showersofblessings
**Quotes of the week:
Me: You've gotta do it sensitively, like a compliment sandwich.
Sis G: 'Your shirt is cute! You weren't baptized by proper priesthood
authority. I like your pants!' Like that?
Sis G: Why do people always paint the prophet's nose so big? It's
Joseph Smith, not Nose-eph Sniff!
preparing people here for sure, because in the last 7 days we've found
some of the most golden people I've ever seen on my mish! One of those
is Nikki and she is awesome! She requested to meet with missionaries
online, so we went over to see her and we clicked immediately! It was
actually her birthday, so she shared her b-day desserts with us
#realfriends. She was baptized in the Lutheran church, but while we
were teaching her about the restoration of Christ's church, she was
like, "Oh, I get it! It's like, the Lutheran church is almost like
saying it's Martin Luther's because he put together the teachings, but
your church is Jesus Christ's church because He's in charge of
everything, right? Someone didn't decide what to teach, they just do
what God tells them to do." There are so few people who just
straight-up GET it right off the bat! She's amazing. Once you come
to know the truth it's not hard to make the decision to leave it behind and
follow the Savior. High hopes for her!
Sis Grover and I have been counting how many churches there are in
town when we drive by them...we're up to 22. We basically live in
Palmyra. I definitely understand how confused Joseph Smith was trying
to find a church to join- you name a denomination and Eau Claire has
it. It's insane!
Speaking of unorthodox teaching opportunities, the Jehovah's Witnesses
keep sending us letters and leaving pamphlets in our mail box, so we
decided to do the same for them! We sent them a letter attached to one
of our church pamphlets thanking them for sharing their beliefs and
then taking the opportunity to share ours- I'm not sure they were
expecting that sort of response :) We're anxiously awaiting their
reply...we'll keep you updated! #penpals
We've been able to find a lot of new investigators on the college
campus in town. We show them our super cool iPad app that has these
interactive pamphlets about different gospel topics, and it's been
really successful! These last 10 months I've never seen so many new
investigators fall out of the sky like this- I give all the credit to
Sister Grover's greenie faith! Institute also started on campus, so we
get to go to the Eternal Marriage and Families class. T-R-U-N-K-Y. I
love it. Only 8 more months, right? Just kidding. Kinda.
**Miracle of the week: someone broke into the apartment's storage unit
and stole some stuff, but they didn't take our bikes! (Actually I
don't know if that's actually a miracle or not...biking isn't my
favorite thing about being a missionary!)
Also- it POURED over the weekend, but the rain helped us find a new
investigator! #showersofblessings
**Quotes of the week:
Me: You've gotta do it sensitively, like a compliment sandwich.
Sis G: 'Your shirt is cute! You weren't baptized by proper priesthood
authority. I like your pants!' Like that?
Sis G: Why do people always paint the prophet's nose so big? It's
Joseph Smith, not Nose-eph Sniff!
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Silos and Soulmates
There's nothing more irritating and anxiety-inducing as being a
missionary who can't do missionary work. Like, seriously- nothing. As
fun as it's been to have bronchitis, I'm ready to be fully functional
again! But it's been a blast regardless, because even after being
cooped up in the apartment for a week straight, Sis Grover and I still
haven't run out of things to talk about- we're legit best friends.
Pre-mortal existence level BFFs. You're called to your specific
mission to meet specific people, and Sister Grover is one of those
people for sure.
There was one day this week we tried to go out for a few hours down to
the furthest point in our area, which is Whitehall. It's almost an
hour away on these back country roads, and the scenery is GORGEOUS. I
haven't seen that many cows since I left Mississippi! We had just a
few people we were going to try to stop by, and ended up picking up 3
new investigators! It was crazy. The referrals we tried to stop by
didn't live there anymore, but every time someone else answered the
door, they wanted to learn more about the church! It was SUCH a
miracle from God that we were able to fit in about a weeks worth of
visits in just one day. We got referrals out of NOWHERE and with the
help of awesome ward members we have a lot of new potential
investigators! Heavenly Father is definitely helping us share the
gospel with the time we're allotted in our circumstance!
With all the extra time on our hands, there's been a lot of scripture
study! It's been SO wonderful to get to just sit and read and ponder
with no time limit. I was reading in the New Testament, in Acts, and
came across a scripture that really testified a gospel principle to
me:
"13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to
call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,
saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the
priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I
know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and
overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of
that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19)"
Okay, it sounds pretty terrifying, but there's a lesson to be learned! It truly shows how important the proper priesthood authority of God
is. These people were trying to cast out evil spirits, but they didn't
have the authority to do so- Christ hadn't given it to them. However,
the spirit said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know," because Jesus gave
Paul the priesthood when he ordained him to be an apostle and spread
the gospel. That's the very same priesthood Peter, James, and John
(three of Christ's original apostles) gave to Joseph Smith, who then gave it to others, etc. which is how we have it on the earth today. It's an unbroken chain that can be traced back directly to Jesus Christ Himself. So when
people say it doesn't really matter what church you go to, this
scripture proves why it does! There are a lot of awesome people with
good intentions, but good intentions weren't enough for the people
trying to cast out spirits. The power of God is what matters! I'm so
grateful Jesus Christ has established His church on the earth today,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with the
priesthood authority to preside over it.
*Memorable events of the week:*
-Sis G cut my hair and it's my fave haircut ever
-We saw a man have a seizure in the elevator with us, called 911 for
him, AND it turned out he was a member of the church AND he bought us
pizza afterwards
-Recorded a missionary makeup look complete with attached screenshots
(and possibly the video if I can get it to fit in the email)
-Sister Grover: "I've been working on memorizing scriptures! Here's
Ether 12:27: 'He shall humble himself or he'll die' Or something like
that. Close enough."
Love you all! The church is true! -Sister Brett
missionary who can't do missionary work. Like, seriously- nothing. As
fun as it's been to have bronchitis, I'm ready to be fully functional
again! But it's been a blast regardless, because even after being
cooped up in the apartment for a week straight, Sis Grover and I still
haven't run out of things to talk about- we're legit best friends.
Pre-mortal existence level BFFs. You're called to your specific
mission to meet specific people, and Sister Grover is one of those
people for sure.
There was one day this week we tried to go out for a few hours down to
the furthest point in our area, which is Whitehall. It's almost an
hour away on these back country roads, and the scenery is GORGEOUS. I
haven't seen that many cows since I left Mississippi! We had just a
few people we were going to try to stop by, and ended up picking up 3
new investigators! It was crazy. The referrals we tried to stop by
didn't live there anymore, but every time someone else answered the
door, they wanted to learn more about the church! It was SUCH a
miracle from God that we were able to fit in about a weeks worth of
visits in just one day. We got referrals out of NOWHERE and with the
help of awesome ward members we have a lot of new potential
investigators! Heavenly Father is definitely helping us share the
gospel with the time we're allotted in our circumstance!
With all the extra time on our hands, there's been a lot of scripture
study! It's been SO wonderful to get to just sit and read and ponder
with no time limit. I was reading in the New Testament, in Acts, and
came across a scripture that really testified a gospel principle to
me:
"13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to
call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,
saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the
priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I
know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and
overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of
that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19)"
Okay, it sounds pretty terrifying, but there's a lesson to be learned! It truly shows how important the proper priesthood authority of God
is. These people were trying to cast out evil spirits, but they didn't
have the authority to do so- Christ hadn't given it to them. However,
the spirit said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know," because Jesus gave
Paul the priesthood when he ordained him to be an apostle and spread
the gospel. That's the very same priesthood Peter, James, and John
(three of Christ's original apostles) gave to Joseph Smith, who then gave it to others, etc. which is how we have it on the earth today. It's an unbroken chain that can be traced back directly to Jesus Christ Himself. So when
people say it doesn't really matter what church you go to, this
scripture proves why it does! There are a lot of awesome people with
good intentions, but good intentions weren't enough for the people
trying to cast out spirits. The power of God is what matters! I'm so
grateful Jesus Christ has established His church on the earth today,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with the
priesthood authority to preside over it.
*Memorable events of the week:*
-Sis G cut my hair and it's my fave haircut ever
-We saw a man have a seizure in the elevator with us, called 911 for
him, AND it turned out he was a member of the church AND he bought us
pizza afterwards
-Recorded a missionary makeup look complete with attached screenshots
(and possibly the video if I can get it to fit in the email)
-Sister Grover: "I've been working on memorizing scriptures! Here's
Ether 12:27: 'He shall humble himself or he'll die' Or something like
that. Close enough."
Love you all! The church is true! -Sister Brett
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Nothing changed...except literally everything!
New state and a new companion- what? Last week I found out I was
headed to Wisconsin for a few transfers! And not only that, but
training a new missionary! It's been kind of a crazy week. Eau Claire
is an eclectic artsy town with lots of sculptures and murals...it's
pretty hipster. And Sister Grover is hilarious! She's a cosmetologist,
so now I don't have to pay someone to cut my hair- #winning. She hails
from Colorado and is the biggest One Direction fan you'll ever meet.
Oh, and she's hecka bold. I definitely wasn't that confident when I
got out in the field!
We haven't been able to see as many people as I want
to...something about the Wisconsin weather has got me super sick with
bronchitis and I've been under house arrest with orders from the
mission doctor to stay inside and not contaminate the outside world.
But I know the Lord will help me get better so we can go out and do
missionary work! I feel terrible keeping Sister Grover from getting to
go out as much, but she's being a trooper and dealing with me!
I'm excited and nervous to be taking the lead in Hmong work over here.
Love, Sister Brett
headed to Wisconsin for a few transfers! And not only that, but
training a new missionary! It's been kind of a crazy week. Eau Claire
is an eclectic artsy town with lots of sculptures and murals...it's
pretty hipster. And Sister Grover is hilarious! She's a cosmetologist,
so now I don't have to pay someone to cut my hair- #winning. She hails
from Colorado and is the biggest One Direction fan you'll ever meet.
Oh, and she's hecka bold. I definitely wasn't that confident when I
got out in the field!
We haven't been able to see as many people as I want
to...something about the Wisconsin weather has got me super sick with
bronchitis and I've been under house arrest with orders from the
mission doctor to stay inside and not contaminate the outside world.
But I know the Lord will help me get better so we can go out and do
missionary work! I feel terrible keeping Sister Grover from getting to
go out as much, but she's being a trooper and dealing with me!
Our
district leader is a Hmong missionary too, and we're teaching a Hmong
class Sundays after church! There's not much else of an update, but I'm
excited for this transfer!
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