Seeking the Greater Blessings of the Temple :)

Hey Family!!

This week has been awesome!! We have been working a lot with Carlos and Kyndra, and they are the bomb! I love them.  Monday we got a text from Carlos. It said, "Do you guys ever feel drawn to the temple here in Redlands?"

Ummm, Can you get better than this!! We explained to him that we definitely felt drawn there and there is a very special spirit at the temple that should make us desire to go there. We had a lesson with him and Kyndra later that night and talked about the Plan of Salvation and eternal families. We taught in the Bishop's home and talked a lot about the temple. It was awesome because Kyndra brought up how she really wants to renew their vows through our church! We got to tell her that when her and Carlos go to the temple it will be for much more than a vow renewal-- they will get to be sealed for time and all eternity! We taught them a few other times this week, but that was definitely

the highlight.

Carlos' baptism came and went. I realized it's the first convert baptism I have been to. The spirit there really was something! Everything went smoothly and that was a huge blessing!

Funny story and then I will be done. (short emails don’t happen very often, but don’t you worry. I still love you all ;) )

So when we were getting baptismal suits this week we were not sure what size brother Himle was. We got two different ones for him plus one for Carlos, just to be safe. When we talked to him about it he decided that he would just wear his temple pants so that he didn’t have to worry about the fit. That was fine and all worked well. After the baptism we went to return the suits and had only used one of them. We told the mad that we had only used the one and that the other two were still clean. He looked at us and got a very disappointed look on his face and simply said, "Oh, No!" We were a little confused but then realized what he must be thinking. We assured him that all baptisms had gone as planned and that all was well. It was pretty funny though.

I love you all and I hope that you have a great week. Remember the blessings of the Gospel and cling to them!

Love,

Sister Hope

This picture is Brother Himle, Sister Gillespie, Me and Carlos right before the baptism. Carlos has come so far! It is so exciting to peer into the future that Heavenly Father has waiting for him 

This picture is Brother Himle, Sister Gillespie, Me and Carlos right before the baptism. Carlos has come so far! It is so exciting to peer into the future that Heavenly Father has waiting for him :)

Get Big, or Go Home

We have eaten so much food this week. It's ridiculous. I have pretty much given up on breakfast and lunch because we get huge portions of food everyday for dinner. It's nice to have such awesome members though!

This week has been quite the adventure. We have met with Michael a few times this week. He is interesting to teach because he thinks that it is better to learn by mistake than to just make good choices. We have talked a lot about agency with him and just as we start to think that he is getting it, he starts asking us why we are always talking about the importance of obedience when we cant understand that things are wrong unless we try them. He is interesting, but we are working on bettering his understanding of the truthfulness of the Gospel. One of the things that I have learned is that really, investigators just need a firm testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. If they believe that, and really trust in it, the rest of the gospel comes easily. Everything tips on those two points. If you know these two things then you know that Jesus Christ is our living Savior, and that all of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's Kingdom here on the Earth. From there the commandments are easy because we know that they come from a prophet that is speaking for God to direct the people. If only everyone could understand this so clearly. 

In other news... CARLOS IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!! and we are so excited! He has been working hard and it is neat to see the progress that he has made. We have also started teaching Kyndra, his wife, more. They have two little ones, and it is so awesome to be able to teach a family. The kids aren't old enough to be baptized, but Kyndra is on date for May 10th!! It has been fun to watch them progress and grow as a family in the Gospel. 

Easter was an adventure. I hope that all of you got the opportunity to remember the reason for the season and celebrate the fact that we worship a living savior :) "I know that my Redeemer lives!!" And the thought really is comforting. It is such a blessing to be able to teach about Jesus Christ and the miracle of His resurrection. He lives, and because He lives we all have so many opportunities to be better than we are. But more importantly we have the opportunity to overcome the bands of death that bind us. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of this and for the opportunity that I have to share it! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and His church has been restored to this earth. We know where things are going, and we know how things will end. We know that our Savior will come again and will once again be the winner of this war of sin. All that is left is to decide if we will fight for Him or against Him. "Who's on the Lords side, Who?"

Scripture for this week: 

2 Nephi 2:8

"Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise."

"He lives, and while He live's I'll sing!"

I love you all and I hope that you take time to remember your savior every single day! 

 

Love,

Sister Hope :)

 

P.S.  Oh, I forgot to include the funniest thing I have ever heard. Let it
be make clear that my standard for what is hilarious is on a
missionary level and therefore probably not as funny as I think it is.
Conversation with Michael this week talking about agency:
Michael: So let me get this straight, you cant drink wine because it
affects your 'agency,' but you can get married, right?
Sister Hope and Sister Gillespie: Yes??
Michael: Having a wife messes with your ability to make decisions!!

Funny funny guy :)

 

This is the Redlands temple from a home that we taught in this week. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it really is a pretty place. Favorite :)

Sister Gillespie's Dad went out of the country on Business and so he
sent her (and she shared :)) some kinder eggs. It really is a happy
Easter ;)

Left to Right: Sister Gillespie, Sister Hope, Sister Allison, Brother Allison, Elder Perkins, and Elder Morgan.

Brother and Sister Allison had us over for a big Easter lunch on Saturday afternoon. Brother Allison is not a member but is in church every week and goes to primary with his wife. He is a funny guy. He always jokes that the Elders are just going to throw him in the pool to finish the job. Whenever we talk to him he teaches us all about hummingbirds and Lizards because he is a photographer and that is what he enjoys taking pictures of. They are very sweet :)

This is my Easter Basket from the Himle Family. We have taught Carlos in their home a lot and we just love them!! I wish that she was one of my sisters sometimes. Her kids are definitely cute enough to be included in our family :) They love the missionaries at their house and we love them!!

This is me and Sister Gillespie with Michael and the 1949 Crosley we have been helping him work on. This day we were cleaning off 60 year old gunk from the engine and under carriage. We also helped him sand it down so he could repaint it. I will send a picture of the finished product when I have one. It looks pretty sweet!

 

Filling the Pool

First Off, transfers are this week, but I am staying in the same area with Sister Gillespie and Elder Perkins and Elder Morgan that serve in our ward are staying as well. Pretty boring, but I am glad I am not moving.

This week has been all sorts of exciting! I have been kind of sick, but I think that it is mostly due to the fact that I have drank an entire gallon of milk in a week two weeks in a row now. Now would be the time to get impressed. Also, I am thinking that this sickness is the other trigger for my desire to have my hair in the bun on top of my head all week.

Well, the week has been lots of fun. Our teaching pool has been growing quite a bit, which gets us super excited!

We got to meet Carlos' wife, Kyndra. She is very interested in the church and says that she already knows its true because she has seen Carlos have real interest in it and find out for himself. We are excited for her to want to follow in his footsteps. We are working on the idea of knowing for herself that it is true. It's great to be teaching a family though. Carlos' Baptism date is quickly approaching, so we are getting really excited about that as well. Not only are we filling our teaching pool, but we are about to be able to fill the baptismal font :)

We have also been teaching Mike. He is quite the guy. He has a pretty rough past, but we are working with him on understanding the Atonement and how it can strengthen us in everything we do. 

Speaking of the Atonement and Jesus Christ-- The Easter Season is upon us. While chocolate bunnies and jelly beans are quite awesome, They are not the most important. This week is a time to celebrate Jesus Christ and His ressurection and Atonement. 

My challenge for you all this week is to share this video. It's called, "Because of Him." It is on youtube, Mormon.org, and many other places. I am sure that my wonderful sister Lisa would be so kind as to place a link to or the actual video right here as well :)

 

"BECAUSE OF HIM"  #BecauseofHim
 

Watched it yet? Perfect. Now go and share it with everyone you can. You have the wonderful technology of smart phones and social media that missionaries do not have. Put it on facebook, tweet it, share it. Do whatever you have to do to let everyone know of the wonderful gift they have been given by our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. If you are 'disconnected' then you will have to just tell everyone you know about it. 

I know that our Savior lives and that He loves us. Be diligent in your testimony of Him, and be true to the covenants you have made.

Love, 

Sister Hope :)
 

 

                                                                      Happy Easter!

 

VISUAL REMINDER . . . Please Send Letters.

 

I have started a bad habit of putting my hair up, mostly just because I am excited that it is long enough. This is a recent convert, Amy. She got  baptized just before I got out here. She is moving back in with her parents though, so she will no longer be in our mission. We love her though!

 

Boy, Oh Boy...



Boy oh Boy! This week has been such an adventure!

I will try to keep this short, but I know it probably wont happen. I guess a better promise is that I will keep it interesting so that you still want to read it. Either way, here we go :)

 

On Tuesday we met with one of the coolest girls ever. Her name is Mandy Goddard. She is 23 and working on her masters in English Literature. Pretty much I just want to be her. She has helped me discover that you can be normal and an English major, so there is hope for me when I return home.

Also on Tuesday we got to meet with one of my favorite women in the ward- Sharon. She is a single mom. Her 19 year old son that is preparing to serve a mission in Tennessee, Joe, and her live with her mom. She is a convert and her mom is not a member. We have been going with the lessons with her trying to help her build her faith and be strong in the many struggles that she has. This week we were talking about the Plan of Salvation, and it was so awesome. For anyone else that has served a mission or is serving a mission, it was one of those lessons where I think I learned more than she did. It is interesting how the Lord blesses us with knowledge. It's not until we experiment upon His words that the witness comes to us. We love those that we serve, and there are so many ways to serve people. Helping them feel the spirit is what has been the most rewarding. 

 

Wednesday I got to go on exchanges. I went with Sister Moberg to the Mountain view ward. It covers Loma Linda where there is a medical school run by Seventh Day Adventists. We only visited active members that day, but they were all students at the school. It's like BYU and they have to take religion courses to fulfill requirements. We met this one family, the Carlson's, that were awesome!! We got to have a really good Gospel discussion with them and we talked about how we come to know Jesus Christ. We truly have to feast upon His words -- In the words of Elder Lawrence E. Corbrige, "Delight in fatness."-- and become converted to His Gospel, not just the church. We talked about this talk by Elder Poelman in 1984. It's called "The Gospel and the Church." He talks about how the Church is just the institution through which we can more fully become converted to the Gospel. The Church evolves and changes, the Gospel stays steady. Elder Poelman says, "We should obey the commandments and counsel of Church leaders; but also through study, through prayer, and by the influence of the Holy Spirit, we should seek and obtain an individual, personal witness that the principle or counsel is correct and divinely inspired. Then we can give enlightened, enthusiastic obedience, utilizing the Church as a means through which to give all allegiance, time, talent, and other resources without reluctance or resentment." That really made me think and gave me an idea of what I wanted to gain from General Conference. While obedience is great, righteousness brings blessings. We can't be righteous unless we are enthused about our obedience. We have to want it. Heavenly Father doesn't want us to be miserable, He wants us to delight in the Gospel. 

 

So, I guess that brings us to what I actually loved from Conference. All of it of course, but I will  just share my favorite moments. 

Why not start from the beginning? Who doesn't love Elder Holland? Because when we wonder if doing the things the Lord asks of us he reminds us that we absolutely must. If we don't we will have desolate lives, desolate homes, and be desolate people. We don't have a comfortable God, or a comfortable Savior, We have a loving Heavenly Father and Redeemer that give us commandments so that we can be better and avoid things that will not make us better. What a great way to open as the Spirit was poured upon us in testimony of Jesus Christ?  Elder Anderson pointed out, the world is not going to glide smoothly to the second coming. We are going to have to fight for our faith. But we must remember that God allows us to be shaken so that we can be strengthened. Just like how trees gain strength in their roots and trunks when the wind blows them, Heavenly Father has provided a way for us to gain strength in trials. We must remember that we are "infinitely more precious to God than a tree." If He is looking out for the trees, He is looking out for us. We must also remember that there are commandments to be kept to obtain that strength though. May we be lucky enough to be raised in families like those that President Eyring described that give their children memories of scriptures and prayers and hymns for the Holy Ghost to bring back to their remembrance. And, may we remember the true statement of Elder Nelson that, "keeping diving commandments brings blessing every time. Breaking divine commandments loses blessings every time." We must let our faith show. Don't practice selective obedience (Elder Hales). Also, cling to the covenants you have made with Heavenly Father, and always be working hard at being better and helping others make those same covenants (Elder Cook).

 

Let's move on to Sunday, shall we? Dont be thankful for things; be thankful for the circumstances you are in. Elder Uchtdorf sure knows how to make us want to be better and make us feel good, huh? He gave an awesome reminder though, "How often do we wait to see the rainbow forgetting to thank God for the rain?" I love that! He also said, "Gratitude is and expression of hope and testimony" and continued to command us to let our testimonies of Jesus Christ transform us.  "Grattitude is a Catalyst to all Christlike attributes." President Monson talked about developing Charity, who doesn't need a little more of that? Serve people, and pray for the opportunity to do so. 

My favorite apostle tends to be Elder Bednar. He did not disappoint either. His message was clear. Jesus Christ offers to take our yoke upon Himself, and by "making and keeping sacred covenants [it] yokes us to Jesus Christ." We need to have a desire to have Christ help us, not take our burdens from us. We need our burdens to give us traction and to help us progress. We must pray for that strength, and remember that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven. 

I love that Conference this year focused on strengthening our faith in Jesus Christ and then making covenants. Elder Walker clearly stated that ,"No sacrifice is too great than to receive the ordinances of the temple." We must remember that not only for ourselves but for our ancestors and our children also. Prepare for whatever covenant you need to make with the Lord. Remember what the good things are, and what the bad things are. "One must not roam through Garbage" (Elder Aidukaitis). Conference was awesome and I hope that all of you will take the time to gain a personal testimony of the things that were shared. 

 

One final invitation for all of you that are having a hard time coming up with things to write me about (that's got to be why the mailbox is always empty, right?;)) The invitation given by Elder Ballard. The plan goes as follows:

1. Get Preach My Gospel-- It's easy, I promise. You can even look at it online 

2. Study Preach My Gospel as a family-- It tells you not only how to be a better missionary, but also how to be a better disciple of Christ, and isn't that what we all want?

3. Write me about it :) - 'nuff said.

And dont worry, I will follow up. Elder Ballard promised, " If we follow up, the Lord will not let us down."

Okay now that you have all reviewed conference vicariously through me I hope you take the time to do it again on your own. President Monson said, "May we resolve to do a little bit better than we have in the past [and] may we ever be found doing the work of the Lord." That is my prayer for all of you. I love you and thank you for everything. Try harder to be better, and continue in the work of salvation.

 

All my love, 

Sister Hope