I certainly had a wonderful, jam-packed week! I can't wait to tell you all about it!
I went on exchanges to the Longfellow Park Wards on Tuesday. The singles' wards. That's an entirely different world, let me tell you! I was with Sister Moss. We had a neat day. Back-to-back appointments are the best, because at the end of the day, when you report to the Lord about what you did with His time, you feel good. :) We taught Bobby, Robert, Leo, Suat, Neliza and Bailey! Leo is this awesome, Russian man who walked into the singles' ward. He reminds me of a dark-haired Steve Martin. We mostly answered his great questions and tried to keep the topic gospel-centered as we passed him off to the Elders. :) I've taught Neliza before. She's been investigating for a long time. Sister Moss and I were bold with her. I love testifying!
Christmas Eve was really unique and a lot of fun! :) Sister Celeste Andrade invited us over for lunch. That was a little scary, because. . . well, she's an older woman that has good intentions, we're sure, but she doesn't take her medication, and she's very unstable. She yells at people a lot. Especially when they try to do nice things for her. But it was Christmas Eve and she had invited us over, so we braved the pouring rain (on Christmas Eve--can you believe it??) and went over there with smiles on our faces! It took her about 20 minutes to answer the door, and another 45 minutes or so to make our food, but she only yelled at us three times! :) And we learned a lot. She showed us some neat things, and she had me play her guitar. Once upon a time she was a very bright individual. I can't wait to meet her like that someday. Point being, I think we brightened up her Christmas a bit, and that's all that matters!
We had dinner with Bishop Cahoon and his family, and acted out the Nativity scene with them. That was fun! When we got home we were super tired, and we crashed an hour early to prep for Christmas!
Christmas was wonderful! We had clear skies and sweet gifts from home and a full day of celebrating the Savior to look forward to! The senior couples in our Zone made us a Christmas brunch, and we had a white elephant gift exchange. :) Then, of course, we were able to Skype! Yaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!! I love my family! Lots and lots! Being a missionary certainly makes you appreciate your friends and family more.
Saturday was the greatest. Farah got baptized. Sister Standerfer and I were busy filling the font for a few hours beforehand. That was an adventure. The hot water stopped working, so we were slowly filling the font with freezing water and stressing out. . . We ended up filling six big pots with water and boiling it, then dumping the contents into the font to speed up the process and take the edge off the chill! It was crazy! There's always opposition before a baptism.
Heavenly Father always pulls through, and Farah was baptized! Not only was it flawless, but she was so moved by the Spirit. I remember giving her a hug right after she changed into white, and she cried quietly, thanking me for being her sister and expressing her joy at this beautiful, wonderful day. I just want to promise everyone that there is nothing more joyful than being an instrument in the hands of the Lord to bring His children closer to Him.
We had a touching tender mercy last night. The Pettits are really amazing. We're so blessed to know them and have them in our ward.
I'm grateful for all of you and for the wonderful year 2014 has been. Thanks for helping to shape me into who I am today! I love you!
I hope that this week has been positively wonderful and FESTIVE! I hope you've each had some spiritual moments as you've taken time to remember what Christmas is all about. :) I'm truly humbled to know that my Savior--our Savior--was born in a stable, in a manger, and came into the world to do whatever it took to save each of us.
We had a wonderful week here in Belmont, Mass! Our teaching pool is building, our faith is strengthening, and our experiences are indescribable! There's so much to cover, so I think I'll be more brief and try to hit all the topics!
The famous Clayton Christensen, author of The Power of Everyday Missionaries and 1st councilor in my mission presidency, had us over on Monday night with Ajit! Ajit is the Indian potential we rake leaves for. He's awesome! And he's so in awe of President Christensen. All three of us were really humbled to be in his home for a lesson. It was a neat experience! The Christensens are a brilliant, wonderful family. I'm so blessed to have them in my ward!
Farah! Oh my goodness! So much has happened with her! She's our investigator from Iran. It's a crazy story. She grew up Muslim, had a vision of Christ, and became Christian. She fled her country, leaving behind her children to come here to America and escape the consequences of her actions. She doesn't know English very well, so she speaks Farsi. She feels as though she has been brought by God to our church, and she has faith to move mountains! This woman is amazing. She set her own baptismal date for the 27th. But there's a couple of problems. First of all, we have no idea how much of the lessons she truly understands. We have a translator who has a tendency to filter. Also, we have to make sure she's cleared to be baptized by our mission presidency, due to her unusual circumstances. AND there's a crazy, overly dramatic problem about it between the two wards (1st and 2nd) because they both want her baptized into their ward. Of course there's a clear boundary line, but she's moving and fellowshippers (friends) are more concentrated in one ward and there's this silly rivalry. . . Huh. This is the work of salvation. We all have the same goal. Let's just work together, shall we?
So anyway, that's been fun. And intense. And hectic. :) :) :)
We did service at Beech Street (the old folks' place) during their Christmas lunch. Holy moly! Lots and lots of people! And we wore Santa hats and frantically served all of these sweet old people for a couple hours. Thankfully we had help from the local high school. They made me feel old. . .
Suzanne and Jess made me this marvelous belated birthday dinner! Breakfast for dinner, my favorite! Jess makes the best Eggs Benedict!
FRIDAY was the BEST day of them all!!!!! We had our Christmas Conference! Sister Standerfer and I had been in charge of decorating, because everyone came up to our chapel. It was GORGEOUS! Gold tablecloths, red pointsettas, tea lights. . . I'll have to just show you the pictures. We were proud of us. :) Half of our mission was assigned to Friday. We started off the day by going to the temple right above our chapel. Absolutely beautiful. And amazing! After that and a break for lunch, we headed in for the Conference itself!
I wish I could explain how amazing it was! The Packards spoke and inspired us again! President Christensen got up and talked for nearly an hour, and he touched our hearts, too! Then amazingly talented missionaries performed song after song for us. The program was phenomenal. Sister Hyoung, world-renowned pianist, played for us. We had a soprano sax and an organist and some violins and flutes and a few killer voices. The spirit was so strong.
After, we had the BEST dinner, and every zone played the video of their Christmas skit. It's a tradition. ;) It was SO funny! Ours was epic; I'll have to send it home at some point. :D They put together a video with our pictures in it, and we all got key chains and packages from home. . .! It was so amazing. Best Christmas ever. And somehow the unity and the closeness with Christ made all the difference.
For me, the best part was getting to reconnect with a bunch of people I have come to love! The Tanners were there (the senior couple from Central Falls) and we got to catch up. Sister Chadwick and Sister Slater were there, along with Elder Garrido and Elder Fish. . . ! These missionaries have inspired me and helped shape my entire mission experience. It was so good to see them again.
Quick jump to Sunday--probably the most hectic day I've had in Belmont. You try handling two overlapping wards, two ward councils, 8 stob-bys, two investigators to see, and two dinners. That is all.
This is getting long, so I'll just end by telling you that this was a wonderful week, and I'm looking forward to a wonderful Christmas! I love you all. Don't forget why all of this matters. The gospel has blessed my life in countless ways--I wouldn't be anywhere near what I am today without it.
I managed to cut out most of my time by prioritizing other emails, so I'm short on time. I'll tell you some fun stuff in the short time I have, though!
He is the Gift is going wild! I'm so happy that this amazing video is being widespread! What better way to share what Christmas is about? If you haven't seen it, look it up! He is the Gift! It is so beautiful and powerful!
MY HALF-WAY DAY WAS FRIDAY! But. . . unfortunately. . . I got the flu. I'm better now, but I was out of commission for a couple of days. I dragged myself out of bed long enough to make it to Zone Meeting. That was fun, despite the fact I felt awful. Our Zone Leaders are hilarious. They made it entertaining and spiritual and motivating! :) :) We went back and I slept the rest of the day. And most of the next day. Don't worry, members care about us. Both nights someone brought over soup and bread. <3
Sunday was so hectic! Not only was it my birthday and I was recovering from the flu, but we had back-to-back appointments all day long!!!!!!!! Which is how it should be. But when it's Sunday and you're over two wards that overlap and you're teaching multiple classes. . . you tend to get a little frazzled. :) We had correlation after church, then ran to the Vergilios and straight over to the Boaz's. . . and then we had this crazy appointement with an investigator that is really just hard to explain. She speaks Pharisee and needed a translator, and our member was highly interactive, so it was an unusual lesson! We'll see where it goes.
Members were so sweet. A couple of them gave me presents and I was sent a ton a birthday texts from other missionaries! :) :) :)
Thanks for all the birthday wishes and for all the love! You're the greatest! :) :) :) And I'm old! Hahahaha!
It has been quite the festive, eventful week! I can't wait to tell you all about it. :)
You know how I told you about Belmont's extravagance? Well, these people are lovely and quite wealthy. They tend to make an event hard to forget. :) On the last night I spent with Sister Fernando, we went to the wreath-making activity. Turns out it's the biggest event of the year. Can you believe that? Wreath-making. It was a combined event for both wards, the building was decked to the nines with garland and lights and the nativity and huge wooden cutouts with lights behind them to look like silhouettes and trays and trays of delicious food. . . Also, the gym floor was completely covered in brown paper, and there must have been about 40 tables lined in there, with ribbons galore and most of all, pine branches.
So, I didn't realize this before, but wreath-making isn't decorating a wreath with a bow and pine-cones. No, it's taking a metal circle and a honking tree and cutting and binding until you have your own fat, jolly wreath. Georgia Sundahl and I made a beautiful one!!!! And poked ourselves a million times, but you know, it was worth it. :) The best part? There were about 50 non-members there! Talk about prime time for sharing the gospel!
The next day was transfer meeting. It's strange. Now Sister Platt, Sister Fernando, and Sister Standerfer are all in my zone. That's three companions. I'm really making my way through everyone. Haha. Transfer meeting was amazing, of course!!!! I cried so hard. For the first time ever, I had a companion go home. Two of them. Sister Hoellein and Sister Godoy. :'( Sister Hobbs went home, too, and a number of other sisters I've come to love. Their testimonies were touching. Then of course, President Packard stood and spoke. WOW. He told the story of the month of miracles from his point of view. There was hardly a dry eye by the time he was done. We all have a bigger sense of the Lord's vision for this mission. We're going to do great things here, because of Him. This is HIS work.
After I took millions of photos and ran around saying goodbye, I finally found my new companion! Sister Standerfer! She's amazing! I can't even tell you how amazing she is! She's from Snowflake, Arizona. She's happy and has a Disney Princess voice and she's so much fun. I am so blessed to be serving with someone so wonderful, especially for the holiday season! We're already the best of friends, and we've set a bunch of goals that we're determined to achieve!
Friday night we had an amazing experience attending the Messiah. Except here they do it differently. The soloists and orchestra practice for months, and everyone else just shows up! If you show up, you grab the music and you just sing. The people here in the Cambridge stake know how to sing. It was so much fun and so powerful and wonderful!!!!
SATURDAY, back to the extravagance, was 2 Christmas parties. I think they always celebrate here. We're constantly preparing for the next huge event. There was a party in the first ward and a party in the second. There was this big Nativity set, everyone dressed up like they were from Christ's time, and the Primary acted out the Christmas Story for us. :) :) It was so fun, and we were able to set goals and get to know the members better!
One last thing to tell you about. I hope you all got the chance to watch the Christmas devotional last night, because it was superb! We had the opportunity to see it at a member's home. The Boaz's are so fun! They have two little boys that just melt your heart. One of them, Ean, dragged most of his bedding out to the couch and spent the first 20 minutes constructing the perfect, most comfortable place to sit. Once he was finally situated, he hopped right back up and ran back to his room to grab more blankets. He promptly threw them on top of us, along with a good amount of squashy pillows so we could become comfortable, too. And then he made a final trip to his room to grab Sister Standerfer and I each a stuffed animal so we wouldn't be too lonely. It was the cutest thing! Children are so tender-hearted!
Alright, I'll stop telling you all the details! :) Thanks for everything. I love being a missionary! It's the best calling in the world!
Oooh, I have pivotal week this week. NINE MONTH MARK. Half-way, hump day! And my birthday! Should be fun! Shout out to STEPHEN, who is opening his MISSION CALL this week, too!!!!!!!!
Hello everyone! Big news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November is officially over, and we have had a month full of miracles. I told you at the beginning of the month about our high goal of 70 baptisms in the month of November. I told you about how 59 was our all-time record, and how we wanted to do everything in our power to ensure these people would follow-through with their wonderful decision to be baptized and come closer to Christ. I even told you about the sacrifices we were making and the plans we had to do our part before letting the Lord take over. We worked hard. . . prayed hard. . . and miracles happened.
I am overjoyed to tell you the results of the month. Last night, all of us missionaries called in to one big conference phone call. Through a series of miracles, we reached a number that we only dreamed we would reach. We hit 100.
100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a hundred people in New England who know the church is true and have taken a step towards their own salvation. 100 people. I cannot say the smallest part which I feel. :) :) :) :) :)
President Packard sent out an email to all of us about it. I thought I'd share a clip of his inspired words.
“ 'Has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought…' (Moroni 7: 35-37). If the month of November proved anything, it is that God keeps His promises, that He is a God of miracles, and that the missionaries in the MBM have great faith! Now that we have seen 100 baptisms in a single month, where do we go from here? Elder Holland has already provided his input. After receiving our report last night, he immediately responded as follows: “Tell the mission I could not be more proud of them. Tell them to keep opening their mouths, talking to everybody, keeping this kind of depth in their teaching pool and 70 will be the new base line every month. What was never done before will now be standard; it will be where the new goals start, not where they end.” We are going to set new goals in our next mission leadership conference, but Elder Holland believes that this is just the beginning. We feel the same way."
Sister Fernando and I were able to witness one of these amazing baptisms yesterday. <3 Anna is an amazing 20-year-old. She truly inspires me. She referred herself on Mormon.org, met with the Elders in Arlington, became our friend, and stood up at her own baptism to tell everyone that she knows the church is true. She told everyone she had to get her answer through prayer and Book of Mormon study, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet--an inspired man of God who brought back Jesus Christ's church. She sang "I Stand All Amazed" after her testimony. It was beautiful.
Also, I have other big news. . . TRANSFERS. We were supposed to get Transfer texts on Friday, but President Packard officially was running faster than he had strength, and he told us we'd get them when he was finished. So we were waiting in agony until late Saturday night. And then the texts came flooding in. That's right--my curse still stands. I STILL AM GETTING A NEW COMPANION EVERY TRANSFER. Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!! Sister Fernando is being transferred to the singles wards in the zone! I will be showing around Belmont to a sweet, cute Sister who just finished her training in Amherst. Oh my goodness!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, and Thanksgiving happened!!!!!!!!! It was wonderful! And crazy! I swore I'd never eat again. . . We had 2 Thanksgiving dinners the night before Thanksgiving, then a Thanksgiving breakfast and 2 MORE Thanksgiving dinners. We were practically rolled home. It was gross. But besides stuffing ourselves to the point of nausea so we would appease the sweet members who fed us, we were able to spend some quality time with amazing people and really take the time to vocalize what means the most to us. :) I hope your Thanksgivings were amazing, too. :)
And now it's CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy the season! Cut out snowflakes and hang tinsel and sing songs and spread the love of Christ!!!!!! Also, go look up the new church video He Is The Gift. It's amazing!!!!!!!
Miracles in abundance here in the Massachusetts Boston Mission!
Just for starters, today we will have the 64th baptism in the month of November. DID YOU READ THAT? 64th!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have officially broken our all-time record, and we're only 6 short of our goal for the month!!!!!!! I mean, what goal? We shouldn't limit the Lord, right? We still have 45 more people committed to be baptized this weekend. Why not 100???
We had a neat lesson with Stephanie this week! She is progressing at a steady rate! I'm so excited for her! We don't have nearly as many lessons here with investigators as I did in good old Central Falls, so I appreciate the spiritual highlight these lessons bring all the more! Sister Fernando and I really felt the spirit as we testified of the Plan of Salvation and the joy and clarity and direction the gospel will bring to her family. :) She really believes what we're teaching her. She said she had a dream confirming the truths of what we've spoken, and she recognizes the spirit! HOW AMAZING? Of course we extended baptism. :) She's preparing to be baptized January 4th, only because she's about to have her baby and she's going to need some recovery time. :) :) :)
We were lucky enough to have the chance to do Family History work with Susan at the Family History Center! Can I just say -- she deserves the best Recent Convert of the Month Award. She is so excited to get to the temple! She is fascinated by her Family History! We finally had to drag her from the computer screen when it was time to go. She's already gotten this searching thing down. :) :)
Juan was baptized!!!!!! He was taught by sisters in our Zone, and we knew him personally, so we attended. It was so beautiful. I can't even express how beautiful it was! He is a young man who really gets it, who was able to use the Atonement to transform his life, who bore his testimony to his football team at his baptism, and who now wants to serve a mission. Need I say more? I was moved to tears.
Sunday was. . . extravagant. Hahahaha. That's how Belmont rolls!!!!! Both Belmont 1st Ward and Belmont 2nd ward had their Primary Programs. The Primary Program was turned into this HUGE missionary opportunity they planned and prepared for. Especially the 1st ward. LEt me tell you. . . there were HUGE signs for parking and a changed schedule and an overflow room and violins and specialized programs and lots of food for the reception afterward and the Portable Visitors Center AND about 30 non-members. Beat that.
We also had the unique opportunity to go to All Saints church for an inter-faith program for Thanksgiving. How neat??? I sang in the choir, our first councilor was there to represent us, there was a Reverend, a priest, and others. In fact, we became very good friends with the Reverend post-program. I like him. :) I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from testifying though, because we're not allowed to openly proselyte on other church grounds. Pity.
I'm emailing you today because yesterday we had our interviews with President! He's simply the greatest man ever. He's going to be a general authority after the mission, mark my words. Daniel Packard. Write it down. He was able to speak right to my needs and to bring clarity and extra hope to me! :) I love him. Also, he gave me a glimpse of what's coming. Look out, world! Transfer texts are coming this Friday! And I have a curse that has been completely consistent. :) Oooh, and we got to be Sister Packard's personal chauffeurs yesterday, because she was stranded at Firestone. We had a nice long drive to go get her, and she took us to Olive Garden! We were definitely spoiled. I hope I can be like her one day. She stands side-by-side with her husband as a spiritual giant. Sister Fernando and I practically had interviews with both the mission president AND his wife. :)
Speaking of amazing men, we had Family Home Evening at the Haights home again! With another investigator. Kind of. We call them eternigators. He's been coming to church for 10 years. He's Haitian, and we think he doesn't really understand Priesthood Authority, so Sister Fernando and I planned out a stellar lesson on the Restoration. It was the perfect setting. A powerful family's home, every member of the family present with a powerful testimony, a well-prepared lesson. . . It was perfect. Sister Fernando and I have never taught with such unison or power. The Holy Ghost was definitely in that home, teaching and testifying with us of authority and Joseph Smith. Tears were shed, testimonies were shared. It was neat. I'll never forget it. And our eternigator felt the spirit, but he doesn't want to take steps forward. I thought I'd be devastated after all of that effort and power, and I'm certainly disappointed, but I'm at peace. I know I was bold, I taught with authority given to me by Heavenly Father, and I gave it my all. It's up to him and his agency now.
Thanks for reading my update! I love you all, as you know. :) :) :) :) Sorry this email jumped around a lot, I was pretty distracted! Please continue to pray for these people! I'll let you know our final numbers next week. The work is hastening. Keep in touch, and have a marvelous Thanksgiving, because Heavenly Father has truly given us EVERYTHING!!!!!!!
Hello, from the overcast, blustering city of Belmont, Massachusetts!
Today specifically. It's pretty cold. And rainy. It might turn to snow soon. I should probably buy boots. . .
First thing is first: update on the mission goal!!!! That's the most important. I already gave it away in the subject line, but here it is!!!!!!! On Sunday, we had a total of 19 baptisms. Sunday ALONE! That put us up to 39 baptisms! And. . . that's right. . . we still have 101 dates set for the rest of the month of November. 101. That's a TON. For some reason everyone wants to be baptized at the end of the month. . . Well, it makes for a more exciting ride to see how we do! I'll keep you posted. Keep praying!!!! Thank you. Prayers are really creating miracles on this end!!!!
I'm going to fill you in on random details of my fantastic week. First of all, Susan had us over for dinner! Recently married, baptized, and confirmed Susan. :) She's a professional chef. Needless to say, it was mouthwatering. AND her husband joined us! I think he is solid. He's warming up to the gospel more and more. He'll be sealed to his wife for eternity someday--he just doesn't know it yet. :) :) :)
Oh! Cassidy is going to LOVE this news. . . :D We were put in charge of activity days, and we were thinking of what we could do that would be fun and Thanksgiving-ish. . . so I remembered the brilliant invention that Cassidy and I did once upon a time: BOWS MADE FROM POPSICLE STICKS. With Q-tip arrows! It was awesome! We told the story of the Pilgrims and dressed as Indians, then they got together to make their own! Slapped together with some gratitude spirituality, it made for an awesome lesson for 8-11 year old girls! See attached picture. :) :)
Also, we had three lessons bailed on by investigators. :( No bueno. But we did have a neat experience! See, you know how my companion is from Sri Lanka? Well we got a referral for a woman who isn't really in our area, but who is close and is also from Sri Lanka. She heard of Sister Fernando and wanted to meet her! Um, no problem!!!! We met up with her at Harvard Square! Her name is Nrosha. Really. She's young, beautiful, and spiritual. She poured out her life story to us. She loves God and what he has done for her, and she knows she needs to reconnect with him. She's so excited to meet with us more! She speaks English well, but it was fun for Sister Fernando and her to exchange some words in Sinhala. :) We gave her a Book of Mormon in Sinhala, too. Only Sister Fernando would have a copy. Their letters look like swirlies.
Alright, what I really want to tell you about it Saturday. I got a call from the Central Falls Sisters on Friday, who told me that the Piesienskis were getting their endowments and sealed the next day. WHAT?!?!?!?!?? I had promised her I would attend! I called her, made some last-minute plans and calls, and WHOOSH! I was all set to go see a miraculous event! One of the perks of having the temple in your area. ;) Sister Platt and I went on exchanges to see this family we love so much. We were so blessed. Our companions happily took on the rest of our appointments.
So. . . it was amazing. The Spirit is so strong at the temple. Sister Piescienski and her husband have been baptized for just over a year, and she is the YW's President in CF. She has been looking forward to this day for a long time, and I have rarely seen such solid converts. They were absolutely glowing all the way through. And then we got to join them in the sealing room, where they were sealed together for eternity, and then her daughter Jamie was sealed to them. <3 <3 <3 <3 I loved it so much! It kept me floating for a long time! Bishop Wild was there, and Sister Lima was there with her companion! (BTW, Sister Lima was Emergency Transferred out of Central Falls. Crazy.) I'm definitely attaching some of those pictures, too!
After that amazing, glorious reunion, Sister Platt and I ran around to a couple of different appointments. We handed the car over to our companions because they had managed to get themselves an hour late to an appointment, then we took the bus around town! It was fun! Until it got dark and cold and we had to try to find houses. Even so, it was a unique experience for me. :) We had dinner with someone in my ward. She's a single mom with a rambunctious, smart, rebellious 9-year-old. Oh boy, he's a handful. And way too cute. Like a Dennis the Menace. :) We all went to a Buffet. That was nice of her.
OH! Tender Mercy! Our heater hasn't been working. We're trying to get it fixed, but in the meantime we mentioned it offhand to a member. . . who immediately sent out an email to the ward asking for any spare heaters. Within 20 minutes of us getting home, another member showed up at our house with 2 space heaters for us!!!! We were pretty darn grateful. There's only so many blankets one can use. :)
That was my week! Thanks for reading and being a part of my adventure!!!!! Also, shout-out to Ashleigh--she's turning 21 this week!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3
