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| Me and Sis. Ivie, my MTC comp |
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| Me and Hermana Weaver. She's awesome! I was with her in a trio awhile back. ! |
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| I made my companion "Nates dessert" and we ate the WHOLE thing by ourselves. |
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| FINALLY ATE @ this heavenly place & YES, Doovin, I got the Samich with cheese sauce and the cake shake it's soooooooo celestial. I TOTALLY RECOMMEND ppl going here! They have them in Arizona and Cali too, so wahoo! |
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| Seester Mühlestein, my new baby greenie comp is the cutest! I love her!!!!! She cracks me up. Seriously one of the most hilarious ppl I've ever met! |
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| me and Hermana Osborne #Soul hermana's❤️ |
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| Presidente Griffin & Sis. Griffin & my awesome new companion, Sister Mühlestein ❤️ |
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Elder Bennett & Elder Cluff and me and Sis Campbell. Seriously such stellar missionaries! I've learned so much from these awesome people!
SISTA'S WITNESS ANGELS EVERYWHERE
Last Tuesday we got to Naperville and Sister Campbell went on the transfer van. They shuttle missionaries all together to save miles. I went to the "trainers meeting" and President talked to us about training new missionaries. The new missionaries were in the chapel getting a little training as well. I was excited to train and yet a little nervous. But OH MY GOSH, when it was time to go into the chapel and point to my area on the mission map and talk about it, my heart was racing. I was so nervous. Getting a new companion--whether they're baby greenies or have been out forever--it always makes me nervous. 😂 I pointed to Morton/Washington Illinois area and told how the area really is the BEST place to serve. The other sister trainer did the same...then President told us who our companions would be.
My new comp is Seester Karli Mühlestein. The funniest thing... literally the VERY FIRST thing she said to me was, "I'm so glad you're normal." Lol. I'm glad she thinks I'm normal. I laughed and told her the same thing. She is seriously the BOMB.COM!!! We both have super cool first and last names, so that's fun! When people try to pronounce our names they REALLY struggle. 😂 She is so very strong and so gorgeous inside and out. She is truly a tender mercy from the Lord. I am BEYOND grateful to have her as my companion and to have the privilege of training her. We have so much in common. And she just gets me. She is awesome! She's a great missionary already!
It's been cool again to see that I was just where she is 7 months ago. And now I'm training.....weird and so crazy! I'm so beyond grateful that Heavenly Father sees the bigger picture...that he has us go through certain things because he loves us and because he knows it'll be for our good. I am sooooo excited to be training. We get to go to more new missionary trainings, and I love those! Missionary meetings are the best! I used to not be able to sit though grand family home evenings (😂 Gpa C ) or normal school classes without getting bored or loosing focus. Now I love them! Don't quote me on that, post mission haha.
I love the change that happens within people, especially missionaries and those we teach. Change (repentance) is a constant.
Even though missions are WAY hard at times, I am grateful God loves me enough to literally SHATTER me right when I got here. With his help I'm getting rebuilt and remolded to a NEW ME...to the person God needs me to be. I have learned and changed so much already on my mission that I WILL NEVER be able to be who I was before. I've learned too much. I've recognized and continue to see much of what I'm currently lacking and how I can improve.
I loved Elder Lawrence's talk Oct 2015 conference, "What Lack I Yet?" and another "Lord, is it I?" Those talks have helped me really have a desire to dig deeper into how I can constantly be changing into who God needs and wants me to become. There's ALWAYS room for improvement. I made a goal that I'm going through the Christlike Attributes again. I'm gonna pick one a week to work on. I'll keep you posted on the Things I learn. I love "Preach My Gospel". There's so much good stuff inside.
Did y'all know that EVERYONE is a missionary??? ITS TRUE. So "DONT SIT & STEW...GO AND DO!" There are people out there waiting for you to help them learn more about the Restored GOSPEL of Jesus Christ here upon the earth. OPEN YOUR MOUTHS!
Be real and authentic about how your weekend was and what you did when people ask you about it. Tell people about church and something you learned. You made a covenant, aka PROMISED God you'd share the GOSPEL with people. Let that sink in for a minute. When you invite someone to your home, they'll feel of the spirit there. They'll notice the different feeling and ask you what it is. Then you get to teach them about the Holy Ghost & they'll wanna have it in their home. And then they're gonna see a picture of you and your family at the beautiful temple. They're gonna ask you where and what it is. Then you'll get another opportunity to teach about the temple and eternal families. And then they're gonna wanna have a similar picture. The temple is a few hours away so for now you let them draw a picture of their family and then set up a time to road trip with them to go visit so again they can feel of the spirit. They're gonna want one of your Christus statues because they feel the marks in his hands and feet. They're gonna be so excited to have their family have these wonderful things that you have been so blessed with. They're gonna wanna learn more. That is when YOU have the opportunity and responsibility to this friendship to invite them to have the missionaries come teach them more in your wonderful, peaceful, spiritual, Christ centered and spirit filled home. They're gonna be strong members because they had you & your family to fellowship and give them a great friendship and you've brought them into the GOSPEL. Please make your homes places the spirit and love of the gospel can abide and INVITE your friends 😊
Never ever forget...y'all have been called by God to preach the gospel. Yes, it is scary at times, but God KNOWS you can do it. I KNOW you can too. I wanna invite each of you to go out and find someone to have a lesson in your home with the missionaries.
If that scares you then invite the friend or friends over and build up that friendship and then invite the missionaries. We are ALL in this TOGETHER. Smile and pray and remember God is with you. So is the Holy Ghost. And tons and tons of members and missionaries ALL OVER DE' whole world!
Jacob 4:7 "Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things."
is one of my new favorite scriptures a good friend shared with me recently. I love this because it goes along with Ether 12:27 --another one of my favorites because we all have weaknesses so we can learn and grow and KNOW where our power comes from. Because of these scriptures I KNOW I CAN surely overcome and RISE ABOVE (like Batman) my weaknesses through the Savior. I just love the Book of Mormon! Don't you?
There's a "Preach My GOSPEL" quote I read this week that I love.
"Faith in Christ leads to action. It leads to sincere and lasting repentance. Having faith causes us to TRY as HARD as we can to learn about and become more like our Savior". It's soooo important that we have faith in Jesus Christ. Without it we don't really have a desire to change and become better. Faith is a gift from God. And I'm super grateful for it.
D&C 84:88 "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."
I am so very grateful for the Angels here and on the other side who are my mission companions, because I know I couldn't do it alone.
It's been especially tender because my companion's grandfather (who was her best friend) went to Heaven a few days ago. We have had SEVERAL cool experiences knowing he's watching over us as well as my angels who went HOME. EXAMPLE: We have been REALLY STRUGGLING to find new investigators. We went to a home of a lady who said she was possibly interested. She wasn't home so we felt promoted to knock on the neighbors door. We had talked to the lady who lives there once while she was outside. The hubby answered and his wife wasn't home. We talked to him for a little bit (which turned into an hour) teaching about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and other key principles and ordinances of the GOSPEL. His name is Jared. We gave him a Book of Mormon and a couple pamphlets and have a return appointment for this Thursday. Grandpa Hill, Rod, GG Jane & Chelsea & all my other Angels as well as Sis. Mühlesteins are sure taking care of us. I am beyond grateful for all of these Angels and all that they've done to watch over me on my mission and help me. I am very grateful for my wonderful companion & her strong testimony of the restored GOSPEL of Jesus Christ and her strong desire to serve a mission. I KNOW God put us together for a reason, and we WILL be finding people who God has prepared. Angels are all around us. And I again am very grateful for them. My dear companion sure is an angel to me too. I count my many blessings one by one for sure. I know he loves me. I've witnessed it and felt it EVERYDAY. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who KNOWS and LOVES me.
I know we are each his beloved and precious children and he loves us all.
It's VERY important that we yield our will to God's will. It may be difficult but with the commandments we can do anything.
Commandments are to help us so we don't get lost spiritually.
Especially as missionaries we have extra rules and sometimes they seem ridiculous but I know that as I'm EXACTLY obedient & yield my will to God's, I will be so much more blessed and so will those I come in contact with. The same goes for each of us.
LIFE IS HARD. LIFE ISN'T FAIR. It isn't supposed to be fair. It's supposed to be an opportunity for us to learn. If life was fair we would NEVER learn. If life was fair we wouldn't need a Savior.
Perfect people don't need a Savior either. So I'm grateful to have the opportunity to have an unfair life to learn and grow from it even though it seriously SUCKS sometimes. There's a reason for it all. I know there is! LET IT GO, pray & give it to God and go to bed.
Cast your troubles on the Lord and he will lighten your load and make it easier for you. Luke 1:37 "for with God NOTNING is impossible."
Brother Sanchez made a way cool parallel with iron giant movie and the gospel: Iron giant comes here to earth (actually he just crashes here and forgets who he is). And we all forget who we are at times in our lives. Then the iron giant becomes his natural self (natural man takes over). As we forget who we are in this ever changing world it is easier for the natural man to take over, and we start doing things we probably never would've before. We lose our way. We lose sight of what really matters and what's important. Yet at the very end of the movie iron giant has a choice to make cause there's a huge missile coming towards the people. So he SACRIFICES HIMSELF to save those he loves. Especially the boy who became his best friend.
It's like the Savior. He was the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. HE was EXACTLY obedient & atoned and suffered for us all because he LOVES US.
I am so grateful for the Savior Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for me and all of y'all cause whenever life sucks I know I can ALWAYS turn to the Savior because HE knows me better. He Knows EXACTLY how I feel and what I'm going through. Because he's been there before. He knows how to help us. I know I could never repay the Savior (none of us can). BUT we can give him our VERY BEST. We can decide TODAY that we will "LEAVE IT ALL ON THE COURT" EVERYDAY OF OUR LIVES. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to be here on a mission and doing just that everyday. I cannot think of a better sacrifice that I could ever give to him or Heavenly Father than to serve a full time mission. Cause it's really a big sacrifice. You leave your family and friends and all things you know for 18 months. You're with companions you don't know or even really get along with or like. You deal with rejection and humidity and no bro time or sleep. It's really hard but soooooo worth all the blessings. I NEED these blessings & I wanna be married in the temple and have a future family and stay strong in the church. So I am gonna continue to be exactly obedient so I can reach these things I dream of. And I need to be exactly obedient so I can continue to help call these people I meet to come unto Christ and so their families can be blessed for eternity. You see how important sacrifice and exact obedience is? Well if not let's talk more...
In 3rd Nephi they were asked to give up first and BEST. They needed to humble themselves and their hearts & to have a contrite spirit. WHICH WAY DO YOU FACE? DO YOU LOVE THE LORD MORE THAN _________???? You fill in the blank. What do you love more than the Lord ? You CAN'T serve 2 masters. ( MATTHEW 6:24) Are you gonna let go of your "fish"? Or hang onto them?
WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT??? Satan or God?
Look for the differences between these sacrifices:
Luke 18:18-23
18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
He makes the effort to go to Christ & ask what he could do to become better but he WASN'T willing to submit his will to the Lords.
He wasn't willing to SACRIFICE.
Matthew 4:18-20
18 ¶And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
WHAT SACRIFICES are you GRATEFUL FOR ???
WHAT SACRIFICES HAVE YOU MADE for the lord?
WHAT DO YOU need to do differently to show the Lord you really love him?
The gospel isn't easy. Its not convenient. It's a BIG commitment. But soooo worth it. I would die for it. So if I pass on while being a missionary so be it 😊 I love you all!
What does it mean to have “a broken heart and a contrite spirit”?
President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) explained that it is the same as godly sorrow, which is “a deep realization that our actions have offended our Father and our God. It is the sharp and keen awareness that our behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no sin, even the greatest of all, to endure agony and suffering. Our sins caused Him to bleed at every pore. This very real mental and spiritual anguish is what the scriptures refer to as having ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit.’ (3 Ne. 9:20; Moro. 6:2; D&C 20:37; 59:8; Ps. 34:18; 51:17; Isa. 57:15.) Such a spirit is the absolute prerequisite for true repentance” (“A Mighty Change of Heart,” Ensign, Oct. 1989, 4).
Elder Bruce D. Porter of the Seventy explained further, defining the meaning of “a broken heart and a contrite spirit”:
“When our hearts are broken, we are completely open to the Spirit of God and recognize our dependence on Him for all that we have and all that we are. The sacrifice so entailed is a sacrifice of pride in all its forms. Like malleable clay in the hands of a skilled potter, the brokenhearted can be molded and shaped in the hands of the Master. …
“… Those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them, without resistance or resentment. We cease doing things our way and learn to do them God’s way instead. …
“There is yet another dimension of a broken heart--namely, our deep gratitude for Christ’s suffering on our behalf. … When we remember the Savior and His suffering, our hearts too will break in gratitude for the Anointed One.
“As we make the sacrifice to Him of all that we have and all that we are, the Lord will fill our hearts with peace. He will ‘bind up the brokenhearted’ (Isaiah 61:1) and grace our lives with the love of God” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2007, 32–33; or Ensign, Nov. 2007, 32). Anyway , don't forget to repent daily and look for what extra "fish" are laying around that you can let go and do as the Savior said and " COME FOLLOW ME".
It's kinda sad seeing people go home as they're done with their missions, because these are the missionaries I "grew up with" and whose great examples have helped me more than they'll ever know. But I know for everything "there is a time and a season." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) And they're off to continue to do great things that the Lord needs of them. I am so grateful for their great examples of what a great 'Preach My Gospel', exactly obedient missionary does.
I am grateful for all the people I've met so far and continue to meet here in Illinois while serving full time.
Tad R. Callister said: "The reason it is so important to open our mouths is that every time we do so we exercise faith, and every time we exercise faith we invite miracles." When we open our mouth miracles happen. I promise you cause I've seen it EVERYDAY! The Lord calls the weak to make them strong. I know I was weak and still am, but as I've opened my mouth-even when it's hard-I see miracles.
Missionary name tags represent not just one name but actually...
Church
Family name
Jesus Christ
It's cool to know I'm representing all 3! I desire to keep a great name for all of them! I love the gospel. I love the mission. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I love the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love all I've learned and continue to learn.
I am happier than I've ever been! And that's because of the GOSPEL =happiness & joy 🌞
LOVE SEESTER ÄLLOWITZ 1319 Butterfield Rd. #552 |
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