New companion--new area

Scripture I really like:  2Nephi 1:15 "But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love." It is inspired from the song "Savior, redeemer of my soul" but I just love the wording of it.  I can just picture it so clear, the love that my savior has for me. I realized this week how grateful I am for my testimony.  That also reminds me of what my companion and I have been studying lately.  We have decided to study one christlike attribute per week out of chapter 6 preach my gospel (PMG) and study it every single day and pray to better inherit it.  If you have a preach my gospel (which I hope you do), you should try it.  It's nice to just focus on one attribute and really try to make it become part of my character.  This week we chose virtue, and I'll just share a passage right out of PMG .  Concerning virtue, it explained: 

"Your mind is like a stage in a theater; in the theater of your mind, however, only one actor can be on stage at a time. If the stage is left bare, thoughts of darkness and sin often enter the stage to tempt. But these thoughts have no power if the stage of your mind is occupied by wholesome thoughts, such as a memorized hymn or verse of scripture that you can call upon in a moment of temptation. By controlling the stage of your mind, you can successfully resist persistent urges to yield to temptation and indulge in sin. You can become pure and virtuous."

It made me realize how important it is that I continually have a scripture or hymn in my mind so that my mind is never left bare.You asked for an update about the area /companion.  I don't really know what your looking for but her name is Sister Danalyn Hatch and she actually goes by Dani.  Cool huh?  She's from Ogden, UT and been out for nine months.  She's a hairstylist, she's really sweet and been a really strong and faithful member her entire life.  She's knows the gospel SO well and has taught me a lot.  I really am so lucky to have her.  

I don't know if I ever told you that I was called to be a sister training leader meaning that Sister Hatch and I work with the sisters in our zone, going on exchanges, giving trainings at meetings, and just making sure that the sisters are doing well.  We have a fairly small zone which is nice because we get to work pretty closely with them and really focus on their needs.  There is 8 sisters in our zone and it's such a blast! I've learned so much from these sisters. 

As far as the area goes, I live in Ooltewah. The area itself is Seventh day adventist-ville because of the university here which is something I've never delt with before on my mission.  I'm used to the good old baptists so this is kind of new to me!  They're so strong in their faith, it's incredible. It feels like a whole different mission working with them because they're just so, different.  We have a big ward-- the biggest I've served in thus far.  We have about 180-200 active members and a lot of young families!  It's been so much fun and we're really spoiled here.  We have an amazing bishop who is 110% missionary minded which makes the members really excited and involved as well.  We don't go a day without getting fed and we have members come out with us daily.  

We've been teaching this guy named Ty, who is very knowledgeable and strong in his Methodist church.  This week was our third time meeting with him and we've really been involving President Brodniak (who is a member of our ward and also works with President Irion) to help us teach.  Sister Hatch and I were really unsure what to teach him because he got caught up on the littlest things such as the nature of God, and how we can't know of truth by the spirit or a feeling, but of the evidences and sadly, we weren't all that excited for our appointments with him just because we really didn't know how to help him. Much of our lesson turned into him and President Brodniak flipping through the bible going on a scripture chase and I noticed how inadequate I was feeling as I realized that I couldn't even comprehend most of what they were saying.  Throughout the entire lesson, doubts began to enter my mind about how my knowledge was so limited and how badly I felt like I should know more as a missionary and at the end of the lesson, I found myself bearing my testimony about how I know that the things we teach are true not because of how much I know, but because the Spirit has testified to me that they are and if my testimony was based on the knowledge I had of the gospel and the evidences it contained, that I obviously wouldn't on a mission right now.  I'm not even really sure if what I said effected him whasoever but I recognized that the spirit really taught me something that night.  I realized that I may not know the scriptures as well as I'd like and my knowledge of the gospel may be limited but I do know that this is the restored gospel without a doubt and that is enough.  I can still have confidence and say just as President Brodniak can that these things are true even with the little knowledge that I do have because I have received a spiritual witness that it is.

I've had many more learning experiences this week, and I'm so grateful that I get to work with so many incredible people. I hope that you too can sit back and realize how much the Lord blesses us, even with the simplest things, such as a testimony.

Love you!

week of miracles

 I got to go to my first mission leadership council and elder hymas from the 70 joined us and it was SO awesome!  I forget how lucky I am to have so many opportunities to council with and be taught by some of the greatest leaders in the world.  Anyways, here is the rest. It has surely been a week of miracles, so I'll just jump right in and tell you all about it. 

 

The newest member of the Harrison Bay ward, Hannah Abercrombie was baptized this Saturday!  Leading up to her baptism, everything that she couldn't possibly been attacked with struck in one single week.  Tuesday, she came home to find her brothers 1.5 year old baby who has major brain injury and isn't the highest functioning sitting on her front porch.  Wednesday, her house caught on fire and Thursday, she got in a fight with her family about the church and came to her baptismal interview dripping blood, from being pushed down the outside stairs of her mothers home and getting cut up from a barbwire fence.  Sister Hatch and I being a little overwhelmed, felt like we should ask her if she wanted to push her baptism back a little bit until things calmed down and she explained that it was entirely obvious how powerful Satan really is and how nothing he could do stop her from being baptized.  Hannah truly was our two week miracle.  I had always heard about missionaries finding, teaching and baptizing in 2 weeks but I never thought I would expirience it myself.  It was evident that the Lord had been preparing her but not only that, preparing the ward to recieve her in as a new family member to this ward because they honestly couldn't have been more welcoming as members and it couldn't have happened without them.  I am still amazed at the strength and courage that Hannah has, and also how quick the ward was to jump to her aid when she needed help. 

 

The actual day of the baptism another miracle followed.  Hannahs baptism was set to be at four, and loosing track of time and not thinking too much about it, we turned on the font around 2:55.  Hannah arrived at about 30 minutes later and we decied to go check the font to see the water had not even reached the top of the very first step, hitting just above my ankle.  We starting stressing a bit and decided we'd sit kneel down, right there on the bathroom floor and pray for a miracle.  Sister Hatch offered such a sincere prayer, pleading that the water would be high enough for Hannah to be baptized. We decided we'd move the program into the chapel allowing more time for the water to fill until the actual ceremony when bishop walks in, 2 minutes before four and asked us why we were having it in the Chapel when we explained to him that the water needed to fill.  He looked at us and said, "Sisters! I don't know how full you are expecting it to be, but it's fine!"  We ran in the relief society room, and sure enough, the font had been entirely filled.  There was no way on earth that in those short 27 minutes, the font had filled at the rate it was going without the Lords hand being in it all.  I KNOW that the Lord answered our prayers that day.  I know that it was by no chance or coincidence that there had been enough water for Hannah to be baptized.

 

I guess that about sums up the majority of our week.  I truly have seen the Lords hand in every aspect of our work this week.  To top it off, I was able to stay in my area this week for exchanges as a sweet sister joined me and when I woke up that morning, I realized how sick I was. I just prayed that we would be able to make it to all our planned appointments that day and I would have the strength to work.  Although the Lord didn't completely take away my sickness (and quite frankly, I didn't expect him too), he allowed me to be able to teach and go to every single appointment.  Somehow, everytime I walked into a home, it seemed as if it was all taken away for the time being, not even thinking about it again until we would walk out of a home and I was quickly reminded that I was sick as I threw up again.  It was incredible to me that the Lord allowed me to be well enough to teach and just forget about it long enough that his work may still be accomplished.  I love this work with all my heart and I know my feelings about it will never change.

Love you!

 

Love,

Sister Thiriot