Everlasting Beginnings
April 7, 2014

This week was general conference! I thought a lot about what was said, because they talked a lot about love and family and obedience, and we saw a lot of examples of that this week. I was sad because we saw a lot of people who were just struggling, and I didn't know how to help them. They were struggling with feeling like they didn't  have self worth and  didn't even feel like children of God.  They didn't understand how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but something that they all had in common was that they loved their families. They loved their children. As hard as it is to get along with their family, that's something they held onto in these times of despair.

I thought a lot about how to help someone have a relationship with Jesus Christ. It was frustrating me because there is only so much I could do. There is only so much that I could say. Something stuck out to me from conference in Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk. He said that there is something inside each of us that RESISTS endings because endings are not our destiny. Anything that happens on this earth is simply an interruption or a pause here on earth, something that will be continued in the eternities. I testify to you that we are here on earth in families, not so they could be torn apart and broken, but because we are sparking an everlasting beginning. We are developing something that will last forever. There are only everlasting beginnings. I think it's really cool to think about that. Before we came here, we lived with God in a state of eternity. We didn't understand beginnings or endings. We had to come to earth to fully understand what that meant. It's like reading a book - you can read all you want about something like skydiving, but you will never truly understand what it's like until you feel it for yourself.  That's part of why we had to come to earth. We heard about earth, about beginnings and endings, but we didn't fully understand until we came here. Now living on earth, we don't understand fully what it means to live forever in eternity. That's the beauty of life after experiencing earth - we will be able to comprehend both perspectives. This life is important to realize that what we do here truly matters.  It matters if we are obedient. It matters if we love our neighbor. It matters if we go to church. It matters if we hold our families together. It matters if we try. But it also matters to our Heavenly Father if we're happy. It's not something that might affect us for eternity, it WILL affect us for eternity. The apostles did a good job of raising this voice of warning in their talks- but they also did a good job of reminding us that it is never too late to start trying now, because of the miracle of the Atonement. Like Gary E Stevenson said, it's never too late - so long as the Master says there's time.

There is time, but it is limited. The world is becoming a place where love, purity and faith are the most important attributes a child of God can behold. That is why the prophet asked us to love each other because love is lacking in this world. We are to prepare ourselves for Christ's coming and this is what we need. I don't need to worry about how to help someone have a relationship with Christ- all I can do to help them get there is love them as Christ would and show them the way through obedience to the gospel, and it will come.  I have seen this work through so many miracles this past week! We get to witness a family coming closer together and to their Heavenly Father through the ordinance of baptism this weekend. They are so happy and ready for the gospel and I am so thankful I get to be a part of their lives! I can't believe how much happiness missionary work has brought me and I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only place to find true joy in this life. I love every minute of being a missionary!

Preparing for the Lord to come again
March 31, 2014

This week I got sick and died but it's okay because the gospel is true and I read a lot while I was sick. Well, update on our family that's getting baptized! She was set on date to be baptized April 19th and the other day she was so excited she wanted to move it to the 5th!!!!!!!! We told her that we couldn't possibly teach her enough in that time so we settled on the 12th. I love being a missionary.

While I was sick I read a lot of things and found the coolest talk in the entire world. It's by Elder Holland and it's called "Preparing for the Second Coming" BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING!  Preparing for the Lord to come again. This missionary work stuff  isn't just for nothing. The Lord is truly coming again and He's coming soon and I'm so excited.  The talk was about how all of the great prophets and followers of Christ in the past have known about our day. They all lived in really hard circumstances and the gospel failed every time. Each time there was a prophet, it failed. Even when Jesus Christ came to earth, the Son of God, people still rejected it. But we live in a time when the Gospel has been restored and it's been prophesied that it WON'T FAIL.  Elder Holland was talking about those people in earlier times.  He said, "Great men and women in ages past were able to keep going, to keep testifying, to keep trying to do their best, not because they knew that they would succeed but because they knew that YOU would."  how powerful is that!  He said that God and all of the holy prophets are watching us because this is the greatest time that has been spoken of ever since the world began.  The hastening of the work is for the reason that our Savior is coming back to earth. It's time to strengthen our families and it's time to strengthen ourselves. We live in a day that is joyful and will end in victory. We are fighting a war where we already know who is going to win! Jesus Christ will prevail. Why wouldn't we want to fight that war?!  Elder Holland said that "we have a responsibility to prepare the Church of the Lamb of God to receive the Lamb of God- in PERSON, in triumphant glory, in His millennial role."

When you look at it like that, callings in the church become more important. Sharing the joy we have becomes more important. Serving others becomes important. Strengthening ourselves and preparing for eternal life becomes more important. Heaven is a continuation of the ideal home, and this life is the time to prepare for that.

The other day we were visiting a less active family. I was sitting there listening to them talk and I started feeling this overwhelming feeling that I needed to be bold with this family because they were important. I asked the dad what it would take for him to come back to church. He went into a spiel about how he thinks a lot of people at church are hypocrites. What came to my mind was this talk. I told him that he was needed at church. He was needed to come be a great leader in the church, to lead the youth and help them realize the blessings of the gospel. I told him that there was a shift going on in the church, and Heavenly Father is calling all of His children back to Him. Our calling as representatives of the Savior Jesus Christ is to build his kingdom here on earth in preparation for His coming. We are the ones designated to do this special work. I know what Elder Holland says is true and I'm so excited to see the prophet speak this weekend. WE HAVE A PROPHET TODAY! how exciting is it to think that he has the same power and authority as someone like Moses or another prophet in the past. We are so blessed to hear him speak to us so LISTEN! It will change your life. HAVE A GREAT WEEK

Our Advocate
March 17, 2014

Sorry I ran out of time to email last week! This week I have been really humbled and I have learned a lot about my Savior in ways that I don't know I could have learned any other way.

Something that I've learned being out here in Grand Junction is that there is a lot of hardship, depression and trials, but I also know without a doubt that the Savior is REAL and that He is perfect.  I've thought a lot lately about how He is our advocate, and I've thought about what that means exactly.  I don't think that I've truly understood until this week. There is this lady that we visit, who has recently been coming back to church. She grew up in the church, but left a long time ago. She has had a long hard life of abuse, hardship, and heavy drugs.  She has two kids, and she really really wants them to have a good foundation. When we go to teach her it's kind of hard sometimes because so much is going on with her kids and its really loud. But we had a really spiritual experience with her that I will NEVER forget. We were teaching her the plan of salvation, and she stopped us and said that she had a question. The room was quiet, I think for the first time ever. She asked about the spirit world. She felt like she had done things in her life that she could never be forgiven for  and of course our initial reaction was to tell her that Heavenly Father loves everyone and that she will be okay. But then something told me to slow down and think about it more. She started to tell us more about her life and that all she can think about is the time that her dad yelled at her and told her that she will be the only one left behind. That she won't ever make it to the celestial kingdom with her family, that it's too late for her. That she had done things that cannot be repaired. That she shouldn't even try because it won't matter.

I think that we all feel this way at some point or another, just in different degrees. That maybe nothing matters- why try because we feel so down or that we'll never be good enough or that we will never be as good as another person. We all feel different emotions- and that is OKAY. What happened next is what really made me realize how perfect the Savior's love is.

I looked straight into this woman's eyes and saw the hurt. I saw how sad she was and how she wanted her family to be together forever and all of a sudden a huge wave of love came over me. I started talking and I started to cry as I told her that as a missionary, I was a representative of Jesus Christ and I now understood why Jesus Christ was called our advocate. I told her that I imagined standing next to her in front of our Heavenly Father and telling Him all of the wonderful things that she did for her kids. To tell Him how hard she's trying to read her scriptures. To tell Him how I would do anything for her to be able to feel happiness again and to be forgiven. I wanted to plead for her. I wanted her to be forgiven.  I KNEW in that moment that the Savior loved her.

It hit me why it was so important to have a relationship with our Savior. Not only can He bring us happiness, but He will be our advocate one day when we have the chance to meet our Maker. No, we are not perfect, but that is why we have a Savior. So that we can be perfect one day. Through Him we can live with our families with eternal happiness. All He wants us to know right now is that it's okay because He is here. He truly knows who you are, and He is waiting for you to find Him in your life. Ultimate peace comes from learning our relationship with our Savior. It's not a scary thing to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's an amazing thing that will change your life. I absolutely love my Savior and I'm thankful for all that He's done for me so that I can be happy. I don't even deserve it! 

The Biggest Week of Miracles

March 3, 1014

I always start my emails really excited so I tried not to start with the same opening line but I can't help it because THIS WAS THE BIGGEST WEEK OF MIRACLES. We found 9 new people to teach and doubled our number of lessons! AND EVERY SINGLE ONE WAS A MIRACLE. I literally don't understand why we were so blessed this week. but I feel like I am on top of the world right now and I want to be a missionary for the rest of my life. I truly feel like my faith is shooting through the roof and I've never been so happy. Brad, the guy that got baptized last transfer JUST GOT THE PRIESTHOOD ON SUNDAY! Everything is great.

So I guess the story I want to tell this week is another continuation from last week, about the family with the husband that grew up in the church and the wife did not- who we taught the restoration to. I guess it would be easier to use their names. They are the Short family. It was probably the MOST powerful lesson I have ever been in in my life. We taught the beginning of the plan of salvation. My favorite question to ask people is, what do YOU think it was like to live with our Father in Heaven before? If you just take a minute and think about that, it's really amazing.  I think the peaceful feelings that we feel when we think about it is God reminding us about what it was like and that we can return to that one day. So the wife, I'll call her Sister Short, hasn't really ever prayed in her life. At the end of the lesson, we taught her how to pray. We told her that Heavenly Father wants to hear from us so badly. We compared it to her kids by asking her how she would feel if her son was having a problem and she knew it, and she knew he was struggling, but he wouldn't talk to her about it. She said she would feel sad and she'd want to help him, but she also said that she knew she couldn't if he didn't come to her and ask for help. She also knew that if he did come to her, she would be willing to do anything for him. She just needed him to ask. It's the same exact thing with our Heavenly Father. God put us down here on earth in families so that we can learn the relationship that we can have with him. He gave us relationships so that we could understand how they work. We taught Sister Short how to pray, then asked her to say the closing prayer. She was like WHAT!? then sat there and thought about it. She looked up and said, I'm going to have to do it aren't I? her husband immediately said yes. I thought it was really cool that he wanted to hear her pray. Her son came over to her and she wrapped her arms around him as she began to say the first prayer she had ever said out loud. She started off her prayer just thanking Heavenly Father for us, and for her family, and for simple things. then she paused.  The Spirit had never hit me harder in my life. She started to cry. I knew that every single person in that room felt it. I felt a warmth and a strength come over my heart. It felt like God had put a blanket over the whole room. It was something so unimaginable, something so real, something that was truly feeling the love of God. She was in tears as she thanked God for her family, for all that they had,  for the wonderful love that her husband has shown her, for them getting out of debt, and for her children. She felt the Spirit so strongly and God had answered her prayers in abundance. I now understand the scriptures that say that He POURS His Spirit among His children. It was something that I wanted to feel forever. After she prayed, I opened my eyes and every single person had tears streaming down their faces. Even her husband. Her husband who has felt guilty about things that he has done, who didn't feel like the Lord would love him. He knew too, that God loved him and his family. There was no denying it.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the truth. This gospel brings families the GREATEST JOY in the ENTIRE WORLD, if you will let it. Like the Book of Mormon says, Heavenly Father is pouring His Spirit out among His children because He wants us all back. He wants them to feel of the great joy that we just barely get to taste in this life. He gave us the Book of Mormon because it holds truth. It is the truth, and it is light. It gives us light when it seems like everything else is dark in our lives. It gives us light because it IS another testament of our Savior Jesus Christ. I just want you to all know that Jesus Christ is your Savior. He died so that we could go back to return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father. I know you may hear that a lot, but take a minute and think about it. Without Him, we would not be able to return to live with God. We all need Him in our lives. No unclean thing can return to live with God, so He prepared a way for us to come back. that's why He's given us the Savior and Redeemer of the world. That's why he's given us the simple path of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. You can feel the joy that I feel every day in missionary work by following this path. By doing those things that Jesus Christ came to show us how to do. Baptism is the way to eternal life. So this week, just think about how much that would mean to you to get there. How much it would mean to you to know that there was a path to peace in this life and in the life to come. and then think about what step Christ would want YOU to take next in your life.

What I heard this week I really liked- the Restoration of Christ's gospel is WHAT we believe. The Plan of Salvation is WHY we believe it, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost) is HOW to get there. how to get back to our Father in Heaven in the Celestial kingdom to live with our families.

One last story that I want to tell this week, that our ward mission leader told us. He said he was in line with his brother who, when he was 9, waited to shake President Monson's (the prophet) hand. At that time, Pres. Monson was an apostle of the church, he wasn't called to be a prophet yet. His 9 year old brother got up to the front and handed President Monson a Book of Mormon and asked him to autograph it. President Monson said, I can't autograph it, it's not my work! but he wrote him a little note in the front cover. He said that his brother refused to open it until they got home, he didn't want to ruin the surprise of what President Monson had chosen to write in the front cover of the Book of Mormon.

This is what it said,

"Your testimony is the autograph of the Savior." -Elder Monson

THE LORD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT!

February 24, 2014

I really want to say something awesome this week but I don't know what! Sister Winkelman was sick for 4 days so we stayed in and I almost died of boredom. I never realized how awesome it is to be able to go out and work all day and be healthy. I also realized that normal life is boring and I'm never coming back because watching videos and reading and sitting is boring. Sounds a lot like school.

This week we found a new family to teach! It's so cool to see how many families are so great and they just need that last piece of the gospel in their lives that will bind them together for eternity. It makes me sad because the mom said that she had grown up in the gospel and she had lost her faith and doesn't understand how people can have it. She had lost a baby and it broke her heart. She told us that just because she didn't have faith, didn't mean her children shouldn't learn about it, so she said we could come back and teach them. The whole time she was talking I had the impression that I needed to have a family prayer with them. We were about to leave and the words basically lept out of my mouth.. CAN WE SAY A PRAYER BEFORE WE LEAVE? She said yes. We all knelt down- the parents and the 4 kids. Just the feeling of kneeling down with a family made me want to cry. It was the best feeling of ... unity? I don't know how to describe it. If you are reading this please please please say a kneeling prayer with your families tonight and pray for your family to feel of God's love and to be protected from the harm of the world that destroys families. He will show you because HE LOVES FAMILIES. The feeling of kneeling down all together HEALS.

I talked about a family last week where the dad grew up Mormon and the wife did not. The husband's story is what I want to focus on this week. We went to teach the restoration. I asked him what he thought of the church now in his life, and he said that he thinks about the church daily. He said that he knows it's true because of prayer, but he just feels extremely guilty for some things that he does now in his life. This made me so sad, because so many times people are scared to go to church because they feel they aren't worthy or they think others have bigger or better testimonies so they don't share theirs or let theirs show. Or they just let time pass them by without living the gospel because its too hard. I'm telling you, NOW is the time to live it. THE LORD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT. 

The time is coming when the world is crazy. Purity is not common, and sadness is everywhere, but the gospel is where the true happiness lies. I might have shared this quote before, but I will share it again because it is so important. "you may well want to give a gift to the Savior, but He seems to have everything, doesn't He? Well, not quite. He doesn't have all of us with Him again forever- not yet. I hope we are touched enough by the feelings of His heart to sense how much He wants to know each of us is coming home to Him. We can't give that gift to Him in one day, or in one Christmas. But we could show Him today, that we are on the way" -Henry B Eyring.  The Lord just wants to know we are coming back. The LORD is HASTENING His work. He is trying so hard to gather all of his children, to repair families, to heal hearts. and we need to let Him at this time because Jesus Christ is coming again. The world is crazy but He has prepared a way for us to feel true joy. Why wouldnt we take it? 

I wanted to include this in my email because family is so important at this time. Personal relationships with family conquer all things ungodly. Take the time to realize it, because Satan tries to break families apart. DO NOT LET HIM. I will take any step it takes to make sure that my family stays together forever. I love this gospel and I KNOW it is the answer to the evil in the world. Jesus Christ can make sure that all is okay. Everything is made right through the Atonement, and it is already done for us. Take a moment and think about it- the path is ALREADY prepared for us. The kingdoms in the heavens are already there. We just have to show Him that we are on the way. Don't be afraid to grow.

Heavenly Father's Arms

February 17, 2014

This week we had a lot of special moments that were so inspired and I will remember them forever. It reminded me that everyone, no matter what stage of life they are in, can use a prayer and deserves to feel the sweet feeling of the Holy Ghost.

The first one was when we were tracting the other day. An appointment had fallen through, so we were knocking on some doors around the neighborhood. We saw a house with the biggest, fattest rabbit I have ever seen in my life, and we thought- there is NO way that is someone's pet. So we knocked on the door to ask the lady about it and it wasn't her pet and she was really concerned that there was a rabbit on her lawn haha. But that's besides the point. We told her that we were offering prayers with people and asked her if we could do that. She burst into tears. She told us all about how she used to be Mormon and used to go to church, but she had fallen away a long time ago. She told us how her husband just died and how it happened right before her eyes. She was so devastated and so hysterical she could barely speak. I sat there and thought, what would Jesus Christ tell her at this point? so we sat there and listened to her and told her that her Heavenly Father was watching over her and that we were an answer to her prayers and that we loved her too. She said "please come back". Those who have fallen away are always welcomed back into Heavenly Father's arms.

The second was also while we were tracting. Almost the same exact story - a lady burst into tears because her mom had just passed away. Sister Winkelman said the most sincere prayer and the lady said.. I feel like you were sent to my house. We told her that we were so inspired to go to that street and that we had a message that would change her life. We also told her that our message answered questions about where we came from and where we're going, and why we're here on earth. We told her that her Heavenly Father is watching over her. Those who are hurting are always welcomed back into Heavenly Father's arms.

The third was a referral that we had received from someone in our ward. We went to go offer a prayer with them and the man invited us in. We asked what we could pray for. His dad had just passed away and he was devastated. He expressed to us that he had no idea where we went after this life. After we said the prayer he was in tears. He said it was some of the most beautiful things he had ever heard. We shared a scripture about how the Spirits of all men are taken home to that God that gave them life. He said it was amazing and he wanted to hear more. Those who are searching are always led back to Heavenly Father's arms.

We also found a new family to teach! The mom is not a member of the church and is the funniest person I have ever met. It was so fun to talk to her. Her husband grew up Mormon but stopped going to church a while back. We had talked to his mom before we went in and asked if there was anything that she wanted us to tell her son. She told us that he didn't feel worthy to go to church because of some of the choices he was making. She started crying and told us to tell Him that the Lord still loves him.  Those who have families are always placed in Heavenly Father's arms.

Everyone has some form of family. I know that the gospel heals, even broken relationships or broken hearts. In times that it seems like you cannot go on, or cannot be placed back together, Heavenly Father is guiding someone to you. I love you all! 

God Answers Prayers

February 10, 2014

This week I learned that GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS. This week has literally been full of miracles. Every day something amazing happens and I KNOW that it's because of all of your prayers. I appreciate every single one of them. 

This week we taught this lady who hasn't been to church in forever and her 11 year old daughter agreed to be baptized! It's so awesome teaching her because she basically taught US the plan of salvation. She's literally the smartest 11 year old I've ever met. She knows more about the gospel than a lot of adults that I know...just kidding but we were so excited! She's has a baptism date for before the end of the transfer. We are so blessed.

This is the reason that I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers. We were supposed to meet with a less active family but they said they couldn't because their dog was missing and their friend was sick. Very good excuses haha, but later that day we were going over near their house to see someone else that said we could come back a few days earlier. Before we left we said a prayer (Sister Winkelman laughed during it) asking to find their dog so we could teach their family. We left and went to the house except my psychotic GPS (turns out its an inspired GPS) took us the wrong way. We went in some roundabout way that was way longer but... WE SAW THE DOG. It was on the side of the road and we started freaking out so we pulled over and tried to lure it to us with shortbread cookies, but it turns out dogs don't like girl scout cookies. So we tried to go near it but it kept running away so we just led it towards the house of the family. We called them and said your dog is outside your door! They opened the door and it was a joyous reunion and we're meeting with them tonight.

Even though this seemed simple, it really showed me that God is listening to every prayer. Sometimes I think we forget that. He really does hear every single prayer and answers it in some way. The 11 year old that we're teaching,  that i mentioned before,  always says this in her prayers, "thank you for all our many blessings, especially the ones that go unnoticed." That is so powerful to me! and so true. We really have so many blessings that we don't notice. Our prayers are answered every day and I really appreciate all of the prayers that you've said for me. I really do feel the power of them and I know that because of all of your support, we are being led to those who are ready to have their own prayers answered. I love this gospel and I love every day that I get to live it!

There are so many people prepared to hear this gospel. We got a phone call last night from our zone leaders giving us a referral to go see someone in our ward where the husband doesn't go to church and his wife is not a member of our church. They just had a new baby and so we went to go see if we could do anything for them.  At the end of our visit, the wife wanted to hear more about the gospel so we're going back to teach her! They want their baby to grow up with a strong foundation and she's really interested in what we have to say. BLESSSSINGS

I am so happy here and I love my companion and I ONLY HAVE A YEAR LEFT. HELP