Episode 52: The One with the Cowboy

Hello everyone! It has been a week of miracles, as pretty much every week is here.

On Monday night we went to go check up on a girl who had been interested in getting baptized, but then kind of disappeared (it happens more often than you might think because some neighborhoods in this area are pretty transient). We were not able to find her, but we ran into a lady named Paige outside of the laundry room of the apartment complex, and we asked if she would like to learn more about Jesus Christ and His gospel, and she said yes, so we taught her the whole first lesson right then and there. Since then we have taught her 2 other times, and she came to church yesterday, which is the biggest thing that people are flaky about. She is praying about whether she should get baptized, and I am so excited for her!

On Tuesday we were knocking some houses that I had knocked once before, and no one had been interested last time, so I was not very confident that we would find anyone willing to listen, but I decided to just try it and see, and I am so glad we did. We met a 75 year old man named Delbert, but we call him Cowboy. He was a professional bull rider, and he also did saddle broncs until his leg got messed up. He still wears the belt buckles he won, and he has a lariat rope on the front of his walker, and he lassos stuff in his front yard. We talked to him about coming to church and about getting baptized, and he is so excited to come closer to Christ. 

Also, General Conference officially started with the women's session on Saturday. It was amazing! If you missed it, I am sorry, but it will be posted on LDS.org in a couple weeks. You can also watch the rest of conference on Saturday and Sunday, which I would highly recommend. It is a huge blessing that we have a living prophet and apostles, and that they speak to us so often and so specifically.

Also, it was really hot one day, but I didn't have a hair tie, so I braided my hair with a bread bag clip:

I think I deserve some points for creativity.

Well, that's all for this week. I love you all!

Love, 

Sister Lemon

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Episode 51: The One

Hello everyone! It has been another great week of ups and downs. Being a missionary is certainly never boring!

So, on Tuesday we were knocking doors from 5 to 7 like we do every day. It all seemed pretty normal, until we found out that we had somehow wandered out of our area (oops!). As we were headed back to our car to figure out out how to get back into our area, we heard a big popping or smacking sound followed by screeching tires. We just looked at each other and started running toward the sound. It turns out there had been an accident at the end of the street, and there were witnesses, but no one had a phone to call 911, so we did that promptly. It was really lucky that we were there to make the call, because it was a pretty bad accident, and one older man had some lacerations on his arm that needed attention. We also had to open up one of the cars because the door was dented in and smoke was coming out. Luckily no one was seriously hurt, and I'm really glad that we were there, even if it wasn't in our area.

One of my favorite parts of missionary work is all the people we get to meet. Even when people don;t accept the gospel or don't do the things they say they will (like come to church or meet with us again later in the week), I really feel like it is a blessing just to meet so may amazing people and talk with them for a few minutes. I have learned so much from people I barely know, and it has really changed my life. Sister Powell and I are are particularly working on leaving everyone better than we found them, even if they aren't interested in or receptive to our message. It has been really cool to see the impact we can have in their lives, and I am grateful for that opportunity.

I have also been studying humility a lot this week. I love the idea that humility doesn't mean thinking less of yourself; it means thinking of yourself less. I am finding that the more I get outside of myself, the happier I am. If I truly focus on the needs of others and on how I can help them, I find I worry and stress a lot less. It's amazing how the gospel can bless us in literally EVERY aspect of our lives.  

Well, that is all for this week! I love you all. Have a great day!

Love,

Sister Lemon

Episode 50: The One where We Got Kicked Out... A Lot!

Hello everyone! 

So, this week has felt like a month because so much has changed with our investigators. We found a lot of people, and then dropped them within a day or two, which feels kind of crazy, but apparently this are tends to be that way. There are lots of people that have a desire to learn and progress in their lives, but they lack the commitment to make it happen. But don;t worry, we found some diamonds in the rough!

One "diamond" in particular is Wendell. I think I have never been so comfortable being myself with an investigator. When we teach Wendell, it is just so real. And the best part is, he actually keeps commitments and shows up for appointments. Wendell has a lot of faith, but he also has a lot of questions, so we are really working on helping him find his own answers from God, rather than just taking someone's word for it. He also is kind of against organized religion because of some bad experiences he had in the past, but he said our church seems different so far. I have high hopes for Wendell.

As for the title of this email, here's the story. When we knock doors in apartment complexes, people sometimes get kind of grumpy, and they call their apartment manager, and the manager kicks us out. Religious proselyting is not considered soliciting or trespassing in Washington, but we don't want to make a scene either, so we just leave. Well, on Friday, Sister Powell and I got kicked out of 3 apartment complexes and a mall parking lot, which is a new record for me. At first I was really frustrated about it, but upon reflection, I started seeing God's hand in it. If we hadn't gotten kicked out of the first 2 complexes, we wouldn't have gone to the third, which is where we found Wendell and another really great investigator named Armando. Also, it's pretty amazing that we were able to meet Wendell and Armando before we got kicked out.

Actually, that has been a really big theme for me this week. God's plan for each of us is so perfect, so detailed, and so personal. No matter what your circumstances, God's plan for you got you where you are and it's going to get you right back out, and it's all for a reason. Isn't that amazing!

Well, that's all for this week. Have a great day, and I'll talk to you again soon!

Love,

Sister Lemon

Episode 49: The One where the Rain Came Back

Hello everyone! 

This week has gone by super fast, and I almost can't even remember what happened. But that's a good thing, because one of the best things a missionary can be is busy. If you're busy, you're working hard, and that means that more people have the chance to let this message change their lives. 

It started raining again, which means that people started hiding in their houses more again, but that's not going to slow us down! 

We found an amazing lady this week named Aiisha. She is from Guam, and she has 6 kids, and she has more faith than almost anyone I have met. She basically taught herself the lesson, and we just guided the conversation. We have also talked to her husband a lot over the past week. At first, he was not very interested, but his heart is getting softer, and I have high hopes for their family.

I have been studying about joy a lot recently, and the more I study, the more I realize that the gospel is what will bring us the most joy in our lives. The whole purpose of God's plan for each one of us is to allow us to have more joy. That's really why we try to share the gospel with everyone: because we want everyone to have the joy that God intends them to have. That's why I love my "job"!

Have a great Labor Day!

Love,

Sister Lemon

Episode 48: The One with the Mission Tour

Surprise!

Hello everyone! Many of you may be wondering why I am emailing on a Wednesday in stead of a Monday (or maybe you didn't even notice). Well, it is because we had a mission tour on Monday, which was amazing! It also meant I get to have P-Day today, on my birthday, which made me feel extra special. It's like "Happy birthday, here's a P-Day!"

So, what is a mission tour? It is when a general authority (a worldwide leader in the church) comes and gives training and you learn lots so that you can get better. It was amazing! I learned so much that I don't even know where to start, but it was definitely life changing. President said we will probably be quoting our Elder Uceda and Elder Clayton for the rest of our lives, and I definitely agree with that.

Also, As you may remember, I have a new companion now!

This is me, Sister Powell (my new companion), Sister Bolos (my friend and Sister Powell's trainer), and Sister Scousen.

Sister Powell is from San Antonio, TX. She is great! we are working really hard and getting a lot done. A lot of the people we have met are really flaky, but we just keep finding more awesome people, and trusting that if we work hard and have faith, we will see results. 

Other than that, I just want to remind you all that God loves you. He knows you personally because He is your literal Father in Heaven, and because of that, he loves you with a perfect, amazing love. If you want to know more about that, I highly suggest reading this talk:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/tomorrow-the-lord-will-do-wonders-among-you?lang=eng

I love you all, and have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lemon

Episode 46: The One With a Photo Gallery

Hello everybody! You get a lot of pictures this week!

Sister Gobrait and I wore matching outfits, and I think all the people we talked to thought it was a uniform or something. I also tried to be an islander.

It was over 90 degrees and a nice man gave us tiny sodas. Sister Gobrait had never seen a tiny soda before. She thought it was the cutest thing ever.

Some kid abandoned their bubbles, and Sister Gobrait and I had a fun time with them while we were knocking.

Sister Ireland and me at the Blatter's house last P-Day.

Baptism! His name is Malachi, and he's a Samoan kid that we have been teaching for a few weeks. His hair is probably longer than mine.

Also, yesterday all 6 of the missionaries that serve in this ward gave 5 minute talks on trusting in the Lord. I talked about how we have to step outside of our comfort zone to really be trusting in the Lord, because if we are comfortable, we are only trusting in ourselves and our own abilities. I realized that that sums up pretty much my whole mission, but to be honest, the times that I am the least comfortable are the times when I am the happiest and the most successful. 

Have a great week everyone! I love you all!

Love,

Sister Lemon

Episode 45: The One Where We Invited Everyone to Be Baptized

Hello everyone! This week has been great. Lots of hard work, and lots of joy!

This week our mission had a goal to invite a very large number of people to be baptized. Sister Gobrait and I decided to take this goal very seriously, and we basically invited everyone we met this week to prepare themselves for baptism. It led to a lot of great conversations, and what is even more amazing is that someone committed! His name is Jay, and he is now scheduled to be baptized at the end of the month. 

Other than that, nothing too eventful has happened this week. Just a lot of happy days.

I wanted to share with you all a scripture that has really stood out to me this week. It is Ether 12:4, and it says: 

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

I have had so may thoughts about that scripture this week that I don;t really know what to say about it. but I love the idea that hope is the anchor of our souls, and that it keeps us going in a positive direction.

Well, that's all for this week. I love you all!

Love,

Sister Lemon