December 30, 2013

What a miracle week this has been! Kim Tran was baptized on Saturday, and what a sight it was to watch her be cleansed of her sins and be sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I will try and attach some pictures to show. Here is her story -

Kim was found by Sister Thompson and Sister Manaso at a bus stop one day. She took a card, and the Spirit touched her heart and made her curious as to what they were doing. She immediately began meeting with them. After the first week, she had a baptismal date. Then, as Satan began to tempt her, she dropped her date and stopped meeting with the missionaries. The week before I got here, she came to church, and the Spirit touched her so strongly in church that her desire to be baptized was back. So her date was set for December 28th. There was still much work to be done, however. When I got here, we began teaching her the rest of the commandments, and she was SO prepared. She could not wait to get into the waters of baptism. Prompted by the Spirit, Sister Manaso and I wanted to get the Massimiliano family involved. They have been less active for about 7 years, and missionaries in the past 4 years have never been able to get into their home. After a quick visit and dinner, they were involved deeply with Kim. They basically adopted her as one of their own. They have a son about Kim's age, and they became great friends immediately. Her parents are not here, so Brother and Sister Massimiliano became her adopted parents here in BC. We were very excited to watch the friendship grow, bringing them ALL closer to Christ. As we taught Kim, the Massimiliano family was also getting taught, rekindling that testimony they have, but couldn't find over the past few years. To make a long story short, Kim got her baptismal interview by our zone leaders last Monday, and the Massimiliano family was there giving her a ride to the church. So, as Kim was getting interviewed, we all spoke and became very close. That night, the Spirit was literally screaming to me to call Bishop and ask him what Brother Massimiliano could do to be a part of the baptism. Even if it was just a prayer. Sister Massimiliano was going to sing, so that was already taken care of. Well, after calling Bishop, he said let me make a phone call and get back to you. About 15 minutes later, Bishop called. He said "Sisters, I have prayed about it, and I feel okay giving Brother Massimiliano permission to baptize Kim on Saturday" My heart stopped as so many thoughts ran through my mind. This was a miracle in and of itself. He said he had already talked to him, and that Brother Massimiliano got VERY emotional on the other line, and graciously accepted the invitation. So, a man who had not been to church in years, was now going to perform his first baptism in 19 years (since he baptized his two sons). The baptism came, and everything went smoothly. When Kim got finished changing afterward, she looked at Sister Manaso and I and said, "I cannot stop shaking. I feel clean. I want to be better." The next day after the confirmation, she said, "I can feel the Holy Ghost. I want to know more about Jesus Christ. I want to change!" I went up to Brother Massimiliano after the baptism, and with tears in his eyes, he simply said, "Thank you".

Brothers and Sisters - THAT is the cleansing power of the Atonement. That is what the Savior came here to the world for each of us to feel. As read in Alma 36, the Savior can literally make our joy as exquisite as our pains. Kim and Brother Massimiliano have both had a great deal of pain in their souls the past few years. But through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, each of those were able to be relieved. Brother Massimiliano and his family will be taking the new member lessons with Kim, so that each of them can be re-taught and brought back home to their Father in Heaven one day. What a blessed experience this was. I am eternally grateful to my father in Heaven for allowing me to be a small part of this experience. Kim and Nick (the son) are dating, and Nick has now come back to the church for the first time in MANY years. Kim is preparing to go do baptisms for the dead in the Temple in a couple weeks, and Nick is working on becoming worthy to enter into the Temple next year. Brothers and Sisters - how grateful I am for the Atonement. Without that sacred act from the Savior, I would not be who I am. We could not change or progress in this life. I cannot wait to one day meet my Savior and personally thank Him face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend, and Praise His name for eternity.

This week's challenge is to simply reach out to those who do not yet know the Savior. Whether they be less-active, inactive, non-members, or even active members who could use a bit of a boost. I will forever emphasize the importance of missionary work, because our entrance into the Celestial Kingdom is partially dependent on it. However, I just plead with my Heavenly Father that each of you reading this will feel of that same urgency to share the Gospel. This is the way, and there is NO other way, whereby man can be saved! Only through Jesus Christ! PLEASE - invite EVERYBODY to come back home to our Father in Heaven. For one day we will be held accountable for those we might have helped, but didn't.

I love you all so much. Thank you for the wonderful packages and letters for Christmas! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and will have a wonderful new year this week. I Plead with you, that as you make new years' resolutions, that many of them will involve missionary work and bringing others closer to Christ. To begin 2014, why not give a gift back to the Savior for all He has done for us? Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Biggs

December 16, 2013

Hello friends and family!! Sorry, I don't have much time today. We are playing basketball with a few other companionships...it has been way too long and I am about to lose it :)

I hope and pray that each of you are starting to realize the importance of sharing the Gospel with those around us. It finally hit me this week. Do you realize that that is what every Conference (Stake, General, Ward, etc) has been on these past few months?? PLEASE don't miss the mark! It used to be good enough to be a good example to those around us. Well, those days are gone now. The Lord has saved his VERY best for this final inning in these last days. You are the way that this work will be completed in the Lrod's way and in His time! I sincerely pray that you take Joseph Smith's quote to heart - "After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel". Brothers and sisters, we have a lot of duties. There is so much on our plates. Yet, a Prophet of the Lord has told us that the absolute most important thing we can do is Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I don't care how you do it - but being a good example is simply not enough anymore. Sorry, I hope this doesn't sound rude or anything like that - I am being completely sincere. I just cannot express enough how important this is to the Lord. I feel that we just cannot comprehend what the Lord has in store. He knows who is prepared. He knows where we need to go and what we need to say. I hope and pray that each of you may be worthy of the Spirit in order to heed those pomptings. It is great to be a good person and a friendly person and hope that your friends will see the Light of Christ in you. However, now is the time to invite. Post things on you Facebook! Invite friends to the Christmas Program Sacrament meeting! It doesn't matter what you do, just invite those you know and love to share the Gospel with you! Show your friends this Christmas season how much you REALLY care about them by giving them an opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life, and giving a gift to the Savior by entering into the waters of baptism. There is NO better gift.

Sorry, but that is all I have time for today! I cannot emphasize it enough! I hope and pray that each of you will take advantage of this wonderful holiday season when people are more open and cheerful and can feel the love of our Savior. Help them understand what Christmas is all about. This week's challenge is to post this video on your Facebook. Then, invite somebody to share the Gospel with this week in some way! No matter what it is!

http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/the-nativity?cid=HPFR121313253&im=true&lang=eng

I love you all so much and I hope and pray that you will forever keep Christ in Christmas, and throughout your entire year!

Love,

Sister Biggs

December 9, 2013

Hello everyone!! Hope you all are doing wonderful. This past week we have been tracting in -10 degrees on a regular basis....I can HONESTLY say I have never been so cold in my life. No exaggeration necessary! But we have seen miracles for not locking ourselves inside to stay warm! We bought some foot and hand warmers too, which help a bit. Not the cheap lame kind. The Canada kind :) And it is snowing right now! The first snow of the season! Very fun :) It is beautiful!! I just pray I never get transferred up north....:)

I want to share an experience from this past week that made a VERY big impact on me. We were out tracting one night, and a woman opened the door and invited us right in because it was freezing outside. Well, below freezing for that matter. Anyway, she looked at us and asked us what we believe about our Savior.  I said "He is our Savior and Redeemer. He died on the cross for us, and because of His suffering, we are able to one day make it back to live with our Father in Heaven." Appearing to be satisfied with our answer, she invited us to come in and have nightly scripture study with her family, as they do every night after their dinner. Well, the Spirit was almost screaming to me to not go in. But what did I do? I ignored Him, thinking, I can help this family! It was a mother and father, and 2 small children. They read a story from a children's Bible, and discussed it a bit. Things were going great. We talked a bit about the story, then continued to talk about the Bible. Of course, we then brought up the Book of Mormon and how it is an additional testament of Jesus Christ. Oh how things changed at that point. They began to contend with our beliefs in the Book of Mormon, and told us there was no way it was of God. They said the story surrounding Joseph Smith was too unreal. They said God doesn't need a "clarifier to the Bible". As they stated these things, when we had the chance, Sister Tutt and I bore powerful witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Then, we asked them if they had read it? Of course, their answer was no. They said they didn't need to read it to know it was not of God. My heart began to ache. The Spirit was no where to be found. This man looked at me in the eyes and said, "one day, young lady, there will come a point in your life where you will question whether the Book of Mormon is true, and I pray that when that day comes, that you hold on ONLY to the Bible to be the word of God. I will pray for you to do so." Well, with aching heart, I stared at this man and told him that that day had already come. I have already had to question the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. And after reading from it, pondering its message, and praying about its truthfulness, the Spirit has testified to me SO strongly that it IS indeed also the Word of God. Never, in my entire life, will I deny its truth. The day of questioning has already past, never to be brought up again. The decision has been made - IT IS TRUE! Looking frustrated, they did not have much else to say, as Sister Tutt and I bore powerful witness. However, when we left, we found that the Spirit needed to be brought back into our hearts. How I pray that I would have listened to Him when He first warned us to not go in. Driving away from their home, Sister Tutt and I played quietly on a cd, "Praise to the Man". "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah, Jesus annointed that Prophet and seer. Blessed to open the last dispensation, kings shall extol him and nations revere. Hail to the Prophet, ascended to Heaven, traitors and tyrants, now fight him in vain. Mingling with Gods he can plan for his brethren, death cannot conquer the hero again!" People are still trying to kill Joseph Smith. Praise to the Man.

This week's challenge is to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. And if you have already watched it, watch it again! And the second part of the challenge, is to post a link to it on your Facebook. PLEASE use Facebook as a tool for helping others find the Lord Jesus Christ. He has created things to help His work move forward!

Anyway, that about sums up my testimony. Jesus Christ is my Savior. I KNOW that He lives and that He suffered for my sins personally. I know that one day I will meet Him face to face, and speak to Him as a man speaketh to His friend, and I pray that when that day comes, I will hear the words from my Savior, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." May each of  you desire that as well! I love you all so much!!

Love,

Sister Biggs

December 2, 2013

Hello everybody!! Sorry I don't have much time this week to write. Well, really I say that every week. So I guess I just have the same amount of time as always. Probably for the rest of my mission :)

This week was just wonderful! James and Jen, the Thai couple preparing for baptism came to church for the second time this week! It was such a  blessing! They thoroughly enjoyed it. They cannot wait to come back next week. The truthfulness of the Gospel is confirmed to me as I watched James's face during the meetings and saw tears come to his eyes as the Spirit testified to him of truth! What a blessing to behold!

We are also working closely with Gail for baptism at the end of December. She is so great to work with. I cannot believe that the Lord placed her in our paths! She has every health challenge in the book, and hasn't been to church yet. However, she will be coming to Stake Conference with us this coming weekend! Well, unless something happens to her between now and then of course. But I know that the Lord wants her to be at church and He will provide a way!

It has been pouring rain here the past few days. Not today, gratefully! But it is neat to tract when it is pouring, because it is evidence that the weather certainly affects people's moods! Haha. People are usually pretty rude to us, but when it is pouring outside, they seem to have quite an edge to their rudeness. It is sad, but we know that the Lord still prepares people for us even when it is pouring rain! Blessings await us as we sacrifice for the Lord!

This week's challenge is to go see the Temple Christmas lights and take a friend!! Preferably somebody who is not yet with Christ. I cannot think of a better way to bring somebody closer to Him and allow them to feel the Spirit of Christmas than walking on those grounds at this time of year. Please do so often this month!!

I love you all so much and the work continues to hasten at an alarming rate!! I cannot imagine what the Lord has in store for us. PLEASE jump on board and help Him in His work! What blessings He has in store for us!

For those who have asked to send Christmas packages, again please send them to the Washington address below! We will get them the week before Christmas. Have a wonderful week!

Sister Ashlyn Biggs

PO Box 149

Pt. Roberts, WA  98281-0149

Love,

Sister Biggs

November 25, 2013

"I belong to The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know who I am, I know God's plan, I'll follow Him in faith. I believe in the Savior Jesus Christ, I'll honor His name. I'll do what is right, I'll follow His light, His truth I will proclaim!"  I remember singing this song in primary so often, and it has begun to mean SO much to me!

Hello brothers and sisters! Hope you had an Awesome week. We sure did over here, as always! God is SO merciful to His children. It is so humbling.

This past Saturday, the Pai family in the ward (Chinese) invited us over for dinner to meet with their friends! It was so wonderful! They had a mom, two daughters (17 & 14), and a baby boy. I couldn't believe how prepared this family was! We talked to them about baptism, and they said they were all just baptized in another church in March. They said they were baptized with water sprinkled on them. We talked about the way Jesus Christ was baptized, and how the proper authority was necessary. Their eyes lit up as we talked about the Book of Mormon and told them we have another record of scripture on earth in addition to the Bible! The whole family was at churuch yesterday. It was so incredible. Brothers and sisters, take it as a hint that members missionaries are going to be the key in hastening the Lord's work!! It is so vital!

On a side note, for dinner we had Salmon eggs, uncooked salmon, seaweed, and rice with some sort of eyes in it. God knew I needed to be sent to North America where food was similar for the most part...because that was a struggle for Sister Tutt and I. We gagged down every bite while they couldn't inhale their food fast enough!! We were dying after. We had to eat when we got home later that night to put regular food back in our bodies :)

Speaking of food, Thanksgiving is this week! Yikes! I totally forgot until I read all your emails. They don't have it here, so everybody is already on to Christmas. Sister Tutt and I will be celebrating with large bowls of cereal and perhaps some mashed potatoes :) I can't wait! I pray that the Lord may provide us with opportunities to bring people unto the Savior on that blessed day!

Well, a quick experience before I wrap up. This week James and Jen, the people we are teaching who are planning on getting baptized December 28th, didn't come to church. No particular reason, just didn't come. Not only did it break my heart knowing that they are not fully progressing toward entering into a covenant with our Heavenly Father, but it really made me reflect on why we go to church every week. Why do we keep the Sabbath Day Holy? Why on earth is that a commandment from our Father in Heaven? As I sat there in Sacrament, a quote by John Bytheway came into my mind, clearly from the Spirit. He says, "Our great-grandparents called it the Holy Sabbath. Our grandparents called it the Sabbath. Our parents called it Sunday, and now we just call it the weekend." This is so true of today's world. It is heartbreaking to see what the Sabbath Day has come to. As we go tracting and contacting on Sundays, rarely are people keeping the Sabbath Day Holy according to what the Savior has asked us to do. Often people are shopping, playing soccer games with wild crowds, or having hockey practice with young kids' teams! Teaching a child that "anything goes" on the Sabbath is so sad. Of course I can't judge people by what they decide to do. But I just love the scriptures and in the Doctrine in Covenants it says "That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the workd, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day". I love it! This is the only way we keep ourselves unspotted from the world - to keep the Sabbath Day holy! So vital!

Well, I love you all so much, and I pray that all goes well this week. talk to you soon!!

Love,

Sister Biggs

November 18, 2013

So many miracles this week!! First things first. When did November get here, and why is it leaving so soon? At the beginning of my mission, time couldn't go fast enough. Now I can't keep up with it. Funny how that happens. We were fiilling out our planners for this transfer and it goes to the end of December. Unacceptable! The middle of July will certainlly be here too soon. Time to get to work!

This week we dropped by to see a woman in the ward named Joanne Carter, who hasn't been to church in who knows how many years. She is 77 and has just gotten comfortable with not going. Still has a strong testimony though. So we dropped by, shared a spiritual message with here, and the Spirit was so strong that she opened up so much.  She spoke with us for a while, as we discerned with the Spirit what her real concerns were. Well, thanks to Heavenly Father's incredible grace, she was at church with us on Sunday. My joy was overwhelming when I watched her walk in all dressed up with her hair done. She was smiling from ear to ear ALL 3 hours. And on top of it, she came to super saturday the day before! I have never seen somebody so happy as she was. THAT is more evidence and strong testimony to me that the Church is true. For the feeling the Spirit brings cannot be ignored. The Lord is so merciful to allow Sister Tutt and I to be a part of that miracle!!

Our friend Kelly who is investigating the church and her daughter Iris who is 6 years old also came to church again this week for the second time. This time was extra special though. It was the primary program. And to make Iris feel welcome and part of the family, the Primary President Sister Cardno gave her a speaking part and gave her a book so she could sing along with every song. Her mom and us sat two rows away from her and could hear her sing EVERY word as if she had been a member her whole life. People walked up to her after and asked if they were new move-ins to the ward. My heart was full as I enjoyed this experience with this beautiful family!!

I absolutely love serving with Sister Tutt. As I said last week, she lives about 3 miles from where I live back in Mesa. Right around the corner from Sam and Sheila's home. I love her to pieces. We have only been together a week, but I know with a surety that this will be an incredible transfer. Companions are not just thrown together! I KNOW that President Tilleman is called of God! What a privilege it is to serve with this wonderful Sister!

Gail Workhoven now has a baptismal date for December 21st. She received a Priesthood blessing yesterday by two incredible men in our ward. She has about every disease in the book keeping her from going to church. But I know that according to her faith and our faith, the miracle of healing will take place. PLEASE keep her in your prayers that she can make this covenant with God for Christmas!

This transfer is a 5 week transfer, instead of the usual 6 so that those going home can get home before Christmas. So it will certainly go way too fast. I must get back to work! Also, my mom knows what I need for Christmas if you are planning on sending something. But if you want, just donate to the Church Missionary fund so we can get more people out :)

This week's challenge is to read Elder Holland's talk from this past conference. Enough said.

I love you all so much! Please continue to pray for missionary opportunities and let me know your experiences! Take care!!

Love,

Sister Biggs

November 4, 2013

Good afternoon brothers and sisters!! What a blessed week here in the greatest mission on earth! As always, I have no time to write. So here are a couple highlights of this wonderful week!

First of all, I think there's some confusion in what my calling is as Sister Trainer Leader. We just have the same roles for the sisters as they do for the Elders :) I thought that would help understand more of what we do. But I absolutely love it! Being Sister Trainer Leader, I have NEVER been more tired in my life. Remember when I was working full-time, going to school full-time, teaching primary, and coaching high school basketball all at the same time? Yeah. I would pick that any day. We literally crawl into our beds and can't even throw the covers on so we just lay there and next thing you know it's 6:30 and time to wake up again and go somewhere else! When I finally get home from to Arizona, I am sleeping for the first week. :)

Saturday evening we received a phone call from the Assistants. They said that President Tilleman just returned from being trained by Elder Ballard, and that he felt very strongly that the leaders of the mission needed to step it up. So, he gave all us zone leaders and sister trainer leaders a challenge to set a baptismal date by Sunday night - in the next 24 hours. We gladly accepted, then looked at each other, and prayed like we have never prayed before. We have no progressing investigators, and no one who has been to church in weeks. This one was ALL on Heavenly Father. It was POURING rain outside, so when we finished our prayer, we started walking back to the car so we could drop by a few people that came to mind. We realized however that we were running out of time. So, we ran as fast as we could in skirts and boots in the pouring rain for 2.5 kilometers back to our car, stopping and talking to anyone we saw on the way. We had no idea who the Lord needed us to see and reach! So we ran like never before so we could find them! When we finally reached our car, we had many names come to mind. So we jumped in, sopping wet, and got to work. Unfortunately, we weren't able to talk to anyone that evening. So, we had until Sunday night. We went to church at 9:00 am, took the Sacrament, and then left right after the Sacrament because we needed to find who the Lord wanted us to find! So we ran all over Langley, literally, to fulfill this commission given to us by God's chosen servant here in British Columbia. After every single person that came to mind was not interested or not available, we pleaded with Heavenly Father for a miracle to happen, that he would lead us to who he wanted us to teach. He told us  and we felt it strongly to go to Gary Clair's home. An East Indian man that we have taught once, who doesn't even know if there is a God. We spoke with him on his doorstep, and then within 5 minutes, he was committed to baptism on the 27th of November because he said he felt it was true! Brothers and Sisters, have miracles ceased?? No! The Assistants called us for our report on the Lord's errand,  and we were thrilled to report that we had put in the effort God needed us to do, and to find Gary. I cannot imagine what it would have felt like to talk with the Assistants and tell them we had not found who the Lord had prepared for us to find. How grateful I am that the Lord blessed us for our efforts. I slept that night like a rock after all that running in the rain :)

Here is a quote from President Hinckley that I really enjoyed that I forgot to send:

"Today many sisters are being called to serve. Many more are preparing to serve. Not because they aren't married or have nothing else to do. But because they have the desire to serve. One reason that the Lord wants more sisters to serve, is because within the next generation He will send His Priesthood army to the earth. He wants to send choice Spirit children to mothers who have been prepared, properly trained, and taught in the Gospel. What better schooling can a mother have than the experience and growth she gains from serving a mission?"

What a blessing it is to be a missionary!!!!

This week has been wonderful and I absolutely love being a missionary. I never want to take this name tag off. There is nothing better than serving the Lord full-time. For this week's challenge, I just hope and pray that each of you will bear your testimony to somebody this week. Whether you are a member of the church or not, tell somebody that you Know there is a God. Or that Jesus Christ is your Savior. Or something! We must reach out to those hands who hang helplessly down!

I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week this week!

Love,

Sister Biggs

October 28, 2013

Hello from beautiful BC!! What a blessed week this was!! I know I say that every week. But I will keep saying it until it is not true. I hope you are all doing well!

Again, I don't have much time. So I will try to pick some highlights of the week :)

This past Friday we has the wonderful opportunity to go to a priest-laurel conference for all of British Columbia. President Tilleman selected 12 companionships to go and supervise all twelve groups, and I got to go. The conference was entitled "I hope they call me on a mission". Perfect! It was such a wonderful experience. It was an all day event and we went with our group to about 6 different workshops that were each and hour long. We learned about Preach My Gospel, the Book of Mormon, how to share the Gospel with people, and even how to cook quick and easy meals. The youth absolutely loved it! I did as well. It got me so excited to see each of them serve the Lord. Funny experience with a girl in our group - we asked her very excitedly, "So are you planning on serving a mission??" With a smirk on her face she said "No way, I want to have kids". Sister Gibb and I couldn't help but laugh. Apparently the youth today aren't aware that you can do both :) We explained to her though! She still wasn't convinced.

Another sister here in the mission shared a wonderful quote with me by President Hinckley and it touched my heart so much! I want to share it with you -

Yesterday we found out something that was heart wrenching. Okay, that's a little dramatic, but I stand by that statement. We went back to one of our potential investigators to follow up and see if we could share our message with her. She was very nice the first time we went, and very cold the second time. We asked her if she had read anything on the internet (as we know many people find anti-Mormon things between the times we meet with them), but she said she only read the pamphlet we sent her in the mail. Well, as many of you may know, we don't send anything in the mail to the people we work with. Nobody does. Well, after a lot of research and talking to members, we quickly found out what was going on - a certain religous group that is very prominent here in BC sends anti-Mormon pamphlets to each person that we meet with within a week, and states that the pamphlet is from us. So, when we go back to follow up with the people, they have read the pamphlet, and only know false things about the church that they clearly don't like.  They don't send it out about any other church. This makes me quiver for a few reasons - one, because I have no idea how they know who we talk to. I will definitely be watching my surroundings. Two, and most importantly, the adversary is working harder than ever before to turn people away from the truth. And he isn't about to stop.    It breaks my heart knowing that we are losing so many people in our teaching pool due to these pamphlets. Why do I bring this up? Because, brothers and sisters, why would people spend so much time and energy, and even money, to prove to others that only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints wrong? Well, for one reason alone - "The adversary KNOWS what truth is. If he didn't know, he couldn't fight against it.  Therefore, he doesn't care what church people join, as long as it isn't this one. For if he can keep people from the truth, he he wins that victory each time he does."  How sad it is to see people fall into his grasp so quickly. Brothers and sisters, protect yourselves Spiritually! Sister Gibb and I were talking about when we are raising our children, how scary it will be sometimes for our children. The adversary will not stop at anything. He doesn't want people to be happy! He wants them miserable like unto himself!

Brothers and sisters, your challenge this week is simple. Pray so desperately, more than you ever have before, for the Lord to tell you if the Book of Mormon is true, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is HIS kingdom here on the earth. Receive that witness EVERY SINGLE DAY! For if we do not, the adversary slips his way in through ways unknown to us sometimes. We are seeing faithful members of the church fall into his grasp so suddenly.  Brothers and sisters, I don't want that to happen to any of you, my friends and loved ones!!  Stay close to the Lord.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true!! I can't say it enough! I don't care who you are, how old you are, what you do, or where you live - this is the only way back to our Father in Heaven. Yes, that's a bold statement, and I will say it again and again. Because it is true. I know it, and I know God knows it. I pray that each of you may come to know it for yourselves.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Biggs

October 22, 2013

What a blessed week here in Willoughby it has been! Once again, we literally have no time to email. But not because we have appointments again. But because we are in Abbottsford with some sisters getting ready to play basketball for a little while! As many of you know, when I get to the point of about to explode with stress, a little basketball helps :) So we are playing!!

So with the few minutes I have, I want to talk about Elder Christensen. He is the Area Seventy and is in our ward here in Willoughby. It is crazy! I look at him on the stand sometimes and feel so honored to be in the presence of such an incredible man. We have received great direction from him in our mission, but having him in our ward is such a special thing. Of course, he is hardly ever there. But yesterday, he spoke in our ward about something he felt very strongly about. He said he woke up Sunday morning with a great deal of revelation and inspiration, and he asked the Lord who he needed to share it with. He said he felt very prompted to share it with our ward!

He started -

"Brethren and sisters. It is time to protect our families and our homes!! Danger is coming from the adversary like we have never seen before."

Well, if this didn't catch our attention, I don't know what would. He went on about how we need to stand in Holy Places - not just in temples and churches, but in our homes, our families, our mindsets, every aspect about our lives. We must protect ourselves from the adversary. It is time to separate the wheat from the tares, as in the scriptures. Time to separate those who are sometimes Sunday church goers, and those who are completely converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord will hasten this work in His way. Elder Christensen went on to talk about how we need to "RUN TO THE TEMPLE", that there is safety in going there. Of course, the Lord must have given him some special revelation that morning that he wouldn't completely divulge to us because it was not appropriate. But brothers and sisters, I was not too far away from him as he spoke and the Spirit testified to me that I needed to take his words VERY seriously. Spiritual danger is all around us - but it is about to get worse. Elder Christensen talked about the need to make our homes and our families a place of refuge and safety. We need to flea to the Temple whenever possible and do the work of the Lord.

I guess, in a nut shell, Elder Christensen receives great revelation from the Lord, and wants us to take heed to folllow his council. He wants us to protect our families from the adversary! PLEASE brothers and sisters. The adversary is beginning to attack the family like NEVER before. Please heed this and the Prophet's council!

While listening to Elder Christensen, my thoughts slowly turned to my future home and my future family. I received great revelation from the Spirit on how I want to raise my family and the importance of centering our homes on Jesus Christ. There is no other way to happiness. This week's challenge is to sit down with your family - whether you are a member of the church or not - and make a list of ways you can protect yourself and your family from danger. This means physical, spiritual, emotional, temporal, morally, or any danger they may come upon you. Protect the most sacred unit in time and in eternity! Stand up for what you know to be true, and right.  All of us can change and make the choices that bring us in alignment with our Heavenly Father.

I love you all so much! Thank you for all the support from home! In case you didn't get it last week, here is my address.

Sister Biggs

7101 195 Street

Surrey, BC V4N 5Y7

Canada

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Biggs

October 15, 2013

Well, sorry I am emailing a day late, yesterday was Thanksgiving! That was a surprise. But it was great, we had ChineseThanksgiving at a ward members' house and then Turkey Dinner at another members home. Both of them had investigators there for us to teach! It was so neat!

Anyway, apparently you can send letters directly to the home I live in, so here is the address!

Sister Biggs

7101 195 Street

Surrey, BC V4N 5Y7

Canada

Thanks for all the wonderful support from everybody back home! We hardly ever have time to email so if you email me, I will get back to you just maybe not within a week of getting it. I am just making my way through :) I usually have more time to write letters though so IF you have time to write, that might be easier! But emails are great as well :)

I absolutely love working here in the lower mainland! What a blessing it is! Recently, I felt my faith wavering a bit about baptizing in October. I know it was a commandment from God, and God provides a way, so there had to be more we could do! Well, Sunday came around and we didn't plan on having anybody at church. Finally, we get a text at the beginning of Sacrament meeting from a man that we met on the street a couple days before. He said "I am at the front entrance of the church". We immediately ran out to find James! My heart leaped with joy as I saw his faith in coming to a church that he had never even heard of before. He came in and immediately fell in love with all the people there. The ward was so welcoming and loving toward him. He is from China, so we introduced him to a family who is also from China, the Tsai's. They became best of friends immediately! We ended up going to lunch at the Tsai's home the next day for Thanksgiving, and invited James to be baptized on October 27th. He excitedly accepted! What a miracles it was to witness! He says it would feel wonderful to see all his sins washed away and to feel like he can start fresh. I couldn't believe it! I was so disappointed that I had let my faith falter even for a moment, and Heavenly Father still blessed us with this miracle. My faith is now bursting.  I know we all have times where we feel like we need to increase our faith. I cannot doubt the power of the Lord! We do not receive the witness until after the trial of our faith. I feel like I didn't even stay as strong as I should have during the trial of my faith, and yet the Lord opened up the windows of Heaven upon us. What a miracle it was to witness!

I don't know if you remember Amanda and Ramsey from Osoyoos, Ramsey was an investigator and Amanda was an inactive member. Anyway, they have a son Cody who was 7 years old. He was such a light to behold! I have never met somebody with such energy. I love that boy! Well, I found out yesterday that Cody passed away just 3 weeks ago. Apparently he was inside their trailer when it caught on fire, and was severely burned all over his body. He was saved by a fireman, and went through multiple surgeries, however his little fragile body couldn't handle it anymore and he eventually passed. My heart shattered into a million pieces when I heard this. The thought of little Cody passing on was incredibly heartbreaking. He was one of my favorite children I have met on my mission! I struggled with it all night last night, certainly had trouble sleeping. But I was able to consult my Heavenly Father and the scriptures about how this could happen to Amanda, who was just beginning to come back to church and life was falling into place. But I know that Cody is in the greatest place he could possibly be in at this time. He is being taught the Gospel fully now and is with his Heavenly Father and the Savior! He can begin teaching others about the truths that he found briefly while here on earth! He came to primary a couple times and absolutely loved it. I have no doubt Heavenly Father is watching over him very closely as he continues to progress. I still struggle with the idea of what happened. Certainly the most tramatic thing I have heard on my mission. But The Lord has a plan and we will have trials. We must have trust in that!

This week's challenge is to read Elder Ballard's talk from this past General Conference - what a great talk that was! Then take his challenge to invite somebody to hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ by Christmas. Millions will come to know the truth! What a belssing that will be!

The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is so true! I can't believe how blessed we are to have it in our lives. Let us help our brothers and sisters find the same happiness the Lord has blessed us with! I love you all!

Love,

Sister Biggs

October 7, 2013

Hello my wonderful family and friends, once again! So, I literally have no time today. And probably won't have too much time to email for the next several months. But thought I would just share a miracle or two! First of all, I did get transferred! I have been transferred to Willoughby, which is in the lower mainland in Surrey. Not too far from the mission home in Richmond. To give you an idea of where we live, we attend the Temple View Chapel, which is in the backyard of the Temple. How cool is that!? I have msised the Temple SO much. I have also been called as a Sister Training Leader and Traveling Assistant to the President. This is a new calling the first Presidency just came out with to compensate for the many sisters coming out. We are essentially Sister Traveling Assistants to the President like the Elders. I am over a number of Sisters (over 43 sisters...yikes!). And then we do everything with them that the Assistants do with the Elders. We do 2-3 exchanges a week, so I will not have the same companion during the week, depending on what the Spirit directs. Then we attend different district meetings, and do trainings in each of them. We attend all of the zone meetings in the lower mainland to do trainings there as well. Then we have nightly contact with each of the district leaders, and weekly contact with each sister. I also call Sister Tilleman 3 times a week to report on exchanges. Then, somewhere in there we figure out how to keep our area alive as well. Long story short, I have about 15 minutes to email today because we have way too much to do :) But I couldn't love it more! I am SO humbled to be in this calling. I know that I could not do it without the Lord. My first companion is Sister Gibb, but we will be with others as well throughout the weeks, and what a blessing she is! (Yes, Sister Gibb and Sister Biggs...say that ten times fast). I absolutely love working with her. This first week has been the craziest week of my mission, and I can't wait for it to continue as I watch how the Lord shapes me into who He wants me to become.

Well, that was a long intro! But this past week was absolutely incredible. Thursday we has transfer meeting, where we are trained by President and Sister Tilleman. Friday we had mission council, which is for all the zone leaders and the Sister Training Leaders. We were trained by the leaders once again. Then Saturday and Sunday, we had General Conference!!! And for those of you who have not yet watched it....stop reading my email and go watch it!

We go to the mission home the first Friday of every month for mission counucil, so just send any letters or packages you want there.  My mom has the address.

This week was one full of revelation. And I guess with the short time I have, I will be simple in my statement about it - The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is TRUE! We have a living Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, who leads and guides this Church under the direction of our Heavenly Father. If you are wondering if that is true, just watch General Conference and receive that witness from the Holy Ghost for yourself.

This week's challenge is to watch General Conference! If you already watched it, watch or listen to it again. And then again and again and again. Until next April :) We can NEVER take for granted the blessing of having a living Prophet here on the earth. What a blessing that is! I would love to hear any insights you have about conference. I received SO much revelation, as I know any of you who watched it did as well.

Brothers ans Sisters, I would NOT be on a mission here in another counutry without my family and friends to serve the Lord for something I didn't KNOW was true. I know it to be true. I cannot deny that feeling the Holy Ghost gives me every single day as I read from the Book of Mormon, or listen to the words of the living Prophets. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's kingdom here on the earth. I want nothing more than for each of you to find that out for yourselves!

I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Biggs

September 30, 2013

Hello there from the most beautiful place on earth!! What a blessing it is to be serving here in Victoria. The rain has been coming down like I have NEVER seen rain before. Everybody says it rains a lot here in the winter. But I was like, "I'm from AZ, we got monsoons all the time." Well, funny story...try AZ monsoons times 2 all day everyday! It is wonderful though. Because Satan tempts us SO much to not get out and work while it is raining. But as we ignore those temptations and rise above them, we see so many miracles! We came in the house yesterday sopping wet, but feeling SO successful. What a blessing it is to be a part of this work!

On a side note, tonight we get transfer calls! So, I will find out if I stay in Victoria another transfer or go somewhere else. I certainly hope I stay, but next week I will let you know! If you are sending a letter this week, you can just send it to the mission office and I will get it when we got to Richmond this week. Thanks for the continued support from back home!

Well, last night Frazer Smith got baptized!! What a blessing it was to be a part of his progression in the Gospel. He is the 10 year old we have been teaching for a couple months. His mother is living common law, so she was not able to get baptized with him. But we have great faith that the Lord will provide a way for her to follow not too far behind him! It was so wonderful to watch Frazer and see the huge smile he had on his face the entire night. He could hardly contain himself. Neither could his mom. This young boy is so prepared to be a faithful member of the Church. In his confirmation blessing, he was blessed to one day serve a faithful mission for the Lord. My eyes teared up as I listened to those words. The thought of him going on a mission one day makes my heart swell with gratitude for my Heavenly Father allowing me to be a part of his life for a short while. I will attach a picture of him in this email!

This week I was thinking about President Tilleman's commission for every companionship to baptize in October. Then, Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 came to mind. In this scripture it speaks about the Lord's voice being the same as that of His servants, and that whether it is directly from Him or from them, it is the same. Therefore, President's commission for us to baptize in October is now a commandment that we must follow. My whole mission I have always focused on exact obedience. Miracles come from being exactly obedient. Well, this is now a new commandment that I must treat the same way. I must admit, my natural man has kicked in at times and told me it is not possible. Because we have NOBODY at the moment who could be baptized in October. However, then 1 Nephi 3:7 comes to mind. When the Lord gives us a commandment, He promises to provide us a way to follow that commandment. He promises us that we will never be given a commandment we cannot keep. Therefore, if I do not baptize in October, it is on me. I need to work hard enough to be worthy of those promised blessing President Tilleman has given us. I have prayed and fasted this week harder than ever before! I cannot wait to see the mysteries of the Lord be unfolded to my view!

This past Saturday was the General Relief Society Conference. For those of you who did not get a chance to watch it, I exhort you to do so immediately. As soon as possible. Not only were we blessed to hear from the General Relief Society Presidency, but we were honored to hear from our Beloved Prophet. The reminder that evening of the importance of keeping the covenants we have made was so apparent in the messages given. I wanted to share an experience we had while watching the conference. There were a couple investigators at the conference, some of them for the first time coming into the building. We welcomed them and got them to their seats. We sat on the side of the chapel so others could see better in the middle, and so we could watch the expressions of those watching this beloved conference. We rarely get to hear from the Prophet as Relief Society members, speaking directly to us. Often we have President Eyring and President Uchtdorf, but rarely President Monson. Well, what a blessing it was to hear from him this time. When Sister Burton announced that we would now be honored to hear from our beloved Prophet, glancing over to one of the investigators, I witnessed one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. As she announced that we would hear from the Prophet, this woman almost jumped out of her seat and stuck her arms in the air. Then, realizing she probably shouldn't do that in the Chapel, she patted her knees with excitement and moved herself to the very edge of her seat. She could hardly contain herself to sit down. I later found out that she whispered to the woman next to her, "I was hoping we would be able to hear from him!". This is a woman who is not a member of the church. She has never stepped foot in our church building before. But when she heard that we were going to hear from the Prophet, she could hardly contain herself. It made me think, why was not every member in the congregation the same way? Why did we all not have the same reaction? Sometimes, we may take for granted the fact that God has given us a living Prophet on the earth today. Well, brothers and sisters, what a blessing that is. And what a blessing it is to be able to hear from him AGAIN this weekend! May we each jump out of our seats for joy knowing that God has given us living Prophets and Apostles just as he has provided on the earth from the beginning of Adam!

This week's challenge is to help prepare ourselves for conference this weekend. For those who do not know, this happens twice a year where we get to hear from all of the leaders of the church, including our beloved Prophet and 12 Apostles. He is not the Prophet of this church, but he is the Prophet of the world. So, I would exhort you to listen to what he has to say! This week, please write down 5 questions you wish to have answered in general conference this year. I promise you, if you do so with a prayerful heart, and watch conference with an open mind, God will answer each and every one of those questions for you. I also exhort you to watch all 5 sessions this weekend. Don't record them and watch them when you get around to them. This is the Prophet of the Lord and the Lord's chosen leaders!! I cannot think of ANYTHING that should take the place of us listening to them!! I can hardly even wait!!

Sorry this email was longer than normal, but I am full of joy at the moment and cannot contain it. I am sure many words were jumbled and there was a lot of confusion while reading this letter. But if anything, brothers and sisters I hope you understand that I have a fervent testimony that this church is the Lord's church here on the earth. I know that my Savior lives. Nothing can shake my testimony and knowledge that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. May you each come to know that for yourself. I love you all so much and thank you for your love and support! STAND IN HOLY PLACES AND NEVER MOVE! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Biggs

September 23, 2013

Hello to all my wonderful friends and family! I Hear things are cooling down in AZ...perhaps under 100 now? Good to hear. I can't wait to get home to that. When I get home (in the middle of July!) I am going to plop myself down on the asphalt and grab a blanket and sleep there for a week. Maybe by then my body will warm up. Until then, I am freezing :) Actually, things have certainly not been as cold as I thought they would be. We don't even need jackets most days in the summer. But winter is on its way here. So let the rain come down! Transfers are next week so I guess we will see where I will be for the majority of the winter! Let's cross our fingers for here. I hear aside from the rain, at least its not freezing.

What a blessed week this has been over here on the island! I can hardly contain my excitement for this weekend, when Frazer, the 10 year old boy we are working with will be baptized. He committed last week and his mom is on board all the way. I know that as Nenette watches him get baptized, she will feel of his Spirit and desperately desire the same decision for herself. I cannot wait to watch this family progress in the Gospel. Frazer is so excited. When asked what his favorite part about church was, he said "All of it!". I don't even remember saying that when I was 10 years old. He is going to be great. The baptism is next Sunday the 29th. What a blessing!

A tender mercy took place last night that I just wanted to share. Sister Christensen and I have been low on money because we kind of had to restock our food starting from scratch. Plus, there are 5 Mondays in September, so that was a big concern. However, last night, the Broadwood's (the members we live with) came down stairs and yelled, "we have something for you!". It was like Christmas morning. We ran to the door, and there they had a $50 gift certificate to Country Grocer. They had no idea we had been struggling. No, they just do things because they want to help. I don't think they will ever understand what that did for us. Of course, we wouldn't have starved, we would have been just fine and had plenty of food. But it was just a tender mercy that helped us know the Lord and the members love us dearly. What a blessing!

This week it was pouring rain, and we were out tracting one night. We happened to be on a member's street, and I guess they must have seen us out of their window because they came chasing us down the street in the rain. When she arrived to us finally, she said "Sisters! We thought that was you. Look, it's pouring rain, and the traffic is all backed up, you won't be able to find anybody out here anyway so why don't you come in and eat with us? We have dinner just made fresh!" We looked at each other, with rain pouring down our faces. Against all temptation, we said "Sister Gauthier, I am sorry. But there are hundreds of people starving spiritually out there that we are never going to find if we sit inside your house and eat. The Lord wants to try our faith and see if we will give up in the rain, or if we will endure to the end, as our baptismal covenant tells us we need to." We humbly declined her VERY gracious offer. Satan desperately did not want us to find somebody that night. So we knew the Lord had somebody prepared! Well, we prayed fervently about where we needed to go, knowing the Lord had somewhere in mind. Wonderfully enough, we felt drawn to the same street and the same potentials. We dropped by Gary, who we had only met once before. He seemed somewhat interested before, but when we went back that night, he had a very large smile on his face and said, "You're back!". He promptly invited us in (which we had to decline because we were alone). But we had a wonderful conversation with him and will be meeting with him again tomorrow morning. He is very excited for us to come back. Then, one of his neighbors is the Arnott's, a family where the husband is fully active and the wife has not been active in about 2 years. So we dropped by. What followed was an incredible spiritual discussion about faith and about how to be an example to those around us. Although she did not commit to come to church the next Sunday, the Spirit was felt. She even offered herself to come to lessons with us, if need be. I know without a doubt that these miracles were waiting for us when Sister Gauthier offered is to come into her home and have dinner with them. Although it was a VERY generous offer and difficult to turn down, I couldn't live with myself knowing that there were so many people out there who don't have a ward family to eat dinner with ever! So we hit the pavement, and miracles happened.

Sister Christensen was talking to me the other night, and said "Sister Biggs, I prayed for you since the day I got my mission call." Somewhat confused at the remark I waited for her to continue. She said, "I begged Heavenly Father to give me a trainer that would help me to become the missionary I needed to become. And that is what you are doing. Thank you." I must say that I have never been more humbled in my life. Well, maybe I have, but this was certainly a highlight. We can be the answer to somebody's prayers! She said that since she got her call she had been SO nervous to get a trainer that would be disobedient, or not know the way to reach our full potential. But that as soon as she met me and began working with me, she was at ease. I must say, I was at ease when I saw the wonderful Sister I had been called to train. If anything, I am learning more from her than she is from me. What a blessing companions are. I know that they are chosen directly by God. That is something that has been witnessed to me over and over again.

This week's challenge is to read from the scriptures each and every day! I would say read from the Book of Mormon everyday, because I know what a blessing that is. But even if you only have the Bible, that's fine too. Read all about Jesus Christ's life in Jerusalem! Just read every day for at least 15 minutes! And if your excuse is you don't have time....email me directly. I will give you some quotes from the Lord :) I promise you that this will bless you! That is a promise the Lord gives us multiple times throughout the scriptures. 

I love you all so much and I hope and pray that all is well! This week I came across a scripture Acts 5:40-42. The Apostles were just arrested for preaching the Gospel. This was their response. I stand with them in stating what an honor it is "to be counted worthy to suffer shame for His name". May we each stand worthy of that honor! I love you and have a wonderful week!

(PS, some people have asked about how the US mission post office box works. If you send it there this week sometime, or anytime before next Wednesday, I will be in Richmond on Thursday and will get any letters that were sent there. So you don't have to send them to Canada if you don't want to. Thank you to everybody who wrote this week! Your support is appreciated!)

Sister Biggs

September 16, 2013

Hello my beloved brothers and sisters!! What a blessing this week has been in Victoria. I hope and pray that each of you had a wonderful week as well!

I don't have much time, yet again. Our mission has fasted and prayed and we, as a mission have decided that we will set a goal for every companionship to baptize in October! This may seem easy for some areas. But Canada is not the highest baptizing mission in the world, to say the least ;) Anyway, it will be our highest baptisms yet, and it would be an absolute miracle to witness. The only problem is, is that we right now have nobody even progressing in our teaching pool! We will have a baptism, but it will be the last weekend in September. So we must find somebody who is prepared! We are basically ONLY finding all day everyday except for a few appointments with some investigators. This will be a tough week. Finding has been very difficult lately, but I KNOW that the Lord has people prepared for us to find! President Tilleman has promised us that as we do all we can under the influence of the Holy Ghost, we CAN each baptize in October. It is up to us to work hard enough to be worthy of that blessing.

Frazer is a 10 year old boy we have been working with (along with his mother Nenette). I think I have mentioned them once or twice before. Anyway, Nenette is not willing to get married to her boyfriend Earle who she is living with, so she unfortunately is not ready to be baptized. However, Frazer is SO prepared! Today we will be setting a date for September 28th. What a blessed day that will be for that young boy to enter into a saving ordinance with his Father in Heaven, and hopefully set a memorable example for his mother. She is soon to follow, I am sure!

I don't know if any of you remember me talking about Brother Bender in Osoyoos a LONG time ago. (well, it seems like a long time ago..). Anyway, he was a non member who is married to a life long member. He has met many missionaries, but just never decided to get baptized. On exchanges in Osoyoos, we invited him to be baptized and he graciously accepted for the first time in 30 years. Finally, brothers and sisters, this past weekend he was baptized. As I read his name on President Tilleman's weekly email, my heart rejoiced and tears filled my eyes. After 30 years of meeting with missionaries, he has found the truth that HE knows to be true. President Tilleman was talking to me about the baptism because he knows how much that meant for me to hear. And he said when he asked Brother Bender about what made him finally decide, he said, "President, it was the last 4 sisters you sent to me." (Sisters Haight, Parkinson, Okano, and I). I bear you my witness that the Lord places us exactly where we need to be - not just on missions, but throughout our entire lives. That was such a humbling experience to hear about.

On a quick side note, this past week I got to eat chicken gizzard and chicken hearts. For those of you who know me, you are aware that I was VERY excited for Canada because they just eat normal food! I know these things are not pretty normal. But that was a rough experience. However, that's not what I am worried about. It was a Filipino family who wants to have us over again. This time they said they are making balute (no idea how to spell that). Anyway, that's the Filipino dish that most people know about - the chicken egg with a baby chick in it that has the beak and nails and everything ready to go. I am not sure how this is going to go. But Derek had to eat it on his mission. So I guess the Lord just wants me to give it a taste! Don't worry, I am NOT complaining about the food here :) I love it! I am just excited that I finally have something that is weird and not normal for an Arizonan. :) I will let you know how it goes!

This week's challenge is simple - pray about and find the person who is in need at this time and do something for them. Whether it be a homeless person who needs a sandwich, or your mother who just needs you to make some dinner for the family one night. Just do something for them. I love the section in Preach My Gospel that says "Go About Doing Good". That is what we need to do! As followers of Jesus Christ, we must do as He did and care for those around us. I would love to hear how it goes!

Anyway, I love you all so much. It has finally hit the rainy season here, so that's fun. But it was bound to come sometime! I thought it would help with knocking on doors because people would feel bad for us and let us in :) I guess it doesn't quite work that way....Well, I hope you each have a wonderful week this week!! I love you and thank you for your support!

Love,

Sister Biggs

September 2, 2013

Well hello there from the most beautiful place on earth! This week was an absolutely wonderful week. What a blessing it is to be a missionary!!

Sister Christensen, my new companion, is doing just wonderfully. She is talking to many people already and I know that soon, when I break her shell, she will help this area to explode. I don't have much time this week, as it is a holiday and we want to spend as much time as possible out finding God's children! But I did want to write about some wonderful events that took place this week. 

Last night, we had the opportunity to attend the wonderful baptism of Chemeca Waugh, who the Sidney Sisters have been teaching. Her testimony is SUCH a light. The Spirit was so incredibly strong as we watched her be immersed into the water, just as our Savior Jesus Christ was during His earthly ministry. He was the perfect example for us in what He wanted us to do to return to live with God again - and Chemeca last night followed that example. SO many of the Sidney ward members showed up that we needed to put in more chairs. It was so wonderful to see the support of her new family here in Christ's fold! The Spirit felt at the baptism was undeniable. I will never forget it. I had the wonderful opportunity to teach Chemeca once on an exchange when I was in Sidney, and it was such an honor just to know her. This work is not only true, but it is ready to explode and flood the earth. 

On Saturday we had the wonderful opportunity to help someone move. She is a less-active who has been in the ward for 5 years now, and has never been contacted! Sister Hobbs and I a few weeks ago stopped by her home to introduce ourselves. The Spirit had been telling us to go visit her, so we finally made time to do so. When we did, she let us right in and opened up to us. Turns out, she is in the process of getting a divorce from her husband. They had been married 5 years, and have a 2 and 4 year old. They separated in June and things have gone downhill from there. The divorce is now getting worked on with filing and things. As she spoke, tears filled her eyes, as well as ours. I guess to sum things up, we have met with her often ever since, and her faith is continuing to grow. Unfortunately, she cannot afford this home on her own, so she had to find another place which happens to be in 1st ward now, not ours. But we have gone by many times to help her pack, clean, and move things. Finally, Saturday was the day she could move in, so without any help from her family (aside from her mom and dad), she asked if we could come by and help out. Well of course, we got the ward in on it. Long story short, a total of about 25 people ended up coming that morning to help her move - none of which had ever even met her before. She was so overwhelmed with the Spirit of charity and service that she was in tears most of the morning. We handled moving things here while the 1st ward elders handled getting things to the other apartment. Together, we literally packed, moved, unpacked, and cleaned an entire household in 5 hours. Her gratitude was overwhelming, she wasn`t able to express it. The Spirit was so very strong as we served her. Sister Christensen and I have never packed so many things in our lives. With 2 young kids, she hasn`t exactly had the opportunity to do a lot of packing. But how wonderful it is to see the ward come together for one of our sisters in need. I know that without a doubt she will never forget the ward helping her move in and out. We hope and pray that she will eventually come back to the fold, where she belongs, especially with her 2 children. I have a strong testimony of service, and the light that it brings to those around us. 

I bear each of you my testimony that this is Jesus Christ`s church here on the earth. Recently a pamphlet came out by religious leaders all over the world - it is about the cults throughout the world. People now keep it by their doorsteps, so that when we come knock on their doors, they have it right there ready to read to us. Brothers and Sisters, I must bring this all back to the Book of Mormon. For if the Book of Mormon is true, and I bear my witness that it is, then this is the Lord`s kingdom here on the earth. Joseph Smith was a Prophet, and we have a living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. today. But if the Book of Mormon is false, our claim to revelation and all truth in this Gospel, is wrong. Why are we constantly encouraged to read the Book of Mormon...because no matter what concern people bring up - polygamy, cult, people who think we worship Joseph Smith, Temples - no matter what they come up with, it can ALL be explained with the Book of Mormon. For if it is true, then EVERYTHING we claim to be truth is truth! There is no question about it. The Lord promises us OVER and OVER again in the scriptures - if we read with a sincere heart, then He will tell us what is true. I have taken that challenge. I have read every word of every page in The Book of Mormon. And not only do I KNOW that it is the word of God, but I also know that because of that, Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of the Lord. We have a living Prophet on the earth today. Why would God take away Prophets! Why would modern revelation cease, even though the Bible has over 5,000 years of revelation! That couldn`t be the end. We taught somebody last week about the Book of Mormon - she looked up at us with tears in her eyes and said, `My mother always taught me that the answer to everything we need is in the Bible. But I knew there was something missing. And now I know it is this`. Talking about the Book of Mormon helped this woman to understand truth. I know the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible to be the word of God! There is NO other way around it! Read it, ponder it, and pray about it. And you too, can have the same answer directly from God. 

This week`s challenge is simple - watch this Mormon Message about the Book of Mormon. I know it may be a lot to ask you to read the Book of Mormon if you have not done so already. But please, watch how it has changed this man`s life. I know it is true.

https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages-gallery?lang=eng&cid=email-shared

I love each of you so very much! I so appreciate your support and love. Have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sister Biggs

August 12, 2013

What a blessed week this has been! Oh how grateful I am that the Lord has allowed me to labor in a small part of His vineyard here in BC. Next week is transfers again (don't worry about mail, just send it to the Victoria address). But I hope and pray that I will be able to stay and continue to work here. I have fallen in love with the people and the ward.

Not much time today, so just a few miracles of the week I guess! This past week we went over to Tina's house, who is the daughter of Sister Lopez. We haven't seen her in a little while and we felt we needed to stop by. Well, once again, the gift of tongues is real. I completely forgot to bring my Spanish Preach my Gospel or any of my Spanish materials like my hymn book and what not. So, this one was completely by the Spirit! But I need not doubt - for the Lord is able to do all things. 1 Nephi 7:12 kept coming to my head as we entered her home to teach her more. Well about an hour later, it was as if I had forgotten how to speak English. Like I had grown up speaking Spanish since I was born. After teaching and testifying of the Book of Mormon, she committed to reading it everyday and was very excited for us to return. What an absolute blessing the Spirit is!! I cannot believe the wonderful things the Lord can do through us, His servants here on earth. I walked out of her home and Sister Hobbs looked and me and said "What did you say to her?". I honestly didn't know. But whatever it was, brought Tina to tears as she felt the Spirit. Brothers and Sisters, I don't know how to speak Spanish on my own. But the Lord WANTS Tina to hear the restored Gospel. So He has allowed me to be His mouthpiece for her. This church is true!

We had exchanges with the Sidney Sisters this week because I needed to meet a couple of their baptismal date so I could report to the Zone Leaders about them. I was companions with Sister Wright for the day. She expressed to me some sincere concerns she had right now, and I prayed diligently that the Spirit would speak through me and allow me to touch her heart with something I said. Long story short, I told her we need to just lose ourselves in the work. As I testified to her, I made myself reflect and wonder if I was doing that? May we each try everyday to focus our minds on the work of salvation - yes to all you who are not missionaries as well! We parked the car on the reservation to do some tracting before the appointment. She said "We have only had bad experiences tracting here, but I guess if we have time before we can knock some doors". I smiled and said "Cheer up, let's find some new investigators." They hadn't found any in quite a while. So after we poured our hearts out to the Lord for His help, we began knocking. What followed was miraculous. We knocked on only 7 doors in an hour and a half. 6 of them became new investigators. Brothers and Sisters, people are prepared. But if we judge them and tell ourselves that they don't want to listen to us, then guess what? They won't be touched by what we say. But if we speak to them with love, they will be touched. I pictured every single person in white as we spoke with them. Each person gladly accepted the invitation to learn from us as we taught them right there on their doorsteps. Sister Wright's faith was increased, as was mine. What a blessing!

Just a quick note about a less-active in our ward, if you could maybe keep her in your prayers? She is from Pakistan, and her name is Misbah. She converted about 3 years ago, but hasn't been to church because her husband won't let her. I don't know if you know about Pakistan's culture, but if you turn Christian, your family has to kill you. Well, things settled down after a while as she figured out how to keep it quiet. Sister Hobbs and I went to visit her while her husband was at work, and she expressed her desire to go back to church. But she said maybe when the kids are older. Anyway, she says she will be going back to Pakistan for a few years at the end of the month to allow her children to learn the language and the culture. Long story short, there is a high possibility she may never return. As our Bishop discussed with her the vital consequences that may come, she put her hope and faith in the Lord and prayed for His help. Her entire family is there and she wants her children to know them. May God watch over and protect her as she returns a Christian, finding the truth for herself.

Brothers and Sisters, why would this poor woman join a church if the outcome was a possibility of death? Why would a young man, Joseph Smith, endure mobs, tar and feathers, and eventually death for something if it wasn't the truth? Why would 70,000 missionaries go throughout the world to places they have never been, speaking languages they have never spoken, to endure persecution and rejection, if it was to help the cause of a falsehood? Well, the answer is simple. It is true. This work is true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's Kingdom here again upon the earth. We didn't decide it this way. It wasn't our choice to choose this church and decide it was right. It is the Lord's way. He WANTS us to return to Him. He WANTS us to follow Him. So He has given us clear direction through the Bible and the Book of Mormon, as well as through modern day prophets, just like he did throughout the bible's time with prophets.  That is his way.  He does not change.

"I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know who I am, I know God's plan, I'll follow Him in faith. I believe in the Savior Jesus Christ, I'll honor His name. I'll do what is right, I'll follow His light, His truth I will proclaim! As a child I sang this song often in primary. But not until I came on a mission did I understand the magnitude of it. It IS true! The 8 year old children in this church know more about God's plan than all any religious leader who has studied the Bible their whole life. Why? Because we have the fulness of the Gospel given to us. May you not take this as a prideful statement of me trying to prove everybody else wrong. Because that's not the case. Every single thing that brings us closer to Jesus Christ is good. It has to be! Every church that strives to serve and love others is wonderful! May they continue to be positive influences in this world of demoralizing values! Thank you to them!! All I am seeking to do is to add to the truths that each of you already have. The fulness of the Gospel that God has given us here on earth. We don't want to keep it to ourselves, we WANT you to enjoy it as well! I beg of you, please read the Book of Mormon.  Read it with the Bible. They testify of Christ. Please pray to know for yourself it is true. And please, ask God to soften the hearts of all those who have not yet found it. May they each have the opportunity to embrace the fulness of the Gospel, so that they may one day face their Maker with hope and assurance in His Atonement.

This week's challenge -  to write your testimony of the restored Gospel on your Facebook page this week. I know each of you have many friends on there who you may not even know look at your page. But they do. Bear your testimony and offer them the same happiness you have! And for those of you who read this and are not members, my challenge to you is to do what I have begged you to do from the beginning. Read the Book of Mormon. It is as simple as that. Because if the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet, and Christ has continued to lead his church with prophets on the earth just like in the Bible.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's Kingdom here on earth. May you find out for yourselves.

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful support! I cannot believe how fast time is going out here, I hate it. But may God allow me to reach my full potential and be an instrument in His hands. I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Biggs