Sister Ashlyn Biggs: called to serve the Lord in the Canada Vancouver mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Monday, April 1, 2013

Letter Eleven


Hello there from the Okanagan! (I am running out of ways to introduce my letters...that's awkward). Anyway, what a great week the Lord has blessed us with!!

First things first, Sister Nuttall headed home yesterday...who knew I could be so attached to a companion so quickly?? I cried quite a bit when I dropped her off. But there was not much time to cry because I am still training Sister Okana and I have lots of work to do! I guess it is great to be so busy because it helps keep my mind focused on my purpose as a missionary. I find that we have grown so close to one another and we are able to teach so well together as we rely on the Spirit! I love putting my full trust in the Lord and knowing that He will help me as I strive to help Sister Okano learn what she would have learned in the MTC! What an experience and a blessing.

So, after P-Day yesterday, we went out tracting for a couple of hours. We went to this trailer park that was pretty big. About halfway through, a woman got mad at us and told us that we are not supposed to be soliciting in the trailer park at all. We normally follow those rules and respect those areas that ask us not to knock on doors. We got a little nervous, and then after consulting with our Father in Heaven, we still felt as though we should stay and keep knocking on doors. So we put our faith in Him and kept going. Boy am I glad that He knows His children better than we do! Only a few doors down from that woman, was an elderly woman who used to be Mormon, and has not been associated with the church in years. She let us right in, ad we talked quite a bit. We then taught her from the Book of Mormon, and she invited us back to teach her more! A new investigator, how grateful we were! But it gets better. Our goal for the day was to get one new investigator, so we were pretty excited about that. But a few doors down from her, we met Robert. He is a Jehovah's Witness, but said he is open to learning and would like to talk to us more about the Bible. We shared a quick principle with him about how God is our Loving Heavenly Father, and said a prayer right there on his door step. We are going back Friday night! Can you believe it, 2 new investigators just in the trailer park! How grateful I am that we followed to promptings of the Spirit as we put our faith in the Lord! We were quite excited. We also found quite a few people in that area, another great miracle!

So, we are still teaching Amanda and Ramsey...and guess what?? Amanda quit smoking! She has not smoked in 17 days!!! I almost came to tears when she was telling me how great she feels and that this is something she wants to do for the rest of her life. Look at what the Gospel can do for people!! She says she feels incredible and wants to continue learning from us, as does Ramsey. We are planning on setting a baptismal date with Ramsey this next vist. I will let you know how it goes!! I love being able to see just a little glimpse of how our father in Heaven feels. My greatest happiness comes from seeing others find happiness through the Gospel. What a blessing!!

So, we have taught Noreen a couple times since my last email...and guess what? We set a baptismal date with her this morning!! May 4th! And even better, she committed to start living the word of wisdom! She is just progressing so quickly, the Lord is certainly working with her each day as she studies the Book of Mormon. She says she thoroughly enjoys meeting with us, and cannot wait to take this step in her life. How blessed I am to have met her!!

Well, I have been driving for this past week and it is pretty weird. After not driving for the past couple months, I thought I would forget how! It felt super weird having to turn in my AZ license and get a BC one. But it's official now I guess :) I enjoy driving and having a 2013 Chevy Cruise entrusted into my hands! This car was right off the lot when we got it last  month. I cannot believe that they put these things in our care, what trust the Lord gives us! How I hope to always maintain that trust!

One of our investigator's names is Zultan, he is from Hungary. I absolutely love meeting with him! It is so funny though, because he feels so terrible that we use our gas on him and he keeps wanting to give us money to pay us back. But as missionaries, we are not allowed to accept money of course. So we keep turning him down. So he thought of another way. He just gives us a giant chocolate bar everytime we go over! How great!! Haha you know me...I don't mind being paid back in food ;) Haha he is the sweetest old man and I cannot wait to watch him progress in the Gospel.

I absolutely love this Gospel. I love the things that I am learning here as a missionary, especially as I watch Sister Okano grow each day! I love being a part of her training (even though I still need training myself!). I absolutely LOVE reading from the Book of Mormon each day. I find that as I focus my studies on my investigator's and their questions, that I have so much more effective studies!! When I am just trying to learn for myself, they are not as great :)

I want to testify to you that this Church is true. There are a lot of great churches out there in the world that teach great things and that have truths in them. But the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's restored Gospel here on the earth. I have come to know this through the incredible evidence of the Book of Mormon.

 I challenge each of you to read at least one verse from the Book of Mormon every single day this week. Whether or not you are a member of this church, I can promise you that you can receive guidance and peace from reading it. If you do not have one, ask ANY of your Mormon friends and they can get you one for free :) I testify that the Book of Mormon and the Bible are God's word! For YEARS it has been ripped apart and studied. And yet it has endured all persecution. If you prove the Book of Mormon wrong, then we have no religion. But I can promise you, that as you pray sincerely about it, that you too can receive a spiritual witness of its truthfulness. I love this Gospel, and I love being a missionary!! Take care and be safe this week. I love you all, and may the work press forward!

Love,

Sister Biggs

No comments:

Post a Comment