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June 17, 2013

What a miraculous week this has been. I hope you feel the same way! I also sincerely hope that each of you took my challenge to attend the Temple this past week. But if not, it is never too late! That can be an ongoing challenge for the rest of your life :)

Well, I am still absolutely loving the wonderful land of Victoria, BC! I am also loving Sister Hobbs. What a blessing she has been to me in my life thus far. And it has only been 3 weeks! How great. I know that this companionship is inspired of God, as they all are.  We live with the wonderful Broadwood family, as I am sure I have mentioned before. They are an older couple who used to be empty nesters, until we graced their lives with our presence. Well, that is actually the exact opposite of what happened, but you know what I mean! I love them so dearly. Last week we had a few minutes right before we needed to be in bed. So Sister Broadwood invited us to come up and just sing on the piano with her and Brother Broadwood. Sister Hobbs and I are so touched by music, so we graciously accepted. It was so wonderful. We sang many hymns, and each took turn playing the piano. It was such a wonderful night and reminded me of when Megan and my mom and I would sit around the piano and sing. I have so many of those experiences! And I so cherish them. I know that the Lord has sent us to their basement suite for our benefit more than theirs!

So this past Friday night Sister Hobbs and I were tracting this apartment complex that is right by the University (UVIC). We figured there would be quite a few students living there that we could relate to. However, Sister Hobbs and I kind of lose track of what day it is, so we forgot it was Friday night and there would mostly be parties going on. I learned many things from that night. First of all, I reflected on myself and how I used to spend my Friday nights, and how I am spending them now. Although I was doing nothing wrong before, I feel SO much more fulfilled at the end of the day now! Anyway, that is aside from the point. We came across this group of about 6 college kids who had just got together at someone's house for a party. They were bringing out the snacks and the beer and stuff. So, I jumped all over that. Right in front of me God had placed SIX people I could share my testimony with! What a blessing. So I did. Although I will never regret sharing my testimony, Satan worked on me very hard after that moment. After sharing my sincere testimony about how God is our Loving Heavenly Father, they all started dying laughing. Then, one of them shouted "ya, nobody needs that, so have a nice day". Through the laughter I could feel myself questioning for a moment if I was doing what the Lord wanted me to do in talking to them. Then, the Spirit directed my thoughts to Lehi's vision of the tree of life found in 1st Nephi. To the right of the iron rod, we see a "large and spacious building". In this building there are people laughing and mocking those who are holding tight to the iron rod. They are pointing fingers and yelling things from the adversary. I felt myself being put into that situation. Here I was in front of 6 people who were my same age, my peers, being laughed at and mocked. I had the simple choice - do I hang onto the iron rod, or let go of it? Gratefully, the Spirit quickly filled my soul and I held fast to what I knew to be true. I knew I was serving the Lord and I was doing exactly what He wanted me to be doing at that time. Although I shed some tears afterward because I only want them to have the truth, I know that I will never be in the wrong with bearing my sincere testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost.

We continued on that complex, knocking on all 83 doors in a matter of hours. Out of the 83, about 70 of the doors were slammed in our faces. I was left to really ask myself if what we were doing was right for that day. Gratefully, the Spirit continually testified to me that it was. I know I am on the Lord's errand, and that if I put my faith in Him, we can find those that He has prepared for us to teach! So Victoria can keep slamming the doors, but this work WILL move forward. And I am so grateful to be a part of it. I have had many trials of my faith this past week and I could not be more grateful for them. What a blessing to be able to learn and grow each day as I come to fully understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life.

Sorry this email will have to be short today, I don't have much time. Lots of work to do! But this week's challenge is simple. I challenge each of you to give away a Book of Mormon with your testimony in it.  If you do not have a Book of Mormon, then go get one from my mom!  She has a lot to give you!  I promise you, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that if you sincerely pray about who the Lord wants you to share the Book with, that He will tell you who. He will bring a name to your mind, and place somebody in your path. May you be ready when that time comes! I hope to hear about any experiences you have.

May each of you forever know that the Book of Mormon and the Bible are the word of God. They testify of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our Saviour and Redeemer, and this IS His kingdom here on the earth. May each of you come to know that for yourselves is my prayer.

I love you all and am grateful for your support. May God forever protect you.

Sister Biggs

June 10, 2013

What a week this has been! I feel like this past week my faith has grown more than ever before on my mission - or in my life for that matter. When I was in Osoyoos, we were finding new investigators left and right. We worked hard, but we always had tons of people to teach. Well, now that we are opening another area, we get to start at ground zero. And that has been a wonderful challenge. Details below!

I absolutely LOVE Sister Hobbs. Couldn't love her more. What a blessing she is in my life. She is so much like Megan, I love it! The Lord has given me a companion to remind me of the incredible sister I have back home. They both have incredible voices, both have Cd's, both do my hair when I ask them, both are absolutely hilarious, and I can just be myself whenever I want! Sister Hobbs is just fantastic. We have literally become best friends in the past week. It has certainly made the hard times much more endurable. Her Sister is a personal trainer as well! So she has this little workout booklet that we do each morning. We are getting in crazy good shape. We will see how long it lasts! I love working out with her though. I can't keep up with her when we run each morning! She is such a psycho! I love it though :) And finally a companion who plays basketball!! I am so excited to be able to play some games with her this transfer. She makes me laugh harder than I have laughed the past 5 months. She has gotten to the point where she does not cry so much, because she is just falling in love with the mission! I love watching her grow. She now speaks with everybody! For example. the other day we were teaching a woman we just met on her doorstep about the Book of Mormon (which she sees no need for). We both bore testimony and then offered her one. She graciously declined and began ending the conversation. Well, Sister Hobbs was not going to take no for an answer. She held the Book of Mormon in her hands, and with tears in her eyes told the woman how much she needed this Book in her life. She placed the book in her hands, and ended speaking. The woman accepted it, hesitantly, but I was amazed at how the Holy Ghost worked through my companion. I am so blessed to be her trainer, because I will certainly be learning more from her than she does from me.

Well, opening an area involves A LOT of tracting (door to door). Before I came here, I was not very fond of tracting. However, I am to the point where I absolutely love it! We tract many hours throughout the day, hitting hundreds of doors each day. Although there are many door slams, and many rude people, this scripture always come to my mind - "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake". With that in the back of my mind, I am reminded that I am doing what is right. I am preaching the truth. Nothing anybody says or does will stop me, or will stop the work. This work WILL move forward, just as Joseph Smith prophesied it would.

Well, I think the bugs here in Canada must be a little bit different than the ones in Arizona. I got eaten alive about 5 weeks ago on my legs, and these bug bites are still holding strong today. I have tried literally everything to relieve the itch and heal them. I have not been itching them, but they are not going away. They are HUGE! So, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. They are not normal ;)

Well, I absolutely love the ward here. I still stand by calling Victoria 2nd ward second best to Greenfield Park Ward. They are wonderful! The members are all about helping us out in any way possible. I pray that every ward may be this misisonary minded at all times!! How much it would help this work progress!

Well, this past week we didn't find a single new investigator. This was only the second week in the mission that I have gone a week without finding one, and it was a faith growing experience, that's for sure! We knocked probably 1000 doors this past week - didn't even get into one of them. But that's okay! Because I have now understood what Preach My Gospel means about our success not being measured by numbers. It isn't! At the end of the day when I hit the pillow with my head, I can know that I worked my absolute hardest, and allow the Savior to make up for the rest of it where I fell short. I am so grateful for the Atonement in knowing that I CAN have perfect days according to His standards here on the mission. It takes work, but through the Atonement it is very possible. We have some good things lined up for this week where we will hopefully find some new investigators. I have always had the faith to find new investigators, but now I have developed the faith to NOT find investigators. It is powerful. I know that the Lord will give us investigators when we are supposed to have them, as long as we are working as hard as we possibly can. What a blessing it is to be able to struggle and become stronger from our trials. Anybody who has served missions before, I would love any unique ways you did personal finding or any cool door approaches that worked for you? I am always up for some input! Improvement is a wonderful thing :)

Well, I have kind of 2 challenges this week - One for those who can attend the Temple, and one for those who cannot. For those who can, I challenge you to go TWICE in the next 7 days and do a session, or do baptisms, depending on your age. For some of you this might be easy. For others I might be asking you to move a mountain. But the Lord has given us His house on earth, especially one right in Mesa! So wherever you are, I challenge you to attend the Temple twice before next Monday. please email or write me and tell me about your wonderful experiences there! The Lord blesses those who do His work! For those who cannot attend the Temple, I challenge you to go walk the Temple grounds TWICE before next Monday. I cannot think of a better way to spend your time. Make it a date night. Take a bike ride to the Temple. Whatever you want. But please, attend. I SO miss being able to attend the Temple whenever I want, and that is something I will NEVER take for granted again. I would love to hear any wonderful experiences you have.

Well, I love you all so much! I hope and pray that the Spirit of the Lord will be with each of you this week as you go about your endeavors. May God be with you til we meet again! I love you!

Sister Biggs

June 3, 2013

Hello my wonderful family and friends!! Wow. Let's just cut right to the chase - I am in the most beautiful place on the earth. No, that is not an opinion. Google some pictures of Victoria, and you will see that it is a fact. Literally everytime we turn a corner my breath is taken away. I cannot believe that God has sent me to Zion here in BC! What a blessing! I never want to leave!

First things first, here is the new address that I live at that you can send all mail to. Don't worry, the postal system is not messed up here like it is in Osoyoos! So everything can go to this address.

571 Warren Place

Victoria, BC V8Z 6E1

Canada

Well, I am training the wonderful Sister Hobbs, fresh out of the MTC last week. Oh what a blessing she is to me and my life. Opening an area is hard enough, but having a new companion, doesn't make life easier. But it sure does make it greater. When I first came out I had a very difficult time with homesickness. Well, now that I am on stable ground and feeling wonderfully, I have been blessed with a companion who was just like me when I first came out! I now know that Heavenly Father allowed me to go through that, partially so that I could help Sister Hobbs. If you know me, you know I am not good at comforting people. But, the lord has given me the words to say and things to do to help her along. She has been out for about 4 days now, and I have only seen her stop crying a few times. But what a blessing. I am grateful that she is comfortable around me. I am trying to keep us extremely busy so that there is no time to think about home. But unfortunately, she has cried herself to sleep each night. I promise Heavenly Father that I will not go to sleep until I know she is asleep each night. So I listen to her, and when I finally hear her stop crying and go to sleep, I fall asleep. I just feel as though I cannot leave her behind. We are Sisters here in the Gospel, and I will be with her every step of the way. Missions are hard. She is understanding that. I don't think she realized the hardness of it. But how grateful she is to be here. I am absolutey so excited to be her companion! I have already learned so much from her. AND, she forces me to overcome my fears. She is not quite to the point where she talks to everybody we see, so I get the opportunity to speak with EVERYONE. I love it though. It forces me to open my mouth and be bold with people.  I hope and pray each day that I may train Sister Hobbs in the manner that Christ would if He were on the earth. What a responsibility He has given me once again, and I hope to not let Him down. I know that President Tilleman was inspired to put us together. What a blessing.

Well, can we talk about how great this ward is? I am in Victoria 2nd Ward. Officially the second greatest ward on earth (Greenfield Park being first, of course). The members we are staying with, I have never seen better. They have been members for about 15 years, and have the greatest conversion story. Anyway, they are so hospitable toward us. They give us everything. We bought all this food to cook with, but they keep giving us food so we never use it! Brother Broadwood made us the greatest chicken sandwhich today with a side of an ice cream sandwich. I know how easy it is to win me over with food....but that's not the only reason I love him :) He is so amazing. He has already given us 9 referrals! And he says he has more! When we first walked into the new ward on Sunday, everybody was so kind to us. Then, after Sacrament meeting, people were flowing toward us with referrals and friends that they wanted us to talk to. Are you kidding me?? This ward has figured out how to be member missionaries! And I know why now. The Bishop, Bishop Palfrey, has only been a member about 7 years. He appreciates missionaries more than anybody I have ever met. Anyway, he pushes this ward to do missionary work so much. Every single lesson yesterday was on missionary work. I was almost in tears the entire time. It was incredible. The greatest part is, this ward now has SIX MISSIONARIES!! 2 sets of Elders and Sister Hobbs and I. There must be some serious work here to be done. So many miracles, too much for one companionship! And I know it is all because of the incredible ward. I challenge each of you to take missionary work as seriously as this ward does. Don't be the judge on whether your friends are ready or not to hear the Gospel. Give their information to the missionaries, and let God decide the rest!

An amazing thing happened at church during the second hour. The Elders here had just baptized Sister Lopez 2 weeks ago, so she was taking some follow up lessons in Gospel Principles with the missionaries. They invited us to come in and join. Well, turns out, she does not speak one word of English, only Spanish. Are you kidding me? It is like Heavenly Father continues to put people in my path where I need to use my Spanish. I now know that I am supposed to be called English speaking, but the Lord has given me so many opportunities to use my Spanish. I study my Spanish material each night so that hopefully I can get better at teaching the lessons. But I have certainly seen the gift of tongues in my mission thus far. What a blessing. I talked with Sister Lopez, and we had an instant relationship. The Elders had always used translators, because neither of them speak any Spanish. But now, she was able to communicate with a missionary. It was such a wonderful experience.

This last transfer meeting was the biggest one the mission has ever seen. 20 new missionaries came in, 12 of them being Sisters!! It was incredible! Sister Hobbs is one of the 19 years olds, and she is so great. As everybody has said before, these new missionaries are so prepared. Neither of us would have been able to be here at this time if it wasn't for the wonderful Prophet who follows the counsel of the Lord. How grateful we both are. After receiving wonderful training from President Tilleman, I was so ready to go get busy with the work. I got to ride a ferry for the first time! As we headed over to Victoria on the ferry, God placed many people in our path to speak to about the Gospel. It was such a blessing. Although Sister Hobbs was almost wetting her pants, she loved it. I can't wait until she starts talking to people too ;)

This week's challenge is to invite your friends into your home for the missionaries to come teach in your home. Sound scary? Well, I think it will be even scarier when we have to face our Maker and tell Him we didn't spread the true Gospel of Jesus Christ because we were "scared". But I will let you choose. Missionary work is a commandment. May each of us follow that commandment, just as we follow the commandment to not kill. Invite a friend over for dinner, and invite the missionaries! The Lord will tell you who you need to invite as you pray about it.

Brothers and Sisters, this Gospel is true. We have had A LOT of door slams the past few days, but that doesn't change the fact that our message is true. Nobody can argue with the principles of the Gospel, because they are eternally true. People can bring up concerns and different things, but if the Book of Mormon is read with sincerity and real intent, the Holy Ghost WILL testify to us of its truthfulness. There is no other way. I love that we get to choose how happy we want to be in the eternities. And Brothers and Sisters, if you want to be eternally happy living with your Father in Heaven, read and study the Book of Mormon and the Bible.  Follow the teachings of our Savior. I hope and pray that each of you will gain your own testimony of the Book of Mormon. For without it, we cannot survive the turmoil that the adversary will throw our way. Our only excape to the fiery darts of the adversary is the sheild that the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us. It has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. My Savior, Jesus Christ, lives. He loves me, and He loves each of you. No science, textbook, or professor, can prove otherwise. For when the Holy Ghost testifies of truth, we know it is eternally true. How sad I am that this entire world has not accepted the Gospel. But I will put my shoulder to the wheel and work my absolute hardest to make sure that EVERYBODY here in Victoria KNOWS that I have a testimony. EVERYBODY will hear from us, I don't care how long it takes, or how hard it is. This Gospel is true. May each of us find that out for ourselves.

I love you all, and thank you for everything!

Sister Biggs