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