April 28, 2014

Well hello everybody!! Sorry I didn't email last week...I was too busy looking at pictures of the cutest baby in the world - little Peyton Jade Ghormley! Congrats to Dobson and Ghorms :) If any of you are ever having a tough day, first pray for strength, and then look at pictures of little PJ. It will brighten your day for sure :)

Well, aside from having a beautiful new niece, this past week was absolutely incredible, to say the least. I can literally not comprehend the incredible miracles that the Lord placed in our path. I will try to name a few to give you a glimpse of the Lord's incredible work that He has allowed me to be a part of!

First things first, our wonderful friend we have been working with since we got here is getting baptized on Wednesday!! This is a miracle, indeed. For so many reasons. She has been taught since about October, and just about everything that Satan could throw at her, he did. Last week, we were debating whether or not we should continue to teach her or let her reflect for a little while. She has been taught for a long time, and has set a baptismal date so many times. However, those dates have never happened and many obstacles continue to come in the way of her getting baptized. Well, at the beginning of last week, she told us she was ready to set another date for baptism - May 31st. We were excited, at first. But then in personal study on the morning we were going to meet with her, the Spirit touched me so strongly that we needed to invite her to be baptized in April. I was reading in Alma 47, the story of Lehonti and Amalickiah. For those of you who may not be familiar with it, I can give a quick background. Lehonti (good guy) is on the top of a hill with his army, while Amalickiah (bad guy) is at the bottom with hill. After numerous attempts from Amalickiah to try and get Lehonti to come down the hill and speak with him, he finally gives in a little bit. Amalickiah tells Lehonti to just come down the hill a little bit - not the whole way! And he can even bring guards with him. No worries there, right? Well, this small act led to the eventual death of Lehonti, after being poisoned by Amalickiah and his servants. Anyway, what does this have to do with our friend? Well, as I read this, I thought of her. I thought to myself, "Satan is asking her to come halfway down the mountain with guards...he is telling her it is okay to get baptized, just do it in about 5 weeks! Because he knows better than anybody what can happen in 5 weeks." So, I figured she needs to get baptized as soon as possible. She is living all of the commandments, been to church dozens of times, and ready to go. No need to wait. Well, our lesson with her that day was amazing. We invited her to be baptized on Wednesday, and she immediately said yes. It was as if the Spirit was preparing her all day long to answer that question with a resounding "Yes!". Joy immediately came onto her face and appeared to enter into her heart. So, in two days we will be having a baptism of one of the most incredible people I could know. Prayers for her would be much appreciated!

Another incredible part of this miracle is a promise we received from President Tilleman at the beginning of April. He said, "If you get 20 quality gospel conversations every single day, and talk to every single person you come in contact with, then you will each have a baptism in April." I took that promise to heart. As I am down to only weeks left in the mission, I am taking everything President says and engraving it onto my heart, as I know those are the words the Savior would tell me. Well, his promise was fulfilled. Every single day, except for one day in April, we got 20 quality gospel conversations and spoke with everybody we came in contact with. The Lord's promises are fulfilled according to our faith. I know that He is there watching over us, and giving us the strength we need to do His work! What a sacred calling this is!

This past week has literally been a blur. I have never been in so many cities in one week in my entire life! Except for maybe on a road trip. So, we have 16 sisters in our stewardship as Sister Trainer Leaders. This week, President Tilleman asked each of the leaders in the mission to make sure that every single companionship in their stewardship reaches the standards of excellence (the standards for each key indicator in the mission). Recently they were raised, and now set much higher than I would have imagined at the beginning of my mission. Ever since they have been raised, the Lord has blessed Sister Ellgen and I so much to be able to reach it each week, along with dozens of other companionships in the mission. But unfortunately we have not been doing our part to fully make sure every single sister reaches them as well! So, this was the week. Well, many companionships were far from it in the middle of the week. So, we started going into their areas and helping them. I literally never knew what a human being could do in 24 hours....it is unreal! The Lord like stopped time for us or something. So off we went each day, from Burnaby, to Port Coquitlam, to Deep Cove, to Vancouver, Richmond, Port Moody, and Coquitlam. Probably a few others here and there. It was crazy. I have not slept as good as I did these past few days my entire mission! My head hit the pillow and I was OUT. Then didn't budge until 6:30 :) Anyway, after such a long week, every single companionship except for two met the standards of excellence!! One of them, because they were sick and stuck inside...the other one also had some health problems and couldn't work all week. But every companionship that was able, went to work and saw miracles! It was so incredible!! I was so blessed to be a part of it. The only downside of being a Sister Trainer Leader, is that every single day flies by so quickly. As if it never even happened! It helps my mind get lost in the work, though.

This week's challenge is to simply pray for our friend getting baptized on Wednesday, that her heart may be prepared and that her family will be supportive. For security sake, you can call her Sister K. :) Thank you for your prayers in her behalf!

This week was truly full of miracles, and I am blessed to be a part of this work. Anybody who has served a mission, I would love any advice on the last month and a half of your mission. I pray that I may be able to literally sprint to the finish line! I hope that the Lord can use me as his instrument in bringing others unto the knowledge of their Savior. I pray that I will find every single person that the Lord sent me here to find. May I be able to say, as Paul did at the conclusion of his mission - 2 Timothy 4:6-8  6- For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7- I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  8-  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

I know that the only way this will happen, is through the grace of the Savior. I pray that each of you may pray today, to find out where you stand with the Savior, and do everything within your power to become more like Him over this next week. I love you all!!


Love,
Sister Biggs

May 5, 2014

Well, my last 5 weeks - I got transferred!! But I couldn't be more excited about this transfer..wait for it....I am back with Sister Manaso!!! (The one I trained in Surrey during Christmas time). Except we are not in Surrey, we are in Westbank! Westbank is in the Okanagan, about 1.5 hours from Osoyoos, where I first started my mission. Well, I have been called as the District Leader, and Osoyoos is in my district.  What does that mean? I will be doing exchanges all the time in Osoyoos! I will get to see people that I worked with over a year ago!! The Lord certainly knows what He is doing. I can already tell after three days that this transfer is going to be one of my favorites. I absolutely LOVE working with Sister Manaso, and I love the Okanagan. Win win! When the Assistants told me that I was getting transferred, I was pretty bummed...but when they told me where I was going and who with, I was pretty excited :) What a blessing!

So, I have already seen many reasons why I was sent here at this time. In the Okanagan, there are a lot of vineyards. It is called Canada's Wine Country. So lots of people come over from Mexico and different Spanish speaking countries to work in the vineyards only during the summertime. Well, summer is just starting! As soon as I got here, the Osoyoos sisters asked me if I could come to church with them to translate for a Spanish man who was coming to church. I told them I would love to! So I called up the guy, and he asked if he could bring 3 of his friends to church with him. Of course! I jumped all over that. So, unfortunately I couldn't make it to their church this week, because it was my first Sunday in Westbank, and I wanted to meet everybody. But next week I will be going for sure! No members in Osoyoos speak Spanish, so I am the only one in the surrounding areas who can help him to make a covenant with his Heavenly Father. Although I have not really spoken Spanish much in over a year, the Lord has blessed me so abundantly. He has given me the ability to teach and to understand these wonderful men. I see them getting baptized very soon - I know that the Lord has brought me here for a special purpose, and I feel that this is one of them! I cannot thank my Heavenly Father enough for allowing me to use my small talent, a minimum Spanish education, to bless the lives of others. Through the Savior, all things are indeed possible!

I have absolutely loved working with Sister Manaso - the only downside, is that time goes too fast when we are together! We are working so hard and losing ourselves in the work....time flies by when you do that. I wish I could work hard and not have time fly by! But that is okay, I will perform to the greatest of my ability this last transfer and I know that the Lord will make up for my many mortal weaknesses. 

Sister K's baptism last week was too good to be true. So much of her family came to watch and support her, and I can only hope that they felt the Spirit as strongly as I did, and that one day they will follow her example! It was such an honor to be able to work with her and I know that she will one day enter into the Temple, according to her faithfulness, and make even greater covenants with her Father in Heaven. I look forward to that day, and I will for sure come back to witness such a miracle! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is in fact the Lord's kingdom here on the earth, and I witnessed evidence of this as Sister K entered into an eternal covenant with her Heavenly Father. What a miracle to behold!

This week's challenge is to 1) If you have a journal, write in it even just a little bit every single day this week. Record impressions the Spirit gave you that day and how you acted on them. Record what you learned that you hope to be able to apply in your future family, or current if you already have one. Record anything that you feel needs recording! 2) If you don't have a journal, get one! And then follow step 1 :) I bring this up because this week I was studying in 3 Nephi, where it teaches us the importance of keeping records. 3 Nephi 23:7-13:

7 And it came to pass that he said unto ^aNephi: Bring forth therecord which ye have kept.  8 And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid thembefore him, he cast his eyes upon them and said: 9 Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant ^aSamuel, theLamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the daythat the Father should glorify his name in me that there were^bmany ^csaints who should ^darise from the dead, and should appearunto many, and should minister unto them. And he said untothem: Was it not so? 10 And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samueldid prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.  11 And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not ^awrittenthis thing, that many ^bsaints did arise and appear unto many anddid minister unto them?  12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thinghad not been written. 13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be^awritten; therefore it was written according as he

commanded.

Nephi definitely realized the importance of keeping records at this point! How blessed each of us are that all of those people wrote things down. Imagine if they had not? Well, your posterity may be saying the same thing one day. Keep a record!!

Brothers and Sisters, I bear you my solemn testimony that the Savior lives. He is my personal Redeemer, and I know that He is so very aware of me in every moment. I can feel His love and guidance, and I pray that each of you can as well. I know that through Baptism by immersion by proper Priesthood authority, we can enter into the gate on our way to eternal life. I hope and pray that I can forever live worthy of the covenants that I made with my Heavenly Father when I was just 8 years old. I also hope that I can live worthy of the incredible covenants I have now made in the Sacred Temple of the Lord. I know that the Temple is the only place that we can be sealed for time and all eternity with our families. Satan would have us think otherwise, which is why the world is in so much confusion. But I know for an absolute surety that this is the only way back to our Eternal Father. Through the Priesthood authority that was restored to Joseph Smith by John the Baptist, as well as Peter, James, and John. I love this Gospel, and I love nothing more than to share it with others. Thank you for your wonderful support, and many prayers! Extra prayers these last few weeks would be greatly appreciated. I love you all so much! 

Love,

Sister Ashlyn Biggs

May 12, 2014

Hello my wonderful family and friends! I certainly do have the best in the world. It was so wonderful to talk to the family and my mom yesterday, and I hope each of you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!  

This week has been absolutely incredible. So many miracles witnessed, I am not even sure where to begin. Along with those miracles, came a lot of tough times, though. But I feel as though tough times usually precede the miracles, as Ether teaches is in The Book of Mormon. How grateful I am for the Atonement to make up for my many mortal weaknesses. For without Him and His sacrifice, I would not be able to become the missionary I have become. Without Him, where is my hope? It is in nothing. How eternally grateful and indebted I am to my Beloved Savior. I have grown so close to Him over these past 16 months, and I pray that I may forever be worthy of His companionship. I know that He is constantly reaching out to me, and that I must do my part in order to reach out to Him. I cannot think of a better way to spend my time than to serve Him full-time, while serving my brothers and sisters. How I hope to be able to touch many people in my time as a missionary. I plead with my Heavenly Father that I may be able to reach out to each and every single person I was sent here to Canada to touch. By the grace of God, I may be able to offer a worthy offering to my Savior at the end of my mission. Then may I allow the Atonement to compensate for all that I could not do. 

Brothers and Sisters, only through the Atoning sacrifice of the Savior can we have hope in this life. As I go door to door, or talk to people on the street, it literally shatters my heart as I meet people who know not the Savior, or who have lost faith in Him. Yesterday, I met a man on his doorstep who said that he was raised going to Sunday School, but since God never did anything for Him, he stopped going. He said that no longer does he believe God is there, because He will not show himself to this man. My heart ached as I heard somebody talk about my dear Father in Heaven in such a way. I bore bold testimony to this older man, and told Him that I know, without a doubt in my mind, that my Heavenly Father is there, and that He lives. I can turn to Him anytime. I know that the Savior stands with open arms each and every day, waiting for us to reach out to Him. I invited this man to pray, and he says he has not tried since he was 12 and he will never try to pray again. I know, for a surety, that this is why this poor man does not know the Savior. We must pray to our Heavenly Father in order to develop a relationship with Him. Before my mission, I knew that God and Jesus Christ were there. However, I have never prayed so much as I have on my mission, and therefore I have never felt closer to them. That is not a coincidence. That is the pattern of how God works. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior with all my heart and with all my strength, and I will spend the remainder of my days in this mortal ministry serving them to the best of my ability, and inviting others to do the same. As a missionary, I have the incredible privilege of wearing the Savior's name on my chest each and every day.  

This week's challenge is simple - PRAY. Pray as if everything relies on God, and then work as if everything relies on you. Because both are true. Pray like you have never prayed before. President Uchtdorf teaches us, "Lift up your soul in prayer and explain to you Heavenly Father what you are feeling. Acknowledge your shortcomings. Pour out your heart and express your gratitude. Let Him know of the trials you are facing. Plead with Him in Christ's name for strength and support. Ask that your ears may be opened, that you may hear His voice." He is literally our Father in Heaven, may we treat Him as such. May we also remember His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in whom He is so very pleased. May each of us forever stand worthy of His sacrifice, starting with sincere prayer. 

I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I feel is though I cannot say that enough today. How grateful I am to be in their service each and every day. I hold them each so dear to my heart, and I know that they are forever watching over me. When that great day comes, when I get to meet my Father face to face once again, may I stand worthy of the Savior's grace and mercy. I am eternally indebted to Him. 

Much Love,

Sister Biggs

May 19, 2014

What an incredible week full of miracles directly from the Savior. I cannot believe the wonderful miracles He allows me to witness each and every day, of no merit of my own, of course. The Savior is indeed the Son of the Living God. I know that He lives today, and is at the head of this church. My testimony of that grows each and every day. 

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I have the most wonderful family and friends back home, and I feel your support each and every day! I also have the most wonderful families and friends here in the mission. The day before my birthday, we went on exchanges, so I went down to Osoyoos to work with Sister Bowman. We saw many miracles there! But, while I was gone, Sister Manaso did a couple things in secret.....only she can pull off a surprise birthday party for her companion! She called a couple of my favorite families in the ward, and got them together at one of their homes, with cake and ice cream. She told me we were going to teach a lesson (one of our investigators were there, so she was not lying!), but when I walked in, they all screamed "Happy Birthday!". Tears filled my eyes as I felt the incredible love I have for these members that I have only known for two weeks. The Lord knows exactly where we need to be on our missions, and at what times. I know that West Kelowna is where I need to finish my mission, and I wouldn't have it any other way. How I have grown to love these people so much in such a short amount of time! 

This week I came across a scripture in Matthew 19:29 - 

"And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

Although it seems like for 18 months I have given up family, friends, school, and many other things, I have ALREADY received over an hundredfold of what I could have ever hoped to gain from serving a mission. I know blessings will continue to come as I stay faithful, but I have been so blessed these past 18 months...I am literally, eternally indebted to my Father in Heaven and to my Savior. 

I won't have much time these last three emails, but if I can write anything to you, I just hope that you know how much I love my Savior, even Jesus Christ. He lives. And because of Him, I too, can live again one day. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is our only way back home. How grateful I am to spend each and every day literally inviting my brothers and sisters to find their way back home. How heartbreaking it is when they reject the truth, but how comforting it is to be able to say, as did King Benjamin, that my garments will be "rid of their blood". If I but do my part to share the truth with every living person upon the face of this earth, or in my case, in West Kelowna, then I have done what the Savior has sent me to do. I love this Gospel. It has brought me the greatest happiness I could imagine. I hope that each of you find the same joy as you follow the teachings of our Beloved Savior. 

This week's challenge is to pray, every day, for productive missionary opportunities. Pray that the Lord will place people in your path who are searching for the truth, because the Gospel will have the answer to their questions. 

I love you all and am so grateful for you support. May I continue to hold steadfast to the rod of iron that leads us to the Savior. 

Love,

Sister Biggs

May 26, 2014

Hello everybody! I hope you have had an awesome week! I couldn't have asked for a better week in the greatest mission on earth. My heart rejoices as I think of the incredible miracles I have seen over these past 17 months. How can I adequately put into words my feelings for my Savior and my Father in Heaven? I cannot. But I do know that they are at the head of this work. This is Jesus Christ's Gospel, and I couldn't be more grateful to be a part of it. I was listening to a song today that really hit home for me. It's called "No Regrets" by Chad Neth -

The lyrics: "I wanna look back on this time and be proud of the person I've been. I wanna know the choices I've made won't leave me wishing I could make them again. That during these years my devotions was set, I wanna look back on this time with no regrets. I won't forget I'm a child of the Father. I want to live every day of my life with honor."

I hope and pray that I may have these same feelings when I offer my gift to the Savior in 2 weeks. May the Atonement help me to make up for my many weaknesses these past 17 months!

I wanted to share an incredible miracle that happened this week.

I have been praying so hard to be able to find just one more friend to be able to enter into the waters of baptism here in West Kelowna before going home. Well, having only 2 weeks left, I was starting to get nervous. But I knew I needed to just put my trust in the Lord. If He wanted it to happen and I worked hard enough, then I knew it could. I also knew that He had promised me I could find at least one more person to help find the truth. And I always trust in His promises! Well, we have been teaching this woman who has been taught for over a year. She was reflected for a while, and Sister Manaso and I started teaching her again to see if she was ready to progress. She was not much different than when she was taught before. But we felt we needed to continue to teach her. Well, miracles have not ceased my dear friends!! She called us Saturday afternoon - we were walking for a few miles because our car was low on kilometers, and it was really windy so pretty hard to hear. But through all the wind and my deep breathing, I heard her on the other line "Sister Biggs, I want to get baptized before you go home." My heart rejoiced as I witnessed one of the greatest miracles of my mission. Just when I thought all chances were up to help one more person back home to their Father in Heaven, He made a miracle happen. She will be getting baptized June 8th - the DAY BEFORE I leave the Okanagan to go down to Richmond. Have miracles ceased?? Never!

As if that wasn't enough, this past weekend my dear friend who I taught in Coquitlam was baptized and confirmed a member of the Savior's church! Not one, but two of my dear friends have been able to enter into a covenant with their Heavenly Father this transfer. The Lord is truly incredible. He is in charge of this work. I hope and pray that I may stay strong in the Gospel for all of eternity, and that I will rely on the Lord at all times, in all things, and in all places. A quote from Randall L. Ridd gives me some hope for the near future when I will be in a world of technology once again -

"As important as it is to leave home every day with a full charge on your cell phone, it is far more important to be fully charged spiritually. Every time you plug in your phone, use it as a reminder to ask yourself if you have plugged in to the most important source of spiritual power - prayer and scripture study, which will charge you with inspiration through the Holy Ghost. It will help you know the mind and will of the Lord to make the small but important daily choices that determine your direction. Many of us immediately stop whatever we are doing to read a text message - should we not place even more importance on message from the Lord?"

What a great reminder to always put the Lord first, no matter where we are or what we are doing. This week, your challenge is to pray and read your scriptures, before looking at your phone or going on Facebook or anything in the morning. See what a difference it makes.

I love you all!! Thank you for your wonderful continued support!!

Love,
Sister Biggs

June 2, 2014

Well brothers and sisters, this will be my last email home as a full-time servant of the Lord. I have mixed emotions as I ponder on the past 18 months and what they mean to me, and think of the future and the foundation that has been built. (Thanks for your analogy Fred Ashby!). Today I just wanted to share a few thoughts I have had over the past few days.

My first thought turned to Matthew 16:25 -

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

When I first read this scripture years ago, I thought to myself how much of a sacrifice it would be to "give your life" to the Lord. How difficult it would be to put Him first and how this scripture was just asking us to sacrifice so much! Well, after 18 months of service to the Lord, my thoughts have certainly changed.  Sacrifice is " to give up something valuable or precious, often with the intent of accomplishing a greater purpose or goal." I certainly gave up valuable and precious things - family time, school, friends, etc.  But to give it up only for a time, to be able to have blessings for eternity.  Well, these past 18 months have certainly not been a sacrifice in comparison to what I have received. I will never again be the same, thanks to my loving Heavenly Father who has allowed me to have this experience. Of course, I can't say that I have "Found my life", so to speak. But I can certainly say that I have shaped who I can become for the rest of my life, and all throughout eternity.  For anybody who is able, worthy,  and willing, I have four words of advice - "GO ON A MISSION".  There is no better decision I have made in my life then to serve the Lord full time. From a broad perspective, it appears to be a sacrifice. But when actually served, the sacrifice is no where to be found. For the blessings you receive are in greater abundance than anything else you could ever give. 

Alma 29:9 - 

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."

How I love this verse of scripture. This has been my sincere prayer this past year and a half, and I pray that I may have accomplished even a glimpse of what Alma accomplished in his many years of mission service.  A year and a half ago, the Lord commanded me to cry repentance to every living creature that I meet here in British Columbia. Countless times I have fallen short of that clarion call. But with the help of the Savior, I know I was able to cry repentance unto this people. I pray that I will forever remain worthy to be used as an instrument in the hands of my Savior, even Jesus Christ. 

This past conference, Bishop Gary E. Stevenson, the Presiding Bishop, gave a wonderful talk entitled "Your Four Minutes".  I read this in my personal study this morning, and pondered on the short time I have had here in British Columbia.  This is essentially one of my only four minutes in this earth life. Maybe even more. How I chose to spend this time will shape my life for eternity, if I but let it.  How I hope and pray that the Lord will help me to remember the feelings I have felt in this hallowed ground of British Columbia, and to remember the principles that have been learned.  For if not, I have served in vain.  But I can truly say, with all the sincerity of my heart, that I have given everything that the Savior has asked me to give Him these past 18 months.  No, I did not serve a perfect mission.  But the Savior's Atonement makes up the difference between worthy and perfect.  And I pray that I will forever remain worthy! 

I bear my simple testimony to each of you reading this - The Savior, even Jesus Christ, lives today.  He is my Redeemer, and the only way back home to my Heavenly Father.  Because of Him, I am able to be with my family for eternity - if I but keep my covenants and live worthy of that blessing.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is indeed the Lord's Kingdom here upon the earth.  It is the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth. Doesn't it make sense, that a loving Heavenly Father would provide a simple and clear way to return home to Him?  Well, He has.  Through the doctrine of Jesus Christ, we may receive the greatest blessing of all, even eternal life.  But developing faith, repenting daily, receiving and always remembering baptismal covenants (as well as other ordinances), and receiving and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost, a sacred member of the Godhead who we have the opportunity to be constant companions with if we but choose to do so. After these simple, but not always easy steps, we must endure to the end.  We must strive to live these principles throughout the rest of our lives, and most importantly, help others to do the same.  For if we are converted, then we will help others to find the truthfulness of the Gospel for themselves. "He who has been warned, must warn His neighbor."  How I pray that each of us may feel of God's love, and know that He is always there, with an abundance of joy to be felt.  May this return home prepare me for a hopefully triumphant return home to my Heavenly Father and Savior.  May I stand before my Maker's face, and hear the long desired words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."  May I allow the Savior's Atonement to cleanse me of all my mortal iniquities and weaknesses.  As I do everything in my power to become like Him, I know I can then "stand still" and watch His arm be revealed.  As I ponder of what lies ahead in my life, I find great comfort in knowing that I can always turn to my Savior.  In a world full of darkness and sin, may we each stand as a light upon a hill, to invite others to come unto the Savior and be perfected in Him.  To those reading this who may be holding something back from the Savior, I plead with you, give everything to Him.  Give Him our weaknesses, that we may be made strong.  Give Him your desires, that He may purify you. Give Him your time, so that eternity may be lived in joy.  Give Him even your sins, that He may cleanse you.  And above all, give Him your love. For with love, is coupled obedience.  And this is the greatest commandment of all. 

John 16:3 - 

"And this is life eternal, that them might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."

I can truly say that I have had but a small glimpse of coming to know God even more these past 18 months.  May I ever learn of the nature of God, and help Him in his purpose to "Bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".  How I love my Savior, even Jesus Christ.  I yearn to be with Him again one day, standing next to my Father in Heaven. When the day comes in the near future, may my offering of a full-time mission be acceptable to them. 

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."  

           2 Timothy 4:7

In the name of my Savior, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sister Biggs

April 14, 2014

Hello everyone!! I am just way too excited to be a missionary it's not even funny! Well, sometimes things are pretty funny. But I just love this work! It is the single greatest thing I could ever be a part of. Helping the Lord with His work to "Bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). What a blessing! I hope you all had an awesome week as well!

Well, happy Easter this week! What a sacred time to be able to remember the Savior and His Atonement. When we think of the Atonement, often we don't think of the entire thing, perhaps just one part of it. The Atonement refers to 3 different specific events in the Savior's life - first, when He suffered for each of us in the Garden of Gethsemane, and felt all of the pain, sorrow, and sicknesses that we will ever feel in our lives. Then, when he was crucified on the cross, to do the Father's will. Finally, and miraculously, when He rose again on the third day, taking the victory over the grave and making it possible for each of us to one day be resurrected as well. In mortality, each of us must face physical and spiritual death, it is part of God's plan. But we can overcome BOTH of these mortal obstacles with, and only with, the Savior's Atonement. Happy Easter! Always remember Him!

This week we saw so many miracles. I am not quite sure where to begin. We hardly had time to even breath some days, literally. We have been so blessed to be so busy. We are teaching so many members, less-actives, recent converts, investigators, part-member families, etc. I thank my Heavenly Father every single day for letting me come to this area! I don't remember if I told you before, but a few weeks ago President Tilleman took the Elders out of our ward. Every ward in the lower mainland, and almost in the whole mission, has a set of Elders and a set of Sisters...except for us! Finally, we talked to President to figure out why. We were feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of Coquitlam on our shoulders! Finally, he told us that there was just not enough work to be done with two sets of missionaries, and that he expected us to pick up the work in Coquitlam. No pressure or anything. But as soon as we turned the work over to the Lord, He really helped things pick up here. We have been so blessed here!!

This week's challenge is to again, watch another General Conference talk! Prayerfully decided which one the Lord needs you to watch and learn from this week.

Sorry, but we just got invited by the other sisters to go hiking, so we're going now :) I love you all! Have an awesome week!

Love,
Sister Biggs

April 7, 2014

My beloved brothers and sisters! (As President Monson would address you!) What a glorious weekend we had as we listened to talks from our living Prophets and Apostles. The more I think about the Savior's church that He established when He came to the earth, the more I KNOW that His church MUST be founded upon a foundation of Apostles and Prophets (Ephesians). It only makes sense. No where in the Bible does it say that "One day I will stop calling Prophets and cease to reveal things to my children".

For those who didn't have the opportunity to watch General Conference this weekend, or who may not even know what I am referring to, you are so blessed to live in a day where we have the internet! If you go to this website, you can view he wonderful, inspired messages from the living Prophets and Apostles of the Savior's church today. There are dozens of talks, all centered on the Savior. I urge all who are reading this to spend HOURS on this site watching, reading, or listening to these talks. It is modern day scripture!!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng

There are not many highlights of the week that can surpass the wonderful messages given in general conference, so perhaps I will just share my thoughts from a couple of them and call it a day. Without a doubt, my favorite talk was by Elder Corbridge. Anybody who knows me, knows of my great love and respect for the Prophet Joseph Smith. Elder Corbridge put a lot of my thoughts into words regarding the Beloved Prophet. Brothers and Sisters, think for a minute about everything that the Prophet Joseph Smith did in his life, and ask yourself, "would he do this all for a lie?". It doesn't make any sense. Let's start at the beginning of the Prophet's revelations, when God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to Him in a sacred grove of trees. Now, think for a moment about this experience. If necessary, read his own words about it in Joseph Smith History. The first thing this young boy does is tell his mother and father. Now, if you were about to make up the world's greatest lie, would you first run to your mother and father and tell them? They would certainly be the last people I would tell. Let's then examine the evidence God provided for us - The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith had an elementary education, about Grade 3 to be exact. Nobody, not even a scholar at the time, could have made up the most beautiful words printed on this Book. I add my witness to that of Elder Holland's Great-Grandfather - “No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.” I could not say it better myself. The only way to know that this Book of scripture is from God, is by reading it. Then, as we read, we must ponder its message. Finally, we must ask God, in the name of Christ, if the Book be true. Then, through the Holy Ghost, He will manifest the truth of it unto you. (See The Book of Mormon, Introduction Page).

Brothers and Sisters, this week's challenge is to listen to or watch the following talk from this weekend:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2014/04?lang=eng&vid=3439077335001&cid=7

This is the talk I am referring to above. What beautiful testimony not only on the Prophet Joseph Smith, but on our Beloved Savior, even Jesus Christ.

I made many future goals in accordance to what the Spirit whispered to me over this past weekend - first and foremost, is to forever watch all of the General Conference Sessions. These are our living Prophets, sent to us for our day. How could ANYTHING come in the way of listening to and heeding their counsel? I sure cannot think of anything.

I love this work, and I am so grateful to be a part of it at the time when the Lord has declared, through His Prophet, "It is time for the work to hasten." Let us not let the words of the Prophets fail!

Sister Biggs

March 24, 2014

Hello my wonderful friends and family!! Hope you are all having a wonderful week. I sure am jealous of any of you that are down in the valley right now....I seriously miss heat so bad! Every day I step outside and have to make the decision, "Big jacket or medium jacket today?". Or there is the occasional "small jacket" day. Those are rare though. I keep asking everybody when it will heat up, and they say about July or August. Oh goodie! I will be nice and warm down in AZ then :) I will be excited when I get off the plane to see my family and friends...but what I want most is to be greeted with a giant quilt and let me cuddle up on the runway in direct sunlight. If you could run that by the airport that would be great! My body has not seen sun in about 15 months :)

Haha anyway, enough about the weather! Seriously....all people talk about here is the weather it is hilarious. Because it changes so often, I guess. But this week was absolutely incredible!! So many wonderful things happened and I am grateful I was able to witness many miracles.

We went to transfer meeting last week. Although, for the first time in almost my entire mission, I am staying with my companion another transfer! I may only have 10 companions in my mission afterall :) We shall see I guess. I am excited to be able to work with Sister Ellgen for another transfer as the Sister Trainer Leader. However, as my last transfer approaches, I secretly hope that I can just be a "regular" missionary for once....not being trained, not training, not the Trainer Leader, aside from that of my area...it is a selfish desire for sure. But I just wonder what it would be like. I guess we will see if I get the chance.

I have learned something new about the Atonement this week - it can literally help our bodies physically! I have always thought of the Atonement as a way to be forgiven of our sins. But this past week, I have been more tired than I have ever been before! Okay, I think I say that every single day. But this past week I really felt it. Going non stop from 6:30am-10:30pm every day is so hard. No time to just sit for a few minutes. Too much to do! (Which is a great blessing, don't get me wrong). But this past week I pleaded with my Heavenly Father to give me strength, to help me be able to endure the challenges of missionary work, especially physically. And, each day I successfully completed every task at hand. I literally crawled into my bed some nights...but I made it nonetheless. I know that was a blessing of the Atonement. The Savior knows exactly how it feels to be physically exhausted and at the end, and He can succor me! (Alma 7:11-12). I am so grateful for His infinite sacrifice for me personally.

This week I will share an insight that another missionary I know, serving in Korea, shared with me through email today. He said he learned it at their Stake Conference this past and I loved it! He talked about how we learn that the Savior is light so clearly in the scriptures many times, but none more clear than when the Savior is born, and when He is crucified. I quote from The Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi 1:15 "For behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came." Here, the Nephites are given the sign that was promised them at the time of the Savior's birth, on the opposite side of the world. As the Savior, the Son of God, enters into the world, the world is filled with light. The Savior IS Light. Well, not many years later, the Savior of mankind is crucified by those who reject Him. I quote again from 3 Nephi 8:23, "And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually;" So, on the other end of the spectrum, when Light is taken from the earth, the earth remains in darkness. For three days and three nights there is darkness covering the earth, and the Nephites can know for a surety that on the other side of the world, their Savior was crucified for their sins. As the Savior leaves His mortal ministry, the light literally goes with Him. Brothers and Sisters, this goes for each of our own personal lives as well. If we but follow the Savior with full purpose of heart, our lives will be filled with Light. However, if we spend our days rejecting the Savior and not following His simple commandments, then our lives will be nothing but darkness. It is a simple equation, but the adversary loves complicating things. Think about your life and ask yourself, "How can I fill it with more light?" The answer is simple - do something each day that will bring you in line with the Savior's will even more than the day before. President Tilleman teaches us a special principle about obedience regarding the White Handbook. He says, "I know you are all obedient to the missionary standards. So, in order to become EXACTLY obedient, look every day in the White Handbook for a rule that you are not following, and follow it." We are not yet perfect in this mortal life of ours, but if each day we find something we can do better, than the day we meet the Savior face to face will be nothing but joyous.

Recently Sister Ellgen had a wonderful idea about journaling. So, we hardly ever have time to write in our journals. Seriously though...with 16 sisters to work with and then our own area as well, we are on the phone until 10:30 every single night. Most nights I sleep in my skirt because I don't have time to change! Anyway, Sister Ellgen decided to get a voice recorder and just record her journal entries, because she can talk much faster than she can write. Genius! You better believe I got in on that :) So, I walk around with a tiny little voice recorder thing, and whenever I have a thought, I just record! It is awesome! I won't be writing much in my journal the rest of my mission, but that's alright. My future posterity will love this :) I talk to my future family a lot on it. So hopefully I don't lose it or anything!

Anyway, this week's challenge is to try and record something everyday, preferably in a journal, from what you learned that day. We learn constantly in the scriptures the importance of remembering. Well, how can we remember if we don't write it down in some way? Aren't we grateful that those Prophets in the scriptures who wrote things down! Now, we should do the same for our posterity. It is possible - make a few minutes a day for it! Or, if you are like us and literally have no time, just set a voice recorder on your lap while you are driving and record :)

I love this Gospel so much. Jesus Christ is my Redeemer, and I am eternally indebted to Him. This is His Church, and His Gospel. May we prepare ourselves spiritually as General Conference approaches, a time when we have the opportunity of hearing from Special Witnesses of the Savior. I love you all! Thank you for everything!!

Love,
Sister Biggs

March 17, 2014

Good afternoon my wonderful family and friends!! This week has been such a blessing, as always. I feel like I just cannot keep up with the weeks anymore. Didn't I just email like yesterday? Whoever took March, please give it back. Thanks! :)

Today I wanted to share an insight that the Spirit gave to me this morning during my personal study. I am almost finished with the Book of Mormon for my 4th time here on my mission, so I am in the Book of Ether right now and LOVING it! (Obviously). Anyway, I fell in love with the story of the Jaredites and their journeys across the great waters and how the Lord guided and directed them. Something that stuck out to me this time was in Chapter 6 of Ether. They has just finished building the barges, and are finally on their way out to be guided on the waters by the Lord. Ether 12:5-6 talks about the many trials and tribulations that came their way on the waters. They were met with storms, and waves, tempests, and fierce winds. But what I really love is verse 8, "And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters;". What a powerful statement. This simple statement teaches us many things - when we are going through our own spiritual tempests and storms, we can be assured that as long as we are faithful, we are still being lead towards the "promised land". In our case, being led toward eternal life. We know that the Lord knows what experiences we need in order to become more like Him. He knows what will make us stronger and what will help us to draw nearer to Him. He knew that because the Jaredites had built these barges according to His desires, they would be able to withstand the storms that so fiercely came their way. So too, must we be able to build ourselves upon the Savior so that when the winds and storms come, as we have been promised they will, we will be able to anchor ourselves in Christ. The chapter goes on to talk about their journey to the promised land, and verse 10 states, "they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water." I love this. As we go through our life, there will be many times when we feel "under the water". We feel as though we cannot get any lower, possibly even that the Lord has forsaken us. But, as we anchor ourselves in Christ, we are promised that we can have light eternally through those dark times in this life. We can know that the adversary will throw things our way to bring us down, but that the Savior is Light. He is where we can turn in order to keep ourselves away from the darkness of the world.

This past week we were contacting at a bus stop for a few hours, and about to wrap up. I saw a woman walking with 2 little boys so I thought I would squeeze in a conversation with her before running to our appointment. Well, I won't go into great detail about what had happened. But I will say that never in my life have I heard such vile things about my dear Heavenly Father and the Savior, Jesus Christ. I have never heard their names disgraced in such a manner. The Spirit was no where to be found. As a missionary, you are so used to having the Spirit with you and so when it was gone, my body almost went into shock. Literally. My legs starting shaking, and my tongue was locked. I wanted to run away. Not because I was afraid of her at all, but because I have never felt so far from the Spirit. I wanted Him back with me! 

So, when my body received strength from the Lord, I walked away and grabbed my companion who was talking with somebody else. As we walked away, I couldn't help but cry. The woman knelt down and spoke to her little boys, telling them to never, ever, speak with somebody if they have our name tag. My heart ached as I thought about what just happened. I looked at my companion, who could hear what the woman was yelling as I spoke with her, and just began crying. I hated the feeling of the Spirit not being with me, and not being with them. I couldn't control my shaking and I had no words to say! Finally, we got in the car and I turned on "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". By the end of the first verse, the Spirit had filled my heart and I know again that the Savior is real. I know that He was there with me, and that He felt that pain I felt when that woman spoke. He had felt that pain for me when He suffered for me, and for her, many years past. He knew that I would go through that. He allowed me to go through that, and I am grateful He did. Why? Because by the end of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" my tears were flowing from joy. I know God is real and that He loves me. I can literally say, that I had NO disposition to do evil ever again, for fear that I might lose the Spirit. The Lord allowed me to experience the lack of companionship from the Spirit, so that I would desire to never have that feeling again.

This week's challenge is to again, only if you have the ability, donate to the Church's missionary fund. I know I have given this challenge before. But I am realizing each week how grateful I am for those of you who are contributing to us as missionaries.  So many literally could not do it without you. Please, be as generous as your means allow while still taking care of your family. I PROMISE you, you will be blessed.

I love each of you so much. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. May I stand as a witness of Him as I bear His name literally on my chest each and every day. May I eternally have His name written in my heart as I represent Him and His Gospel. May each of you know that I KNOW, that my redeemer lives. For I have seen His hand in my life countless times. I know that He is there to comfort me when I stand in need of comfort. Will I falter or will I fight? Brothers and Sisters, I answer with a resounding, "fight"! For the adversary is alive and well. Each and every day, may I represent the Savior to the best of my ability, always abounding in good works, to one day find myself on His right hand. I am not perfect, but I try my best to remain pure. To echo the words of the dear man whose son was taken over by a devil, "Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief."

Sister Biggs