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

Monday, June 2, 2014

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:


And it came to pass that he said unto aNephiBring forth therecord which ye have kept.  And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid thembefore him, he cast his eyes upon them and said: Verily say unto you, commanded my servant aSamueltheLamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the daythat the Father should glorify his name in me that there werebmany 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 beawrittentherefore 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

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