June 11, 2012

Hello Family!

It sounds like everything is going really well back home.  Thank you soooo much for the package mom! I have been taking those vitamins daily and they seem to help. And the drinks will be helpful as well! I love getting mail from my sweet mom! I love you so much. :) I forgot to tell you this last week, but we went to visit our bishop and his family last week and he is only 29 years old. His wife has to take care of their 3 little kids (all under 4) and get them to church, etc. without much help from her husband. It made me really appreciate you and all that you went through to get us to church every Sunday, and taking care of us as dad was gone in meetings a lot. THANK YOU! Funny story though, Our bishop and his wife met in high school, he left on his mission, and six months before he got home his wife left on her mission. He waited a whole year till she got home then they got married. I thought that was cool! He is now a medical doctor for cancer patients down here, and I'm sure VERY stressed trying to learn a new ward of 700. We are working with him lots to try to help lift his burden.

  

Dad, that missionary meeting sounded fun! Was it for all the priesthood holders in the stake? I love mission meetings! We got to have a few these past few weeks and it helps to boost our motivation. :) Our mission song is Come Thou Fount, and whenever we sing that in meetings the spirit is so strong. Oh! I found out when President Saylins homecoming is.... July 22 in the North Salt Lake Stake Center-- Woodbriar ward. I'm not sure what time though.

This week was really good! Some weeks seem to go by faster than others, and this one seemed to fly by because so much happened. I'll try to write as much as I can about what went on.

We are teaching Anitra (I can't remember if I've told you about her but she was one of our miracle investigators) and her family. They are an African American family. They just love every time we come over and study the gospel with them. Each time we go the light just goes brighter and brighter in their faces, and they notice the spirit that is with us. When we came into their house they all said, "you've got a light about you. Y'all just look so happy." and they also told us they know they've met us before. I know that we met them before we came here to earth cause we just love them so much.

 Well we were over there on Tuesday teaching her mom about the restoration and Sister Draeger was starting to explain the first vision. As she started to say, "I saw a piller of light, exactly over my head.... above the brightness of the son" Anitras mom whispers... "I seen that light, I seen that light..." and Sister Draeger keeps going until she says, " I saw two personages whose brightness and glory defy all description standing above me in the air..." Anitras mom said in awe..." not that light." haha I could barely hold it in cause she was just so amazed. And just the way that she said it with her accent made me smile! Anyways... now I'm looking like an idiot here in a public library smiling so big to myself at the computer screen people are looking at me weird. Oh well!

So we are teaching some really great investigators right now. It's been a sifting process, and will be as we search for the elect!

On Thursday we had a mission sisters conference which was all day! It was soooo good. We have about 30 sisters in the mission and it President set up these sisters conferences every 6 months. I was asked to speak at it and my topic was obedience. When you're given this topic as a missionary you wonder if it’s because President thinks you need to work on it. So Sister Draeger and I made an "alter of sacrifice" earlier in the week and put all our little disobediences on it. We don't have any big ones, but just tightening things up like having breakfast at 7:30 am like it says in the hand book. And also striving to be purpose driven all throughout our days. It's been cool to see the blessings come as we do the little things.

Anyways so the sisters’ conference was good. We were at the mission office for most of the day for talks, trainings, President and Sister Saylin spoke, President did a Q & A session (really cool!) and then we went to the mission home for dinner and a testimony meeting. We didn't get home till 10:15 pm. We were all physically and spiritually exhausted! One thing that I loved about Sister Saylins talk was her introduction. She got pretty emotional and said how although the chapel wasn't full of bodies she knew there were lots of people there. She knew that our angels were there with us and our future generations were there cheering us on. It was really neat. President Saylin spoke on the mysteries of God and how we need to come to know them so that we can understand God and enter the celestial kingdom. He went into some pretty deep doctrine and it was really powerful. He talked about how revelation is very sacred and it needs to be treated like gold. There is no handbook for the temple for a reason. It is so we can learn by the spirit and learn how to apply the revelation we receive there into our lives. He made me feel better about myself when he said, "it's ok if you didn't enjoy the temple the first few times you went.... I had a really hard time too." Just because everyone talks it up to be this great experience (which it is) but, your first time there you won't understand everything. It's line upon line precept upon precept. He is going to be an apostle some day I think.

After sisters conference I had 3-4 sisters who are leaving this transfer come up to me and tell me they think I'm going to be training this next transfer. I about died when they said that because I still need a whole lot of training myself. I don't think it'll happen for a while, but it was a nice complement!

On Friday we got a surprise phone call from President saying Sister Draeger was going to be leaving for the weekend to another area and I'd be training a mini missionary... his daughter Kate for the weekend. Kate is 17 years old and she has been on several mini missions throughout her time here in Texas, but I was so nervous cause I didn't want to mess anything up! She is such a great missionary though and we had fun. On Saturday President and his kids brought us breakfast and checked out our apartment and our area boards. He said he was impressed with our area, so that made me relieved. haha We found a few new investigators and had several sit down lessons which was really good! One of them made me really sick inside though. It was a former member and his wife. They are in their late 20's and he is very smart. He served a mission and worked as an ordinance worker in the Provo temple after his mission but then he said evidence didn't prove our religion to be right. I got pretty upset inside but I bit my tongue and told him about Doubting Thomas the apostle. I was pretty bold, but the spirit was definitely there and his wife was in tears so I know she felt the spirit too. I hope he softens his heart again one day. And I hope his wife will come back to church!

 Our exchanges ended last night. We met at the mission home and I was able to talk with President and Sister Saylin for a bit before Sister Draeger got there. I love their family! I am really going to miss them.

Well I still need to write President and I've only got a few minutes left so I better go! I love you all soooo much!

Erianne :)