Happy Late Memorial Day!!

Sorry I wasn't able to email y'all yesterday they switched our p-days this week so we went out to teach yesterday and today is our p-day! 

How was y'alls memorial day? Do anything fun? We had 2 BBQ's with 2 different families... The Velazquez and the Moores. It was fun, but lots of food! I hope you were able to go see the grave sites of grandma and grandpa and Lamont. I was thinking of them lots yesterday. I'm grateful that families are eternal.

Well.... let's see what happened this week. Transfers! I have 2 new companions in Mission Bend with me. Sister Owens is 20 and is from Sunny California and is the greenie in our companionship, and then Sister Hiatt is a sister from Southern California who has been out for 9 months. She is 27 years old, so I'm pretty sure she is the oldest sister in the mission. We've been having fun. It's been a big adjustment for Sister Owens to the mission... lots of questions of why we have certain rules, and I don't like being the party pooper on everything, but Sister Hiatt has been helping me out a bit too. We met with President today for our weekly study and we went over consecration and obedience, and we talked about how all the little rules are the foundation for us to receive great blessings. It's by small and simple things that great things are brought to pass. Like sight and sound for example. We can NEVER be away from our companions unless one of us are in the bathroom or in a meeting with President. It is probably one of the hardest rules for me, but especially as a new missionary coming in trying to get into the habit of never going into the other room without your companion. But President explained it well this morning when he read us Alma 37 and showed that Alma gave Helaman a command to polish the plates... and he was going to be king. But he said, this may be foolishness, but that is how the blessings will come. So we're working out the kinks with all the questioning right now. :) 

On Thursday night we had a dinner with the awesome family in our ward, they remind me of Reid and Shellys family and they invited the Velazquez family over! We had a great lesson on the importance of family history work and the temple. They are so excited for the temple! I can't wait for them to be sealed. 

Man, the missionary work here in this mission is growing so quickly! This last transfer we set a record for the # of incoming missionaries in the US. 41 new missionaries came in! None of the office staff, Presidents fam, or the assistants got any sleep last week I felt really bad! But it is so cool to see how quickly the Lord is hastening his work. I'm so grateful for the chance I get to see how much its speeding up. President asked a few of us departing missionaries to bare our testimony at transfer meeting with all the new missionaries and I just told them to get ready to have their lives changed! I am so jealous they are just starting their missions! 

I  had a leadership meeting on Saturday with the zone and district leaders and we went over our goals for May and it almost doubled from April! AND we only had 3 baptisms as a zone in April, but in May we had 10! Our mission is going to hit the goal of 1,000 baptisms this year. :)

On Sunday we got to sit in on Anthony Velazquez's priesthood ordination. It was such a cool experience to see that! He is going to be baptizing Danielle this coming Saturday!!!! It is going to be the best day ever. I can't wait! Jessica came out teaching with us and it just reaffirmed my testimony of the reason I am here serving a mission. She bore testimony right from the start of how the gospel has changed her life and her family's life. She knows it's true and you could see the excitement in her eyes as she told this investigator about her conversion. I love testimonies! 

Being a missionary is the best! I love getting to see lives change so quickly as they accept the light Christ is offering them. 

Well I hope everything is going well for y'all. It's starting to get real hot here in Texas! Gotta embrace it. 

I love you!!!!

Sister Avery

Last Transfer - May 20, 2013

I'm dying a little bit right now because today is the start of my last transfer. I am so sad! BUT I did find out that I'll be staying here in Mission Bend to finish out my mission!!!! I will also be training a new sister, and another sister will be joining our companionship that has been struggling with obeidience.... yep President is making me be the party pooper and help her be obedient. I'm a little nervous about that, but it'll be good to show her how much obeidence brings forth the blessings.

This morning Sister Ker and I went to President Ashtons house and he showed us the transfer board of what will be happening this wednesday at Transfers. It is AMAZING to see how much effort is put into each one of the decisions on that board, and how much time he must spend with the Lord trying to decide where each of us goes. The mission here is exploading! We will be getting 41 new missionaries this week, and only 12 leave. Shows how much the work is hastening huh?

We also did a study with him on Unity. The beginning of being unified with anyone has to start with the Lord. We were talking about how each one of the apostles has such strong personalities and decisions, but it's never a debate it's always unified and unanimous.

 

While we were at Presidents house the missionaries that are going home started coming in. It made me so sad to see so many of my close friends leave. President looked at one of the Assistants shoes who is leaving and said, "that is how you know a missionary worked hard through his mission." (His shoes had holes all over in the toes and heals).  :) Oh the life of a missionary.

 

Oh! Kailey congrats on your seminary graduation!!! I'm proud of you. :) I remember how I didn't really care graduating from Seminary, but now I'm really grateful that I did. One of my companions didn't graduate and she wishes she did.

 

BEST NEWS OF THE WEEK!!!!!

 

The Brother and Sister Velazquez got baptized this weekend!!! They asked me to give a talk and I was pretty emotional. I feel like I've gotten a pretty hard shell on my mission and I don't cry to much anymore, but while singing the opening song I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude come over me because I knew that was the day I had been praying for my whole mission. To bring a family unto our Savior! It was such a privledge to see their family sitting there together with the light of Christ in each of their eyes. I'm so grateful Heavenly Father lets us be a part of the joy He feels when we come unto Him.

On sunday night Jessica (Sister Velazquez) came with us to an Investigator Devotional and she got very emotional when the guy that was speaking started talking about "His angels--Elder Born and Elder Mortensen-- who saved his family and brought them the gospel." She looked over at us and had tears streaming down her cheeks and said, You guys are our angels.

 

I am so grateful the Lord led us to them. They were so prepared for the gospel. They are already looking forward to the temple and asked if we would come. :) Oh man! I love them so much! I just wish they didn't have to experience opposition so quickly. They called their family on sunday before their confirmation and told them what they did, and they all think we brainwashed them and that they are going to brainwash their girls. I know they are strong enough to resist, but it's still hard seeing them go through it.

 

Brother Velazquez got interviewed for the Priesthood and he will be ordained next week and be able to baptize Danielle the next week! That will be a special day. :)

 

Today we are going to the allegator park with them! That'll be fun.

Pray for them if you will!

 

Everything else is going good! We are teaching a kid named Andy. His girlfriend is a member and she introduced him to the church. He is set to be baptized on the 8th of June. He has already been to church 2 times and we are 1/2 way done with the lessons. He is a sharp kid.

 

Thanks for everything you are doing for me! I love you so much and I'm grateful for you. Please let me know if I can do anything for y'all.

 

Sister Avery

FAMILIES ARE THE BEST!!! May 13, 2013

Thanks so much for your visit yesterday! It made my whole week. :) Seriously, I don't know what I would do without all of you. I really believe I have the best family. Both my companions don't seem as close to their families and it made me really grateful for the relationships we have. I told them they would probably cry after their visit, but neither did so it made me look like a baby. haha Oh well! Love y'all!

Mom and Carter I'm glad y'all made it safe to Michigan, I was praying for y'all in every prayer. I'm jealous you got to go to the Nauvoo temple! I heard it's really pretty. Maybe if I go help Carters family move back in August we can stop by. :)

Well, this email will probably be a bit shorter since we talked yesterday, but I'll try to fill y'all in on what's happened this past week.

So last monday President called me and asked if the assistants had talked with me last saturday about doing training at all the zone conferences last week. They hadn't called... But I told him I could hurry and prepare for Tuesday morning. We were able to go to all the zone conferences and do a training on teaching when we find. I was talking about this in the missionary leadership meeting a few weeks ago and I think that is why President asked me to talk about it (lesson learned.... don't bring things up like that otherwise you'll have to do trainings). Several times when I've been on exchanges the sisters will go knock on a door to ask for someone specific and if that person isn't there they will just tell the person who answered the door that they will come back later. Well there were two times in a day in Alief when I stopped them and just asked the people at the door if we could share a message with them. We were able to get in and share a message and both people accepted a baptismal date. I remember at the beginning of my mission I was quick to just hand off cards and walk away, but now I've seen enough times to see that EVERY SINGLE PERSON we come in contact with have been placed there for a reason. Not just some people need salvation. Everyone does! The sisters in Alief have gotten really good at this now and they have lots of investigators! I'm proud of them.

I shared my experience with Noo at the zone conferences about how Sister Draeger were out on our bikes at it was 8:50 at night and we were lost. This was when President Saylin was here and he really pushed talking with 10 people on the streets each day. We were at 9 and we knew we needed to get our last contact. We saw Noo out on her driveway and decided to go talk with her. We shared a bit about the Book of Mormon and she really wanted us to come back. 4 Weeks later she was baptized and now is preparing to go through the temple! I know that was a blessing to us and to her to see the Lords hand in guiding us to be where we needed to be and to talk with everyone about the gospel.

Also last week on Friday we had a great lesson with the Velasquez family on tithing. They both committed to pay tithing IF they became members of our church. Elder Nilsen was there at that lesson with us and he asked what would be holding them back. Anthony said he still feels a little weird about being baptized. He told us his background and we told him that he needed to pray specifically. He hadn't done that yet. His wife Jessica has her answer already, but wants to do this as a family! Which we want too! We committed Anthony and Jessica to pray together that night and ask if that is what Heavenly Father wants for their family. It was a powerful lesson.
Well, on sunday Jessica leans over to Sister Hinton in Relief Society and said, "we want to be baptized this saturday! We got our answer."

Please pray for them!!! I know They have some struggles in their life right now, but I know that Heavenly Father put the gospel in their life for a reason at this time. I know that they need this and I am so grateful to get to see this miracle of the change in their lives.

They offered skype from their house on sunday so they could meet y'all, but the Sanders had it set up already. I hope you can meet them one day.

So the plan now is Jessica and Anthony will be getting baptized this saturday and Anthony will be baptizing Danielle (she is 10) on the 25th or June 2nd. :)

Hmmm..... what else happened this week?

This morning President had Sister Ker and I in his office for another study. We studied Real Intent and helping us missionaries and investigators gain more real intent. It was really cool to see the revelation we received to try to help the mission. We dug into Hebrews chapter 4 (especially vs 12) which was really deep and hard to understand, but President helped us to learn what it meant. A belief in Christ stems from action and doing the small and simple things (like reading scriptures and praying) When we don't act on the small and simple things our faith begins to fade and we lack faith, and then miracles cease. Alma 37:3-7 and D&C 64:33-34 compared to Alma 37:38-42. Those who choose not to enter into Christs rest don't have faith and won't have real intent. It's a choice. Just as it is a choice to have faith.

I love studies with him cause it makes the scriptures come alive. I hope I can keep learning how to study the scriptures rather than just read them. P.S. How's y'alls Book of Mormon challenge going that I gave you?

Anyways, I love y'all so much and I'm grateful for all you do. Thanks for your love and support!

Sister Avery

I cannot believe it's already MAY!!! Where is the time going?! I'm getting more and more nervous cause the weeks seem to be going by days and the months like weeks.

But It sounds like everyone back home is doing great! I can't wait to chat with y'all this Sunday! We've had a countdown on our whiteboards in our apartments for about 2 months now. Happy early mothers day mom!!!!

This week has had lots of ups and downs. Most of the downs are just from stress. I'm trying to learn not to stress so much but THIS IS PEOPLES SALVATION! It's hard not to stress over that. But the Lord is really teaching me to put more things in His hands and not worry. Because honestly if we are doing all we can, He will do the rest and always help things to turn out the best way. I feel like I've been in the refiners fire a bit this week. On Tuesday we had a mission leadership meeting and it was the 2nd one with the new callings with the Sisters in the mission. I think it just overwhelmed me a bit because our mission is now focusing on baptizing weekly instead of monthly. Last year in October President Ashton asked us to raise our Faith and pray to baptize monthly, and so I had been praying so hard to accomplish that, and the Lord has helped me through each month! The Lord is now asking more of us, and with the goal of 1,000 baptisms this year President is asking us to again raise our Faith, by instead praying for Exceeding Faith to find and baptize weekly. I know it's from Heavenly Father, but just when I thought I was going to die from not being able to work any harder this test of Faith comes in. :) haha He told me I was not only in charge of Mission Bend baptizing weekly, but also the other areas in my zone and especially Alief where I should be spending 50% of my time.

I want to be able to do the best I can, but I feel I'm lacking so much. I want to be here in Mission Bend because SO much good is happening here, but President has asked that I spend more time in Alief cause they are still trying to pick up the area (but they did have a baptism last weekend!!! The first in several months for that ward. ) I was so proud of the sisters there! I think I'm just very protective of the people we are working with here in Mission Bend especially the Velazquez family, and I want to be there every time we teach them. But the Lord is teaching me that He can do all things.... even without me! I had to humble myself this week and turn the area over to Sister Hinton and Petersen. I trust them cause they are great sisters. I just need to keep exercising my faith in the Lord and in His power.

The day after the leadership meeting Sister Ker (the spanish sister trainer leader) and I met with President to do a study with him. We studied Exceeding Faith. I'll have to tell you all about it later, but here are a few references we studied....

Moroni 10:8,11

Alma 13:3

Alma 19:7-10

2 Nephi 3:24

3 Nephi 19:18-22

Jacob 3:1

Moshiah 26:13-16

Alma 60:25-26

Ether 3:9

Ether 2:14-15

D&c 46:8

John 7:16-17

Alma 32:28-29

You'll have to do a study on Exceeding Faith! It's a cool topic and It helps to strengthen our Faith as we study it. I think the biggest thing I learned is that Faith is a choice and it comes through practice, study, and prayer. Exceeding Faith is required for our Salvation and I really believe that is why God is expecting us young missionaries to start increasing our Faith for the last days.

On Wednesday we went to go try a less active that the Relief Society President asked us to go see and she wasnt there so we tried her neighbors to see if they knew if she still lived there. The girl that answered was about 17 years old and her name is Allona. She told us we could come back and bring her a Book of Mormon. We went back on Thursday and taught her the Restoration. After we extended her a baptismal date she accepted and said, "can I give you a affirmation of Faith?" We didn't really know what that was, but we told her yes. She told us that her mom is a youth minister at her church and they are really involved at her church but lately she had been praying to find her own way since her pastor is leaving this month. She wanted to know what church to join and we showed up at her door. She wants to read the Book of Mormon, and the cool thing is that she is friends with Lauren and Ashley Casey! We are meeting with her tonight, but it just made me so grateful to know that Heavenly Father is listening to each of our prayers. The answers come in ways we may never expect them to come.

On Saturday we invited the Velazquez to the Alief Sister's baptism, and they came! They were very interested in what was going on and Jessica kept asking me lots of questions about the Priesthood authority. When we went over there on Sunday after church (their 4 week in a row being at church!!!) we brought Brother Johnson, who is the seminary teacher, and he is the one who's family got in the terrible car accident last year. We taught about the Power of the Priesthood and eternal families. The lesson was so good and I think it really helped Anthony to know and understand what His role will be. Dad, I was able to bare testimony of how grateful I am for you baptizing me and playing a role in my salvation with that first covenant I made with Heavenly Father. I wanted to thank you for that! Anthony got emotional when he found out he would be able to baptize his daughters. :) Their family is doing so well! I can't wait to see their sealing.

Yesterday Anthony and Jessica even fasted! Who does that when you're not even a member yet?! I thought that was so cool. They fasted about their baptism and I thought it was a sign from Heavenly Father that sunday school was all about covenants!

This gospel changes lives. It is hard someday to see people not accept it, or to take advantage of it, but it's so worth it when you find someone like the Velazquez who have been so prepared for it in their life.

Thank you for all your love and support! I'm so grateful for the family and the way I was raised.

I love y'all!!!! Talk to you in 6 days. :)

Sister Avery

Rain Storm!!!

WOW! This week was fun! It went by pretty quick, but it ended with a bang on Saturday night. We had a ward bbq which the Velazquez family were going to come to, but then the rain storm hit. We still ended up going, but there were maybe 3-4 families there.... and they were the ones who planned it. I felt bad! But really, this was a crazy storm!!! The streets were completely flooded up to our knees (not joking), so we had to park our car and walk after the bbq to go to an appointment. And I've NEVER seen rain or floods like this one. We ended up pushing a few dead cars out of streets with people and it was actually pretty fun! Our shoes are ruined, and our clothes got drenched, but we laughed lots and we didn't want to go in early, but the assistants told the district leader to come find us cause other sisters cars were flooding and they didn't want us to get stuck. We told them we parked our car in a safe place and we would be fine till 9:00 and we kept going down the street, but they followed us and then told us our apartment flooded.... So they took us home and our apartment was fine. I was so mad! haha But the next day Sister Hinton and Petersen asked Elder Nottingham (the assistant) why he lied to us about our apartment, and he said that was the only way he could get me to go home. Oh well!

I guess there are supposed to be more storms this week, so we'll see if it happens again. I'll have to send pics.

Guess what?! The Velazquez family came to church again! It was their 3rd week in a row and they are loving it. We had a linger longer after church and they stayed for that and I'm pretty sure every person in the ward went up and greeted them! I was grateful a few ladies even invited Jessica to have her kids do play groups with them. They really like the ward. Earlier last week I went over there teaching with a member in our ward while Sister Hinton and Petersen went to another lesson. We taught them the Word of Wisdom and that seriously has to be one of their biggest hurdles cause they love coffee... But they both said they would live it and just pray for the strength to overcome it. I love their family so much! I can't wait to see them get sealed next year! The quote that says, "Missionary; someone who leaves their family for a short time so other families can be eternal." is so true! I love getting to see their progress in the gospel :) On Friday night they invited us over for dinner and they really opened up to us. I just felt bad cause I was a little sick on Friday and so trying not to get sick at the dinner table was a little hard, but Heavenly Father blessed me. :)

President Ashton called us last week with a referral of someone he contacted while he was out to eat. We contacted her the next day and we've been teaching her. Sister Hinton went on Splits with a less active sister in our ward who said she would come teaching with us and she had a great lesson with her. I think it even helped the less active out way more than the investigator cause she was able to teach 50% of the lesson with Sister Hinton and bare testimony of the truths she knows. She even asked to share something in church on Sunday in Sunday school and she said how big of an impact that made on her! We are trying to do that with more less actives so they will have the fire burning in them to do missionary work.

I was able to go to the District leader council this morning to set some zone goals for the month with the elders. It felt so weird being the only girl and having NO companion by my side... I think I'm going to be awkward when I get home! Anyway, it was a cool experience to set those goals with the Help of Heavenly Father. We all got the same number in our heads for how many baptisms they zone can get this month! It was definitely inspired. Tomorrow we have a mission leader council and I've been asked to talk about how mission exchanges are going with the sisters and how we can improve. I just wish everyone wanted to be obedient so they could receive the blessings. So many people want to get blessings without doing their part. But for the most part this mission is doing really well! We just have to Increase our Faith to bring more people to Christ.

We've also been teaching with several of the youth in the ward still and they are doing great! We have missionary correlation every Saturday morning at our bishops house (and his wife makes yummy breakfast!!) and he told us and the elders that the youth in the ward have made a 180 degree change the past few months and he can see several of them serving missions where as before he would have never thought they could make it! President Ashton is inspired to have us working closely with the youth. They need just as much strengthening as anyone else, if not more!

I love being a missionary!

I was able to go back to Memorial this past week to help some sisters there and we had a really cool experience! We had several of our lessons fall through and we were knocking at this one persons door and I saw across the way that there was a door open and I told the sisters we needed to go try them. We went up and knocked on their door and it ended up being a Spanish couple that spoke zero English. I told them we would be right back and we went to go get some Spanish pamphlets in the car. We ended up teaching them a 45 minute lesson!!!! They are going to be baptized. We sent them to the Spanish elders and told them this is a golden referral. After the lesson the lady told me she wanted this for her son as well and he lived in Mexico. She called him and had me speak to him about the gospel. We told him about mormon.org and contacting the missionaries there.

I think Heavenly Father needed me to learn a little Spanish from Sister Moreno so we could at least tell the family about the beginning of this great plan God has for us!

Things are going great! I will try to send some pictures from this past week. :)

I love y'all so much! Can't wait to talk to you in a few weeks.

Sister Avery