Summer is DEFINITELY here!

Well, it is hot... VERY HOT!! But, since I complained about the freezing cold weather, I can't complain about the heat. AND since it is cold and rainy in Utah, I can't complain either. But, the humidity just might kill me, and it isn't even that bad yet! Or the mosquitos might eat me alive. One of the two... But I am not complaining, right?

ANYWAY, this past week was so great! We met many people who want to hear about the gospel; this area has so much potential! I just love it, this area is so great. It was interesting though, because we had so many return appointments that fell through and so we would go to our back up plan, and that plan was always what needed to happen. There would be someone we needed to see during that time that wanted to hear from us, even if they weren't looking for it. it is such a blessing to understand why some things just don't work out. Once that appointment cancels, or isn't there, we eagerly look for someone the Lord has put in our path. The Lord's timing is so great to see.

We had a training for all of the sisters in the mission at our Mission President's home this past week and that went so well. We talked about how we hold a great power and authority even though we don't hold the Priesthood. We also talked about how we can be humble and submit to the Lord's will. We have one thing to give to the Lord out here and that is our will. We can be a missionary or we can just be doing missionary things. It is up to us to decide if we want to just go through the motions or give our heart to the Lord and diligently work to find people who need to hear about the Restored Gospel. Needless to say, the conference was great for me to hear, because I know I need to work harder as a missionary.

So I don't remember if I told you about the G family yet, but they are a half english half spanish family so the spanish elders came out with us to teach them. So we get there, and the wife has been a little reluctant to listen to us, so I go up to her and say, "hello Jessica, how are you?" She then looks at me and says, "my name is JASMINE." Wow, I made that a better situation... NOT! I will take full blame for her not sitting in on the lesson. I need a good recovery for next week. Anyway, so us missionaries, Jose, and his mother in law came in and listened to the lesson. As the spanish elders were teaching, I felt like we were just the lame people in the corner who couldn't speak spanish. We needed to do something! So I prayed that the Lord would guide me to what I should do during this time. I was contemplating going to talk to J, and then suddenly one of their daughters, S, came over and sat by me. She is 11 and adorable. She turns to me and says, "can you tell me about the rapture?" So I explained to her about the rapture and Jesus Christ and the Resurrection and all of that fun jazz. So her and I got into a conversation about the gospel for the next 45 minutes and it was absolutely incredible. She was the smartest 11 year old I had ever met! She told me she wants to be a missionary and she sets up her dolls in her room and preaches to them about Jesus Christ. So cool! She also said she goes around inviting people to her church because she knows everyone needs to go to church. Incredible. So we talked to her about the Book of Mormon, and she was so excited to read it! She reads the Bible every day so she is going to add it to her "daily study". Jose said she is smarter than anyone he knows and will teach him everything about Jesus Christ. I am so excited to continue teaching this family! I love the ways that Heavenly Father answers my prayers and directs me to what I need to do so quickly!

We met with G and that went so well! He loves the Book of Mormon and "felt so good when I read it". Before we even asked him, he said he is coming to church this Sunday and finds everything we say fascinating. The Lord is just giving us so many people to teach! We are teaching him again this week.

So on Sunday, P received the Priesthood! He was so excited, and realizes how important the Priesthood is to him and his family. He told us his family has noticed such a difference in him and they aren't even members! He is setting a great example for them.

So I have really sad news. B and K, our recent converts, are moving to Texas tomorrow. I am so sad! BUT some crazy news is that they are moving to Dallas which I am pretty sure they are extremely close to Heather with what they described. I don't think that is a coincidence. So Heather can take on the missionary role and help them become comfortable with the church down there. They are so excited to meet her.

Life is great out here! I love you all! Have a great week!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Hello Family!

Family,

Well, I will start first with yesterday since it was pretty exciting! It was the New Haven Musical Fireside, so we were able to drive down to Woodbridge and be a part of that. As I was sitting in the choir seats waiting for it to start, in walks Mike Firmage!!!! I was so excited!! The performance went beautifully and right after I ran down to talk to him. He said he is moving to Utah? At least I got to see him here before he left. It was so great to see him and his wife. He said Bobby told him to heckle me. Oh weird.. I guess since I don't have any brothers here giving me a hard time it was about time for someone to do it. It was definitely a tender mercy from the Lord.

So this past week we had transfer meetings in Bloomfield and the whole mission was invited. The reason for this was the Massachusetts, Boston Mission President and his wife came and wanted to meet all of us before the merge. His wife was wearing an ADORABLE J. CREW sweater (no blazer) so I am HOPING that I can do the same at transfers and zone conferences....... We will see.... It was great to meet them, they said they are related to some Cannon's somehow. It was sad to hear President and Sister Pehrson speak to us about the merge. It will be hard, but we were all counseled to "not look back and move forward." It will be a bittersweet change.

We had many instances this past week where the Lord placed us where we needed to be when we didn't really understand. We had an appointment with L and went to his address and he didn't tell us which apartment he lived in. So we called him and he didn't answer. So we decided to go to each door until we found him! We knocked on every door and the second to last one, this sweet lady answered and we started talking to her. She was not interested until Sister Jacob asked her, "Has there ever been a question that you have always wanted answered and never found the answer to?" Suddenly she changed. She opened up and told us her many concerns about life, her church and her thoughts. It was incredible! We are meeting with her this week again and are looking forward to it. All because L didn't tell us the apartment address. So great.

We had another appointment that didn't answer when we got there, so we were driving away and saw G, a potential investigator that never called us back walking into his home! We have tried going to his home but he is never there. So we pulled in and talked to him for a half hour on his door step. He is excited to meet with us again this week and is really interested! I love how the Lord makes things happen for a reason.

We had our talent show on Friday and Sister Jacob and I were the MC's. It was a great turn out! There weren't enough seats for everyone! This ward has been so supportive and we had investigators there as well which was great. Sister Jacob and I sang a song and then Sister Jacob sang "Whole Again" as the final song. Many people said she sounded like an angel. The song was about the Atonement and how it can make us "whole again". I don't think there was a dry eye in the audience. It was great to have a fun night but end it with a message about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

So the talk of Saturday was that the world was supposedly supposed to end. So many people were asking what we thought and what was going to happen. It was really funny. DO people really believe the world is going to end? I guess so! It was funny because we had so many new people to teach from Saturday. So I guess it was a good thing. This area is just booming at the moment. There is so much work to be done and not enough time! It is so great when the days just completely fly by and we are wanting more time in a day.

The last thing I wanted to talk about was this wonderful family in the ward. They are a less active family that we used to meet with every week but out of nowhere, the girls started saying every time we went over there that the mom wasn't feeling well. We knew this was an excuse but kept trying to go over and figure out what was going on. This went on for about a month, and we decided 2 days ago just to stop by and see if she was home. So we did and the mom was right there. She instantly just broke down and started crying. She said she had lost everything and nothing was going right. Her family was falling apart before her eyes and she didn't know what to do. So we went in and gathered her and her 3 daughters and talked with them about what was going on. She was so sad because she was the only one going to church out of her whole family and she was sick of doing it alone. So we talked with them and made a deal with them that we would come over every night at 8:45 to read scriptures and say a prayer as a family. They all agreed this was a good idea and they are going to do this as a family so they can be a loving family again. It is interesting how this had to happen for them to all become so humble they will do anything to bring their family back together. It is in these moments that we become closest to the Lord and really humble ourselves to ask for His help. It has been interesting to see from an outside view that their family is going through a huge change that will bring them back together. It was one of the most amazing things I have seen on my mission. I hope that through this, we can help save this family and make them "whole again". I love this work and how the Lord works through us. We weren't planning on stopping by, but we did, and I am so grateful for that.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elizabeth

TAWANDA!

Good, good week

This past week was sure great!

We had exchanges so I headed down to Southbury for the day with Sister Carpenter. I have gone to Southbury many times for exchanges, I feel like I have served there! The last time we went there, we ate at a member's home (not the cleanest home I have ever been in) and after the meal, I got so sick that we had to stop at a Big Y so I could throw up. Embarrassing exchange right? I was fine though, because I thought I would never see them again....NOT! We are driving there, and Sister Carpenter says, "we are going to the M for dinner, I have never met them before." My stomach dropped. I didn't know what to do! It was the same family that fed us when I got terribly sick. So we go to their house and she answers the door and she had been sick the past week and forgot we were coming. So I said, "ya know, we don't want to bother you, especially when you are sick so don't worry about feeding us!" She said, "well that is silly, I am sure I have something in my fridge to feed you!" Oh yay... So she goes over to her fridge and pulls out a bowl and says, I QUOTE, "this is some potato concoction I made up a while ago. Not sure what is in it, I just threw a bunch of stuff together..." NOOOOOO!! So she gave it to us, and I tried to eat as much as I could but didn't get very far. It was not the prettiest thing I have ever seen. I prayed very hard that I wouldn't get sick... Luckily I didn't. I am glad to say that the southbury sisters are getting doubled out so I never have to go back there again.... yay!!

Besides the fun meal, the exchange was great. Sister Carpenter is a greenie, so we were able to go see some people that I knew and she didn't. Yes that just shows how often I have been there. It was fun to see people I remembered. One girl named A is married to a member and she was avoiding the missionaries. I had gone there last time but she was busy. So this time we were able to talk to her and she was very anti missionaries when we started talking to her but the spirit was strong in prompting me to share an analogy with her. So I did and she loved it. She totally warmed up to us and we talked with her for a half hour. She agreed to come to the musical fireside so that was great. I love leaving houses knowing the spirit was there leading me to do what He wants me to do.

So Friday was so great. we had a training on how we need to talk to everyone we come in contact with, so sister Jacob and I decided we would. We prayed before we went contacting, and had the faith that we would find people that wanted to hear the gospel. Within walking 5 minutes, we gave 2 copies of the Book of Mormon out with 2 appointments and the rest of the day was that same thing. I seriously didn't know what to do! EVERYONE we talked to was interested! I was almost in tears because I just could not believe it! I think Heavenly Father proved His point. We need to talk to everyone about the gospel! We were even walking back to our apartment to grab more copies of the Book of Mormon, and this guy was stopped in his car and I felt like that would be creepy to go to his car and start talking to him. Well what do you know, he rolls down his window and asks us for directions on how to get somewhere. Weird. So we talked to him about the gospel and it went great. It seriously was the coolest day!

To end with the awesomeness, we were walking on main street and this guy says, "what do you have?" so we start talking to him about the gospel this is the convo.

"I need that in my life."

us: Ok, well we would love to talk to you about the Book of Mormon.

Him: Ok can I have that so I can read it?

us: Sure! Could we teach you more about this book?

Him: Yes, I need Jesus in my life.

us: Ok, when would be a good time?

Him: Right now. Can you teach me right now?

us: Umm.. ya!

So we ended up teaching him right then and there about the restoration and he loved it! So he said he wanted to come to church and so we got his number and he wanted a ride. So he called us a half hour later making sure the number was right and if we were getting him a ride. Then he called us the next morning twice making sure there would be a ride for him. He was at church and loved it. His name is L and he is legit! It is so interesting how the Lord puts us where we need to be. We didn't even need to do anything! He just kept saying how much he needs Jesus in his life and he is excited to change and make his life better.

Last night was the Missionary Musical Fireside in the Hartford Stake so I was able to see the Goshen Ward! There is nothing better than seeing all of the people from that ward. It was so exciting, and I couldn't stop smiling! I imagine it will be like that when I go home. I got to see the T, P and S, the Z, and even A came! Seriously it was so great to see all of these wonderful people. I am so grateful to have come out here on my mission to have met all of them.

It was such a fun night.

I love you all so much and hope everything is great!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Yay for May!

Well, this past week the weather was GORGEOUS!! Seriously we were outside all of the time because it was so nice. We rode our bikes all of the time, and for a while we didn't drive our car until we needed to go out of Manchester. They have a bike trail that runs through pretty much everywhere we need to go so we just ride our bikes on this peaceful trail that is filled with tons of green. I LOVE THIS WEATHER!!

B is all set for his baptism on Saturday, and we are all excited! K is loving our lessons and has decided she wants to get baptized as well. Her baby is due so she wants to wait until after because she doesn't know when it will be born. Seriously can we get any more blessed? This family is coming into the gospel and are working to be eternal. I love seeing this all happen. We have been so blessed.

We have two new people we are teaching and they are both enthusiastic about the gospel. They just soak up everything we say, I love it!

There were many instances this past week where people were bashing on the Book of Mormon and trying to prove to us that it wasn't true. I think Satan is just trying to get us down, but it is making my testimony stronger. I love the Book of Mormon and I know it is true with all of my heart. I just wish these many people would accept that. This lady was on main street and we started talking to her and she said, "please say you aren't Jehovah Witnesses" and so we replied, "no we aren't!" So then she said, "please say you aren't Mormons." We replied, "yes we are!" So she pointed to her right and said, "keep walking." So I said to her, "is there anything we can do for you?" So she looked at me and said, "ya, keep walking and don't ever talk to me again." So my comp said, "ok see ya later!" and she said, "I sure hope not." Boy did she have the grumbles!! It was funny but sad.

I don't have much to say, because I will tell you all on Sunday, but I hope you have a great week! I love you all!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Yay for Easter!

We will start with Easter, since it was such a great day.

So S, our recent convert, came and she brought her fiance, B. He is very nice, and I think he liked church. At least I hope so. She said he would try it once and that was all. So we will see what he thought. The talks in sacrament were incredible. This new family talked on the Atonement and Resurrection and the dad just said the most interesting, amazing talk. I love it when that happens.

Since S has never had children, she is fascinated with the Primary. She is always coming up with ideas and wanting to help with the children. I think she will be put into Primary, and I am sure she will love every minute of it. She thought of an idea to put bunny footprints in the nursery room and eggs so the kids would think the easter bunny came. It was adorable. Then she told us she "had a revelation from our families". So we went out to her car and she gave us easter baskets with all of these cute treats inside. She said, "the card is from me, but the baskets are from your families!" She is the cutest lady. The rest of the ward gave us cute easter surprises as well, this ward treats me so well, I love it. Whatever missionary comes into the wards out here, they just treat like gold.

We went to a family's home that the mom reminds me exactly of Annelise. I loved it, she is wicked creative and I just loved hearing her talk because she reminded me so much of Annelise. Hahah I may have come off creepy. But it was such a fun easter dinner.

We met with B and K again and it went really well! He is so excited for his baptism, and she loves what we are teaching. I hope she wants to be baptized soon so they can go to the temple in a year! It is incredible to see this little family coming into the gospel. I just hope they continue this way so they can receive eternal blessings.

We were tracting a certain street this past week and I just felt like we needed to be somewhere else. So we decided to leave and visit a less active, but she wasn't home. So I still wasn't sure where we were supposed to be but I was confused on why I had the feeling to leave. So we started tracting this street by the less active's home and knocked on a door and this little girl told us to come in. So we walked in and there was a mom sitting there doing laundry. We started talking to her and she seemed interested. Then she found out we were Mormons. She said, "ya I know what ya'll believe. I watched Real World and there was a guy on there that was Mormon. I think I am good." Haha so I asked if his name was Chet, and she said yes. I told her he was my cousin and she felt so bad. Haha it was funny. But I told her how there are a lot of times where Mormons come off as bad but we wanted to explain the good and how she could be with her family for eternity. By that time her friend came out of her room and she said she wanted us to come back, so we are going over on Tuesday. They both said they were going to do research and have questions the next time we come over. I know I was lead to that house because by the end they were both so interested. I have been striving to be closer to the spirit this past week, and I was so blessed to feel the Holy Ghost constantly.

So in District Meeting on Thursday we talked the whole time on what to do if our investigators are praying about the Book of Mormon and they aren't getting an answer. So that night we went to teach a less active and his question was, "I am praying for an answer and I am not getting one about the Book of Mormon. I was prompted to tell him a story in the Book of Mormon and it reminded him of when he received an answer in 2008. Everything then clicked in his head and he understood so much more. It was one of the neatest lessons I have been in. So cool.

Love you all! Have a great week!!!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Spring is finally here!

Yes Spring is here, and I am so excited! It still rains wicked though which can be annoying.... But its Spring!!

This past week was interesting... Sad sad news, H dropped us, but still wants to be friends. Haha it sounds like he broke up with us or something. We were sad though, he had so much potential. I think he was influenced by his friends.

So all of our investigators pretty much dropped off the face of the planet. SO LAME!! So Friday at planning, we only planned for one investigator that was even sketchy. I was getting discouraged because everyone is gone!! So that night we went to teach this family, and in the middle of the lesson, the dad interrupts and says this, "I feel like I should say this. This morning I was praying to God and I was telling Him how I knew this church was true, I just don't know all of the answers. I asked for His help. I had forgotten that you two were coming over tonight, and now I am sitting here and see that God sent you two for my answers. Who knew it would be the Bobsy Twins that would answer my questions!"

It was so cool. It was a really neat experience, and I felt so humbled that the Lord would use us to help him.

We left that appointment, and looked at our phone and 2 of our investigators that we haven't been able to get in contact with had called. AHHH!! We were so excited. We met with B the next day with his wife and son. He has been investigating the church for 4 years and just decided he would be ok with meeting with sister missionaries. I think it was because his wife finally decided she wanted to find out more about the church and she wanted sisters. So we met with them, and we met at their friend's house who was a member. Let me tell you, that was the most distracting lesson I have ever been in. The 2 year old was crying, the dog was barking, everyone was talking every which way, but all that mattered was that he felt the spirit, and we asked him if he would be baptized, and he said yes. He is so excited about it and he is getting baptized may 7th! Their family came to church yesterday and she loved church, we are meeting with them this week. Very excited! Her name is K, which is funny that their names are B and K like our cousins.

It is interesting how the Lord tries my faith and patience and when I think all is lost, He always comes through. I need to be better at my trust in the Lord.

Hope everything is well back home! Love you all!

Love, Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!

Yay for a legit week!

Well, this past week was so great! Let me start with Saturday even though it was the end of the week. P and S were both baptized and everything went perfectly! I felt so much joy in knowing they were so happy and felt so clean. I am so grateful for the blessing of baptism and this gospel! S told us she didn't want to shower because then she would wash the baptism water off. Haha so cute. It was such a wonderful morning, the talks were great, and they were both so happy. Now P and his wife are working towards being sealed in the temple with their two children. They are so happy and excited for the next step. I am so grateful for eternal families!! They were confirmed yesterday and the spirit was so strong. We had 6 investigators come to church!!!!!! The work is just picking up so much and progressing incredibly. We are being blessed here in Manchester.

Last night we had the Missionary Musical Fireside in the Rhode Island Stake and that was incredible. All of the songs had to do with Christ so the spirit was incredibly strong. When we sang I could barely get it out because it was so powerful. It is amazing how quickly the spirit comes when music is involved. We are singing in the Hartford and New Haven Stake next month which will be great.

There was a really neat moment last week when we were giving S her final interview questions. I guess I never realized how much we meant to her through this whole process. We asked her if things have been getting better lately. She told us how we mean so much to her and without us and the gospel she wouldn't have been able to get through what she has been going through. She said how she hoped we would never leave and she is so grateful for the ward. She has been meeting with missionaries for years now but finally decided to make the step of baptism. I now know why I was sent to Manchester. S has a very special place in my heart. It is interesting how when we first met her she was very standoffish and then once we let her know we were there to serve her and help her and she felt the spirit, everything changed. I was talking to an elder that was in Manchester before us and I told him that Sarah was baptized and he couldn't believe it. She wouldn't even let them into her home. It is incredible how the spirit can work on people. Her name is S Elizabeth by the way. I thought Annelise might like that. Like I said, she is very dear to my heart now.

We had transfers this past week and Sister Green went back to Southbury with the new sister Carpenter. She is way cool and very outgoing. The sisters in this mission are very different from most sister missionaries. It was sad to see Sister Green go, but she will have a lot of fun in Southbury. All of the sisters (6 of us now!) sang at transfers and we sang Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy to the tune of Come Thou Fount and it was so good. We have an elder who can play Ike Egan style to anything you tell him even if he has only heard it once. So he played this gorgeous arrangement and it turned out way legit. The spirit was so strong. The words to that hymn are so incredible and perfectly describe missionary work. I suggest everyone should read the words to Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy!

Well, I love you all and hope all is well!

Love,
Elizabeth

TAWANDA!!