Transfer 10 Week 4

It's been an interesting transfer, we have struggled to get lessons and find new investigators that are actually going to progress, but this week, I can testify that when you give everything you have to the Lord, and make ever hour the absolute best. The blessings come in such abundance it's hard to keep track of it all! 

This week we really made it a goal to put everything we have into the work in a way we never had before, talking to everyone, getting rid of the chatter and getting straight to the point of our purpose, and we saw amazing miracles! It's Friday and we have made and exceeded goals set for this week, we have a brand new determination to meet those goals we set and to not just be content when we achieved them but to strive for even more.

The other day it was raining pretty hard! We hadn't been outside in a while as we were in the Teaching Center taking chats and call, calling investigators etc. We went outside and the rain had stopped, but the flowers had really taken a beating. But I saw this one lone white beautiful poppy that was standing bright and tall while the others drooped over looking rather depressed and brought down. It really got me thinking, I need to be the white poppy, doesn't matter how hard it gets, I need to stand firm and tall, pure and bright, ready to serve the Lord with all I have, it doesn't matter that everyone around me might be looking down, I have to look up and as I do that I will be able to help others look up, to look up to our Savior Jesus Christ who we can rely on for strength... so my new personal motto is "Be the white Poppy".  There are so many beautiful and wonderful things we can learn from nature, that is how the Savior learned in his youth, he marveled and wondered at the things around Him as it says in Jesus the Christ - James E. Talmage (Chapter 9: Jesus of Nazareth) 

"Jesus was a close observer of nature and men. He was able to draw illustrations with which to point His teachings from the varied occupations, trades and professions; the ways of the lawyer and the physician,the manners of the scribe, the Pharisee and the rabbi,the habits of the poor, the customs of the rich, the life of the shepherd, the farmer, the vine dresser and the fisherman—were all known to Him. He considered the lilies of the field, and the grass in meadow and upland,the birds which sowed not nor gathered into barns but lived on the bounty of their Maker, the foxes in their holes, the petted house dog and the vagrant cur, the hen sheltering her brood beneath protecting wings—all these had contributed to the wisdom in which He grew,as had also the moods of the weather, the recurrence of the seasons, and all the phenomena of natural change and order."

I too have found myself doing much the same, I find myself making these spiritual connections with the things around me and I love it so much, I feel like it's a Christlike attribute to marvel and wonder, like an accompanying attribute to Knowledge, I may not be exactly like the Savior in the way He understood and comprehended such things, but I find comfort in knowing that He too learned from observation, study and prayer, he too came to know these things line upon line, which is how we too must learn. 

I really feel like something was being held back from us because something great was about to happen and Heavenly Father really wanted us to make the most of the opportunity, Sister Christensen and I both LOVE Jewish people, the culture, their belief, we both want to learn Hebrew after our missions and do more study about it all and connecting those ties to what we know to be true as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Long story short, We are the #1 fans of the Mormons are Jews with Jesus group! (if there is one?). ANYWAY! We were running a few errands during dinner, and I all of a sudden started craving Chick-fil-A, so we went and got some fries, and as we were walking out we said Hi to this guy and continued on, but we both felt a pressing need to go back and talk to him, his arms were covered in tattoos and noticed that He had the Star of David on his hand, so naturally we went back to investigate the situation, we got talking, stated our purpose as missionaries and got to find out a little more about Him. Luc, so happened to be Jewish. Can I get a Shalom, Manishma?! haha... but really! 

We got talking about some shared beliefs and he thought it was so awesome that we thought Judaism was cool, as most people he knows thinks it's dorky. We invited him to check out the Book of Mormon and made a time to take him around Temple Square for a lesson! That lesson happened today! And Jacque was our member present as David (her husband who is a Jewish Convert) was at work. The lesson today was amazing! So incredibly open to what we had to share, naturally there is a lot of questions that he has, as he grew up believing that the Messiah had not come, and here we are sharing a message all about Him. But we talked at the Temple Model and shared some things about the Plan of Salvation, the Restoration came up while in the Assembly Hall and at the Statue of Christ, we knew that he felt the spirit and simply just couldn't put it into words. He loved what we had to share and was so grateful we would take the time out of our day to take him around and share with him these things. He took it all on board and is excited to read Alma 32 and to exercise that particle of faith and create that desire to believe in the fact that the Messiah has come, he is excited to experiment upon the word. He has questions and asked us questions while with him, and asked Jacque to, because he really liked the fact that there was someone new in all of this (having come active about a year ago) also. I have been looking for what faith looks like on Temple Square and today was a perfect example of someone increasing in their faith. This whole experience has been an absolute miracle!

We have been teaching people and seeing miracles in our investigators, in them having a desire to attend church, to meet with local missionaries, we picked up a former investigator who is now completely sincere in what he is looking for pertaining religion and the gospel. I'm seeing faith and repentance everywhere I go and though it was hard, I know that this is what the Lord needed of me so all of these things could happen, so I could learn what I needed to learn to become and even better missionary! I know the Lord has spoken through me so many times and I know that they feel the love God has for them through us, we truly feel successful and I am so grateful for that. Once you work the hardest you can, you get that fire and spirit within you, you never want to serve a day without it and I have re-caught that fire within me, it died a little and I don't know why... but I know through the Saviors atonement that I am able to have that again, to repent, so have a fresh view on everything now and do everything I can and as I said before, make every hour the best hour! 

This week Jacque and I hit our year mark of knowing each other! It has been an amazing roller coaster of a road, but we have made it! Last night they made us dinner and we all had to together, I felt like I was Outbound again, eating home cooked food with members (they say it was a throw together meal, we say it was delicious!) It was an amazing. We talked about how Jacque and I met and how it was when we were first teaching her, how far she has come, it was just amazing we then were talking about our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and how Joseph Smith couldn't have faked it, he couldn't have made it all up, yet alone everything else that he did, never mind the fact that he died for what he knew to be true! But even just the written style of the Book of Mormon would have been impossible for a young man such as Joseph Smith with little education to simply just "write". It had to have been translated and translated by the power of God. Here is a few reasons why (thank-you David for teaching me some new words); Hebraisms, Cognate Accusatives, Cultural Context, Linguistic elements of the time (David knows his stuff, he is amazing with Hebrew) and last but certainly not least, the most beautiful Chiasmus found in the Book of Mormon especially in Alma 36. 

I love the gospel so much and being able to declare that to all nations is simply amazing. I love knowing that we as missionaries are part of the gathering of Israel, it is happening and it's amazing and beautiful! The Jews are coming to know that the Messiah has come! People all over the world are coming closer to Christ through the Book of Mormon. I know it is true for more reasons that I have time to write down. 

I have seen it be applied in my life in the weirdest and most wonderful and miraculous ways possible (Alma 32:4-7 anyone?). I have seen the Book of Mormon change lives and soften hearts and I just know that it comes from God, because of His great love for us. Read it for yourself and if you are, don't give up on it, feast upon it and just love it! Continue to pray and seek learning from the beautiful words contained in it. 

There is so much more I could day and explain but I'm sure the stories will all come up after my mission.

I love you all, thank-you for all you do. Stay Strong and Enjoy to the end! 

Love, Sister Ryan xx 

photos

Be like the white Poppy...to understand this read blog

Sister Christensen, Jacque Sweeney, Sister Ryan

Transfer 10 Week 3

This week so much but so little happened! 

It was really amazing though, our investigators are finally starting to progress and really come to know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, truly is Jesus Christ restored church on the earth. 

They are really feeling that God is listening to them as they pray, finding comfort through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, getting excited to meet with local missionaries and go to church, loving reading the Book of Mormon, praying with faith and sincerity. 

I also found out that one of my recent converts is being the best missionary ever and is baptizing everyone he loves, first his girlfriend, and now he is baptizing his Mum tomorrow which we are excited to learn more about how it all came to pass and how everything fell into place! He plans on going on a mission next year! He loves the gospel so much, He knew that the Book of Mormon was true and had no doubts about it before he was baptized, his date was actually pushed up a week because he was that ready! It really has been such a testimony to me of something I said a while ago; "You can count the seeds in the apple, but you can't count the apples from the seeds".

There is really not much I can say besides the fact that I love being a missionary, I love doing the Lords work, I love teaching and testifying every day to people who are looking for the Gospel, even if they don't realize it yet. I love being able to teach about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and see the eyes of people change as they are filled with hope, love and the light of Christ. I love walking in the shadow of the Temple and being able to testify of the Spirit there. 

The Book of Mormon truly changes lives, it creates something within us that brings us so much closer to God that really helps us have the desire to do no more evil, but to do good continuously." (Mosiah 5:2). It changes us as we apply the doctrines and principles contained in the Book of Mormon, as we really put ourselves into these stories of their time. I'm currently in Alma and just seeing the missionaries and the way they carry out their work is inspiring. Like the Sons of Mosiah that were imprisoned in Middoni, once free and ready, they went back out to declare the world! It didn't matter how hard it was or what they are previously been through, they pushed on, they carried on because it pained them that any creature would "perish in unbelief" (Mosiah 28:3). The Lord comforted them (Alma 17:10, Alma 26:27) and they were strengthened by the Lord and I have seen that my whole mission. The Lord carries us so much more than we realize and I know it is only because of Him that I have been able to have the mission I have had, to behold the marvelous experiences that the Lord has blessed me with. 

Everything comes back to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, everything. I have really learnt that in my mission, it's so much grander than what we realize or can even comprehend with our earthly minds. It encompasses everything we do and everything we have. There is no way possible I could ever pay back the Savior for what He did and Heavenly Father for giving Him to us, but i can show my love and appreciation by doing all I can, by serving others which is me serving Him (Mosiah 2:17). I can keep the commandments, be accountable through prayer, study the words He has given us in the scriptures and also from Old and Modern day Prophets. I can strive to develop Christ-like attributes and use the atonement as I repent daily, in coming closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father through that (Mosiah 4:10-12). 

I honestly just want you all to know that I know that the church is true with all I have. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus Christ Restored church on the earth today, and it happened because a humble boy had a question that he took to the Lord in sincere prayer, and that prayer changed the world as God again reached out in love for His children and called a living prophet on the earth today, Joseph Smith. I know the First Vision really happened and I know that it is through the power of God that the Book of Mormon was able to be translated. I stand with Elder Jeffery Holland as he quoted His 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.”. 

Prophecies are being fulfilled, I have seen it an if you look they are all around us, I have seen things come to pass from the Book of Mormon and the Bible in my mission, especially prophecies like Isaiah 2:2! And it strengthens my testimony even greater seeing the scriptures and their truthfulness playing a role in my life (John 7:17) and I don't even know what is happening in the world! (and to be honest I love it that way) and so I am sure there are even more being fulfilled. 

I know this isn't the normal email I would usually send, but hopefully it's able to help or give comfort to someone. 

But I know there are people out there and it may even you, as you read this, that is struggling with something, if it be their testimony, their faith, their strength and their ability to just hold on, to just endure just a little longer... please just remember the One that is ready to catch you the one that still "extends unending grace, although He extends it with pierced palms and scarred wrists". You cannot fail with the Lord on your side, and though you may not understand what is happening now, I promise that he has the bigger picture and much greater things in mind and in store than you could ever imagine. Trust in Him... because in the end, He is the only one that perfectly knows and perfectly loves you and I invite you to come to know that for yourself. 

Turn to prayer and ask you Father in Heaven to make known to you His love and His care, I promise that as you open yourself to that and as you are willing to act on that love that is felt or shown, you will feel it so greatly. I know it because I have done it and I have had investigators that have been looking so long and He finally feels and knows that God is listening to His prayers and can feel that perfect love (Moroni 8:16). 

I love you all, but Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father love you so much more! 

Love, Sister Ryan xx

Transfer 10 Week 2

What can I say? My life as a missionary was changed forever this week!

We had so many amazing training's this week, we had Missionary Leadership Council, then we had training from the Missionary Department, 2 for the leaders in the mission and 1 for the whole mission.
I won't lie, to begin with I was completely overwhelmed. At first I just thought of everything I was doing wrong as a missionary and it seemed hopeless that I could improve and be the missionary that the Lord needs me to be to keep pace with His hastening of the work like it says in Doctrine and Covenants 88:73 "Behold, I will hasten my work in its time." 

That time is now and we must keep pace, members and full-time missionaries together. 

There is so much we can be doing to assist the Lord in this work, but what are we willing to do to change that and to become what He knows we can be, to reach our full potential as disciples of Jesus Christ?

One thing that I had a testimony of and experienced conversion to this week was Repentance, and I know that might sound weird, because I'm a missionary, I'm not going out there sinning or doing anything crazy, I'm obedient, I strive to be exactly obedient in all things, and I strive to do everything that the Lord would have me do, but as it says in Preach My Gospel and also in the Bible Dictionary"The Greek word of which this is the translation denotes a change of mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world." This week I came to understand why it is so important, I knew before but this week it REALLY hit me! 

I stand with Elder Jörg Klebingat Of the Seventy when he said in his talk Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence"Become really, really good at repenting thoroughly and quickly. Because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is very 'practical, you should apply it generously 24/7, for it never runs out. Embrace the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance as things that are to be welcomed and 'applied daily according to the Great Physician’s orders.Establish an attitude of ongoing, happy, joyful repentance by making it your lifestyle of choice. In doing so, beware of the temptation to procrastinate,and don’t expect the world to cheer you on. Keeping your eyes on the Savior, care more about what He thinks of you, and let the consequences follow. Spiritual confidence increases when you voluntarily and joyfully repent of sins, both small and great, in real time by applying the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

It is through repentance that we can come to know our Savior, it is through His enabling power that I have been able to be changed (Mosiah 4:10-12). I as have repented, I truly felt that forgiveness, and some how it has brought me so much closer to Him. I don't know how it works, but I know that I have been looking to come closer to Him for a long time and through that enabling power of the Atonement, in having Him change me over time to become what He would have me be. Not seeing it while it was happening, but being able to look back and realize that I have really been changed, I have become more like Him. I have developed Christ-like attributes that I have been striving to develop my whole mission. The things that stopped me from being a Saint and fed my Natural Man are going away and I have been able to use repentance in that, in being who He would have me be (Mosiah 3:19). I am no where near perfect! But I am grateful for the Lord teaching me and howing me the way, in giving me the opportunity to develop these attributes i have prayed for and studied long and hard to develop.

When we look at repentance, most of us often look at it as scary, painful, depressing and something that is just too hard to do, this week I really came to know how it is one of the most joyful principles in all the gospel! It is something to be excited about, something to look forward to, something to crave and constantly have and do at all times. As I was feeling overwhelmed with everything I took a step back and got on my knees for a long time and really told my Father in Heaven exactly how I was feeling about everything I had learnt and everything that I was feeling, not knowing how to apply it all. I was reminded of what I had mentioned in the meeting that morning about Repentance when the question came up "Are you willing to repent, change and teach more effectively the Savior's way? Why do you think Elder Bednar used the word repent?" I had used the previous statement mentioned about how repentance is a fresh view and how we need to have a fresh view on missionary work and on the way we teach so that we can change and become more like the Savior. The next day was part 2 of the training and my heart was so open to everything that was said, I had no fear and I was excited to apply all that I had learnt on the square, especially because I had exchanges and it would be great to apply it with a sister in my district. 

I found myself looking for what faith and repentance look like in people and doing all I could to understand why God brought them here to Temple Square, we met guest and members and I found the way I contacted and taught people so different than what I ever had before. My thoughts were directed to not only my purpose as a missionary, but Gods purpose as stated in Moses 1:39 "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."  

What does God want for people who come to Temple Square? It's very simple, that answer being, Eternal Life. Sure, he wants them to have a spiritual experience, learn about the Atonement, or the temple, or eternal families, he wants them to read the Book of Mormon and come to know these things for themselves, but all those things are means to an end. We need to be thinking about the BIG picture, to not forget that end, to really start with the end in mind. To have in our minds at all times, how do we help this child of God, our brother or sister, come onto the path, that leads to Eternal life? 

There are so many things that I want to study an implement in my daily missionary work and I know it will take time, prayer, repentance, diligence to do so. But I love my Savior so much and I love His work. I want to keep pace with His hastening, so I have to step it up! Because "If we always do what we have always done, then we will always get what we have always gotten".I need to change, to use the Atonement and to really apply it in my life and in my missionary work in a way I have not before.

I have talked many times about these "doors to the Atonement" that I continue to open in my mission and I have found another! The door to Repentance that leads to a fresh view of ourselves, the world and God and enables change within ourselves through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. None of this would be possible without the Savior, we need him if we are going to achieve anything, because this is His work! He is more than capable of doing it, yet he gives us the sacred privilege in assisting him (Mosiah 26:15 & 2 Nephi 27:20-21) therefore, we must do it in His way.

I feel so much closer to my Savior and I feel it's become I am truly striving to become as He is, and that is made possible through repentance, through study, prayer and having Him apply the atonement in my life (Mosiah 4:2). And I know it's possible for everyone else. He is the great physician and He will give us the guidance we need to be healed, in all ways.

I love the gospel and I love the doctrine of repentance and how truly beautiful it is! I love the Book of Mormon and I love this work, there is so much more that I learnt this week, about commitment keeping, extending invitations and how it all comes together, but this is what I feel needs to be shared today and thank-you for taking the time to read my lengthy email. 

I invite you to really ponder about the things you need to have a fresh view on, maybe it's home teaching, visiting teaching, member missionary work, prayer, studying the Book of Mormon, whatever it may be! and to really repent, to seek that fresh view and to apply the atonement so you can be the Disciple of Christ he knows you are capable of becoming. 

I love you all, thank-you. 

Love, Sister Ryan xx