progressive post:My Mission Life!

  As I pondered about what area to write about in my progressive post, I started to think about all my area's and what I've learned in each one of them.  Now that I'm coming to the close of my mission I've been reflecting back on my mission a lot.  I've thought about the things that I've learned, felt, accomplished, failed at, and grew from.
    In Vacaville, My first area, I experienced a lot of trials! But they all helped set the tone for the rest of my mission.  I also learned a lot about prayer.  Something that I did not like to do at the beginning of my mission was to do weekly planning, in fact I hated it! At one point I hit my peak and took a little brake to go into our room and kneel in prayer and offer up the feelings of my heart to my Heavenly Father.  Asking him to help me to like planning, and from then on it has been a blessing to plan, I feel much better about my week when I can plan for the things that are going to be coming up in the coming week.  Those trials helped me to rely on my Heavenly Father.  Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."



Bessy and I, when we were doing service at a pig farm!

    In Fortuna, I learned not to judge people.  I went to Fortuna with a preconceived image of what it was going to be like there... I've never lived in a small town or ever visited one, so I was thinking like "hillbilly" type people, like the worst things about small towns they show on t.v.  But when I got there I found amazing, wonderful children of our Heavenly Father.  A very close family.  I felt truly blessed to be rebuked by A loving Heavenly Father, that he taught me that doesn't matter if you are from a small town or a city, God loves his children. Moroni 7:18
"18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged."

   Santa Rosa: I learned a lot about relying full heartedly on my Heavenly Father.  Sister Beefelt and I "whitewashed" into an area in Santa Rosa, Whitewashing means they took the 2 missionaries in that area out and put 2 different ones in, instead of just taking 1 out and putting another one in.  So we were both new to the area, the area was "struggling" a bit and just needed an extra push for missionary work to get going.  We worked very hard! to get the work going, to help the members get excited about doing missionary work.  It came over time. 





had some of my favorite dinner apointments here!

 Fort Bragg:  If there was any place I did not want to go in the California Santa Rosa Mission it was Fort Bragg... It was way more tiny than Fortuna, I heard crazy stories about people feeding you really nasty food there and people were strange... So I reluctantly went to Fort Bragg, I LOVED IT there!! The people were amazing, although sometimes we did have really terrible food, but that doesn't matter, that shouldn't change my feelings about it.  A phrase that came to my mind as I thought about my time there was "come what may, and love it!" And thats exactly what I did! Not only was it a beautiful little town, but the people were amazing as well. 

Petaluma: to be continued... I still got 3 weeks left to find my purpose here.

In closing, I love being a missionary! And working hard! I've learned so much on my mission it is hard to fit it all into one blog post, so I will probably continue to blog about my mission for the rest of my life! I will now be passing the Progressive Post to Hermana Martinez.

Armour of God!

   A few weeks ago Sister Tu'ifua and I had dinner at one of our member's homes, they have like the coolest house ever!! so many things to play on or with, from Alpaca's to a trampoline 50 feet in the air, and a water tower to run up and down on!
  They had this really awesome armour like from way back in the day when they did jousting and sword fights, but it was made by one of the members.  So we had the opportunity to do a little photo shoot with the armour! it was so awesome,

here are some of the pictures from it and a Scripture to help you understand why we thought this was so awesome!


Sister Tu'ifua




Sister Kenemore



1.Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

 

We had so much fun putting on this armour and taking pictures with it.  I was able to reflect on how important it is to keep all the armour on, to make sure we are protected from the top of our heads to the bottom of our feet.   My favorite piece of armour is the shield of faith, because that is your defence, that is what we use to protect us from the blows of our opponent, Satan.  May we all be able to hold strong to our shield of faith.  I know that as we do so,that we can withstand the temptations and attacks from the Devil.

End of the World, May 21st 2011! What will you be doing?

   According to many people around the world, the End is coming on May 21st, 2011.  But good news to everyone, according to some recent articles God will not COMPLETELY destroy the Earth until October 31st, 2011. 
 As I have reflected on this matter the last few weeks, I've thought to myself,
1-"how do they know?"
2- "what brought them to this conclusion?" There are a lot of people out there that got this from doing math from the Bible and other resources, but as I have studied about this and pondered about it, a scripture kept coming to mind, the scripture is found in D&C 49:7 

"I, the Lord God, have spoken it; but the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes."

Also in Matthew 24:36  

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

 Only God knows when Jesus Christ will come! and that is what I rely on! I have faith in my God and know that He is preparing His people for that time,which no man knoweth. 
 

  I know that we have a prophet! His name is Thomas S. Monson (check out the link to find out more about him!) and I also know that as it states in Amos 3:7:"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."
 I know that as we continue to listen to the Prophet and follow his counsel, we need not be afraid! He will prepare us for what will happen. Trust in him. He cannot lead us astray!

Mother's day!

  I love mother's day! I am not a mother, but I appreciate all the mothers that have influenced my life.  I can honestly say that I am not the person I am today without my mother!

  There is one mother I would like to focus on today, more so than any other mother, Mary, mother of Jesus! from the beginning of Christ's life, she knew that hard things would be coming to her dearly beloved Son.  She loved him Unconditionally! She taught him how to pray.  How to be kind to one another. She was there by his side throughout his entire life! Even to the very end or his mortal ministry. in John 19: 25-30 it says:

 25.Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26.When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple Woman, behold thy son! standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, 27.Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. 28.After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29.Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

 As I read this, it came to my mind that the last thing that Christ had to do before he could "give up the ghost" was to make sure that his mother was going to be taken care of.  Oh how Jesus loved his mother. 

  I am so grateful for Mary, for her raising him in righteousness.  

 I am also grateful for my mother for her raising me in righteousness!  I'm grateful for all the sacrifices that mothers make on behalf of their children, from being a shoulder to cry on, to being a taxi driver, to a good listener! I say THANK YOU TO ALL THE MOTHERS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED ME TO BE A BETTER ME!  

The Civility Experiment

  -How often do we look at people and assume what they are like?
  -How often do we compliment someone that we don't know?
I know that I am guilty of judging people wrongfully... but something that I have learned on my mission is that complimenting someone is:
A. a lot of fun!
B. makes them and you feel good.
C. Is something Christ would do if he were here.
  A few month's ago one of my companions and I decided that we were going to go a whole week with complimenting as many people as we could! it was very hard at first, but it got easier as the week went on, pretty soon we just did it as an everyday thing because we wanted to.  We felt so good to just notice something good about everyone, instead of looking at the negative side of everyone, like if they have ugly hair, or the smell funny, or even if they don't match! just finding something was worth it, and helped me to think more positively about the people all around me.  I challenge each of my followers to do this; to compliment all the people they talk to, or see, if you think they are wearing something cute, tell them! don't be afraid! I know that as you begin to notice the good qualities in people that you will feel better about yourself and the people all around you, that you will think of the glass half full, rather than the glass half empty.
 

Easter Freedom

     Hey, this is Sister Fulton! Sister Kenemore asked me to do a blog today and I am so excited to share one of life's greatest lessons. Since the time I was very young I would hear comments like, "It's a free land-you can't tell me what to do," or "I'm free to be whatever I want to be." Freedom really is a gift and one that's overlooked way to often. My dad has always been very passionate about the American flag and what it truly stands for. He's done many flag ceremonies and even flag retiring that have made me come to love the flag and the precious ideal of freedom it holds.  Hundreds and thousands of courageous and brave men and women have given their lives to bring freedom, and now after so much war, we can finally stand and say we live in a free land! Even the sound of that makes us so happy.  We really are so blessed to live free.  but even while being so blessed, living in a free land doesn't give us complete freedom.
  So many times we all experience heartbreak, sorrow, frustration, guilt, shame and there is only one key that would unlock the chains of the soul and bring us incredible peace and joy. That is in turning back to Christ, our Master Healer.  At this happy Easter time we can remember Christ and His Atonement and Resurrection.  He died for us so we can all live again, but he also suffered for us so we can live free and happy.
  As described in the bible dictionary under "Atonement," when we sin, we lose control over our own will and become a "slave to sin" and that's what gives us all the those bad feelings.  But whats amazing is that through Christ's sacrifice, if we have faith in him, Repent, be baptized by immersion, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can be made completely clean and pure.  now this is freedom.  Christ lived for us, He suffered and died for us, and now lives again for us. 
  So during this Easter time, lets remember the cause of our freedom and the incredible joy it brings, and as said in Galatians 1:5:

"Stand Fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

The Power of Sincere Prayer

  Many times in our lives we hear the term "Power of Prayer". This in my head has taken on a completely new meaning. As a missionary I have never prayed more in my life than the past 6 months. I have needed it. But it's not just power of prayer I have noticed, but the power of sincere prayer.
  We were visiting a lady the other day who told us she hadn't been praying. This made me very concerned because she understood that prayer was important but hadn't for some reason. There are a few reasons why we don't pray. Maybe we forget or we're tired or maybe as in her case, as she shared with us, she didn't feel 'worthy' to pray.
It hurt me to hear her say that she felt unworthy to pray. She had made some mistakes and felt like she couldn't talk to her Father in Heaven. I knew what she meant by that but those thoughts are only from the Adversary. Our Father in Heaven would never tell us we are not worthy to pray to Him. We can ALWAYS pray to Him.
  He is our loving, kind, ever patient Father in Heaven. No matter what we have said or done will change that. It reminded me of the scriptures in the bible in Psalms 38 when David had sinned greatly. He had a man killed and he also committed adultery and knew what he had done was very wrong. He knew that he would have severe consequences but this is not the point today. The point I am trying to make is that David still prayed. He knew he had sinned but he still prayed and begged the Lord for forgiveness. If anyone was to feel unworthy to pray it would have been him.
  We talked with this lady about this. We told her she needed to pray. Prayer is not an easy thing sometimes. But it is necessary. The past 6 months of my mission would have never been possible without sincere prayers to Him daily.
  We need to pray. Always, everyday our hearts should be turned to our Father. He is waiting to help us. We should be showing our love and appreciation for Him in everything we do and say. Prayers are our time to be alone with Him. To tell Him our frustrations of the day, to tell Him our joys and our sorrows. He is ever listening no matter who we are and what we've done. I know this is true because I have felt it in my life time and time again.
  If there is anything going wrong or missing in your life, take 10 minutes every morning and night and set it aside for a personal, private prayer with your Father in Heaven. It will change your day, your mood, your outlook on life, and feel closer to Him.
-Hermana Skroski