Golden Hubcap Winner!

April 17, 2012

The attached picture was taken at transfers on Wednesday.  Sister Davis and I won the Golden Hubcap Award! It is an award for being one of the first people to turn in our mileage report at the end of the month.  Then it is a random drawing from those first few companionships.  Sister Davis and I were so excited we won!  We got to sign the Golden Hubcap and get our picture taken.  So that is what that picture is.

On Wednesday we went up to the office for transfers.  We had things we needed to take care of and Sister Davis wanted to say goodbye to the departing missionaries.  It was nice to be able to see some of the missionaries that I haven't seen in a while.  We taught some lessons that day and turned over half our area to the elders.  It was hard to give them one of the two stakes that we cover.  It kind of feels like all the work was in the Woods Cross Stake, and now Sister Davis and I cover just the Woods Cross North Stake.  But, I know that the Lord is in charge and I am glad that we will be able to focus more on the people in the area, since it is smaller now.  We also found out on Wednesday that we had to turn in our car.  So, now we are on bikes.  :)  It is fun to be able to ride bikes, but it also takes a little more planning to figure out how long it will take to get from place to place.

On Thursday we turned in our car at the mission office and got a ride back to Woods Cross.  We stopped at Chick-fil-A for lunch, and it was super yummy!  I love that I can still have Chick-fil-A here in Utah. It was raining when we got back, and we still didn't have our bikes, so we had to walk to a few places.  We also taught some lessons and set up a few things.

On Friday, we had weekly planning.  That always takes a long time to plan, but it is worth it to know how we can most efficiently use the time the Lord has given us.  We were able to meet with some investigators and help out.  We met with Joe and he is getting baptized on May 5!  We are so excited that he is able to get baptized and that he has made the choice to believe and trust in Heavenly Father.

On Saturday we had two baptisms!  One was for a girl who is 9, and the other was for a man who is 50. Both were very exciting and special experiences.  It is such a blessing to be able to witness people entering the waters of baptism and making that covenant with our Father in Heaven.  I just love how happy and joyous those who are getting baptized look.  The grandparents of the 9-year-old girl were so happy.  You could just tell that they were thrilled that she was excited about the Church and her example was helping her dad/their son remember what he used to know.  (He served a mission but has really not gone to church in quite a while.)  I just love baptisms!  We were also able to set up some appointments to teach some new people, and hopefully they will also have that desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ.

Sunday and Monday were spent trying to find and just studying and doing missionary stuff.  There wasn't anything huge.  Except on Monday night we taught a less-active family, and it was such a wonderful experience to be able to help the parents.  They both feel like they are not worthy of being at church or partaking of the sacrament, and we were able to help them see that everyone can use the Atonement in their lives.  Often, people will accept and believe that Christ suffered and died for everyone else, but they have a hard time believing it apples to them too.  But it does!  

The Atonement is such an amazing thing.  Through the Atonement, we can be redeemed from our sins and enabled to overcome our inadequacies.  I know that sometimes life gets hard and we just can't find a way to keep on going, but there is a way.  Heavenly Father knew this life would be hard, and He sacrificed His Only Begotten so that we can receive strength, encouragement, and a way to return back to Him.  I absolutely love the April Ensign, especially the article by Elder Bednar: The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality.  It is just amazing.  I have been spending a lot of time recently thinking about grace and how we can all learn and improve through using the Atonement in our lives.  The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored!  We can all return to live with our Father in Heaven.  I love being able to serve a mission and share this knowledge with others.

I love you all.  Have a good week.

Love,

Sarah