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