Thursday, April 25, 2013

April 22, 2013


OHHH MY GOODNESS this week! More like yesterday! I don’t know what I did to be able to be sooo blessed to experience yesterday ... oh my goodness my heart pounds and flutters with excitement just thinking about yesterday, like wow. It was an experience I will truly remember for the rest of my life, my existence I hope.
I will take care of items of business first before I get started. ONE Penny!! Sooo cute and I couldn’t be more excited for the Low's! TWO mom and dad man oh man do I EVER have good looking parents like man I’m proud of you two looking good these days, like looking shnazzy you two. Also I don’t know what goes on with me once Sister Huppe is gone .... I try not to think about it kind of gets me nervous: /. Ah this is so exciting! I can’t wait to meet Penny :)!! Give her one big hug and kiss for me.
Okay wow where to I begin.
One EVERYONE at home this is the true and only restored Gospel on the Earth. Humble yourselves read the Book of Mormon strengthen yourselves or begin your conversion in this amazing Gospel of Jesus Christ that Heavenly Father wants you to become a part. I know what life is like outside of the Gospel and its nothing compared to life in the Gospel. God invites all his Children to become a part of his church, he loves us and wants us to know how to find eternal happiness in this life and this life to come so we can return to live with him, as we once were living with him before this life.
Well that’s some the fire I have inside of me from meeting Elder Holland (church leader, quorum of the 12) and shaking his hand. I truly know that Elder Holland is called of God; he is an Apostle, prophet and seer of God. There is not a question in my mind that he isn’t. His presence just brings the spirit, enough to fill a whole room! Enough to fill your whole body from just seeing him in person, shaking his hand its un believable and something I will hold dear to me for the rest of my life.  Words can’t explain it. But everyone who’s met an Apostle of God knows that God calls Apostles and Prophets on the Earth to direct and guide us in a World that is ever so changing in standards. And the only way this is all possible is through the priesthood authority.  So Saturday at 7:30pm Sister Huppe, myself, Sister Davis and Sister Thompson all left from Charlottetown to Muncton to stay the night; we stayed at Elder and Sister Calls place a senior couple that were staying in Fredericton that night. Then at 5:50 am we got picked up in the transfer van, our ZL Elder Zozerboymbe (some crazy last name) he’s from Calgary drove us and 13 elders and sisters in the van! So there were four sisters and the rest elders and we drove to Fredericton. Conference started at 9 am so there were two zones of sisters and elders so 8 sisters total and then probably 40 elders or so. Elder Prince was there! And Elder Willouwby? Like Kelsey Willouwby from our ward years ago, he actually put two and two together. We all had to sit in the Primary room for the first session. So All us Elders and Sisters are sitting in the primary room 10 mins before it all starts.  Sis Huppe and I are the first two chairs to the right of the door so I'm second to the door and guess who pops there head in the door before entering the chapel!! That’s right Elder Holland! And he says “The church all true in this room!" ... "Elders...." and then I pop my head over he looks at Sister Huppe and I and then says "...and Sisters".  Then he said again, "Everyone knows the church is true in here" and we all are like "YES!" and then he shook his head smacked the inside of the door and said "good!" and walked away.  Like oh my goodness!!!! So they continued to have conference and Wow that was amazing.  We had 3 speakers from the stake then, President Leavitt spoke, Elder Neilson (of the seventy) and then Elder Holland. Just seeing from each calling ascending up to Holland was so cool I mean the Stake President is a pretty great guy and knows everything but you could even tell the difference from each calling as it got more and more important and authorized to Elder Holland.  President Leavitt, I honestly feel like I have the best President in the world.  I don’t know how I am so blessed to have him as my President.  He did an amazing talking on how simply you talk and open your mouths to everyone by passing along cards and not having a written recitation of the gospel, you just simply talk with everyone, laugh and get to know them.  He did an amazing job had everyone laughing, Elder Holland was cracking up in the back, it was soo cool. I mean Pres Leavitt is hilarious. It was cool to see that they are normal people meaning Elder Neilson and Elder Holland but that they are just such Disciples of Christ! Elder Neilson then spoke, and he was a professional NFL player and he talked about an analogy from his professional sports career and him playing in a game and tied it into the gospel.
Then Elder Holland talked about how the Adversary can’t kill, he can persuade people to kill but he himself cannot kill. He did not kill Joseph Smith because he couldn't and because the Adversary could not kill him he bound Joseph Smiths tongue. And that’s where the adversary works the most and by binding our tongues. Don’t let the adversary succeed! He also stated, Want to be perfect? One way to start is to start to control your tongue, watch what your talk about, the way your talk, a tongue can be cruel. I felt this could be applied so many ways in our lives, don’t allow the adversary to bind your tongue in speaking to everyone about the gospel.  Don’t hold back, don’t ignore promptings from the Spirit with anything but in this instance with sharing the gospel and speaking up or simply sharing experiences in church meetings because if you do that’s the adversary binding your tongue. Or it could be taken as be of good cheer, speak positively, and not of harsh mean negative things don’t gossip.  He also said when you join the church you get a lot more than what your bargained for; which is true!  He spoke on John 9, Acts 3.  He also spoke on what Elder Neilson mentioned whenever we feel the pressure in life like we can’t handle it or too much on our plate the first thing they as Apostles do-well Elder Holland and Elder Neilson as a general authority is go to the temple and pray. Feeling pressure head to the temple! And how we as missionaries (not meaning the missionaries with tags on, everyone!) should feel success is by just simply opening our mouths and sharing.
After the morning session which ended at 11, there was a youth and missionary session! So it  was mainly Elder Holland talking to the youth. They didn’t have much time but he said that many times that NO ONE was affected by his mission more than he was.  So I’m using that as motivation to make my mission affect me as his did ;). haha. But he was laying the law down to the youth and us missionaries!  Telling them to be humble and teachable, commandments highway and byway to happiness, we are the future of the church and that we have to start now if we want to know what Elder Holland knows, and that everything every meeting etc isn’t for him and his generation it’s for us!  And he said from ages 12-22 are crucial years and to give the Lord those 10 years. He said how his mission was the hardest work he has ever done, but the best!  He said have good friends they are the people you start to date.  Temple is halfway to heaven.  And how "God loves young people; he trusted a 14 year old boy to restore his gospel for peat sakes!" (something along those lines haha ) It truly was amazing and he is a hilarious man, I mean I wish I could re enact the way he was talking at the youth meeting.  He was flaying his arms around acting like a bratty 17 yr old it was funny, when I talk to you guys in couple weeks I will do it for you. This truly was something that was a blessing from God for everyone in the stake and us missionaries. It was amazing. No other words can explain it.  So after all the missionaries went through and shook Elder Holland’s hand and Elder Nielsen’s hands, then the youth went through.
So after the meeting, Sister Huppe and I were in the chapel with a man talking about his conversion story, all the missionaries were waiting for us in the transfer van, and Elder Holland walks in the chapel with Elder Nielson and looks at me and says "How are you?!" and I’m just like "GOOD HOW ARE YOU?!" and he was like good thanks! and walks away and then Elder Nielson shook mine and Sis Huppe’s hand again and said "continue sharing the gospel" with the nicest smiles and love on their faces. Then we go in the district van and I’m just like " Sorry elders and sisters that were late we were just busy chatting with Elder Holland! " haha it was awesome.
I was on a cloud I still am on a cloud!
So we started meeting with few more Las (less actives) this week; a family and another 19 yr old girl who actually just had a baby and it died after two weeks.  That gave her the drive to come back to church, it’s an amazing story but I don’t have much time to explain.  (Name, investigator) we taught WOW and she accepts it all except a freaking French vanilla!  Like really! So she is having a hard time believing that, so we are working with her praying she will have faith and she’s praying and asking God if Word of Wisdom is what he wants her to follow. Larry we are continuing to teach he said he knows the book is true but hasn’t received definite answer from God yet. We got one new investigator this week. We have a lot on the go with teaching a lot of people and a lot of potentials that we have yet to meet with!  We taught a former investigator this week named Jared and wow that was hard, he is a really smart man who has read BOM in 3 days, D&C, pearl of great price, had read ever other bible in the world and is an atheist...It was tough and we should have left sooner. He was a really nice guy, but man he was just getting enjoyment out of trying to make us feel like we been deceived.  I definitely realized how strong my testimony is because, well it sort of had to in that situation. He just has zero faith basically and feels really strongly about how he views things. And I mean anyone reading the bible BOM etc. with the purpose of trying to prove the book wrong.  We should of left sooner I mean nothing bad happened but you can’t help but have some of the things in your head from that, but nothing to be worried about mom! And Elder Holland shook all that nonsense away for us!
We really made an effort to be exactly obedient this week, to the point where we start our companionship prayer at 7:50 am so we can begin our studies right at 8 am!
That’s all I got for this week! I mean I think I wrote a lot I hope I explain things well enough and that they make sense and arent too weird ! haha. I love you all so much! It was really nice seeing Elder Prince this week a face you recognize and we talked quite a bit!  I love you all!!
xoxox
Sis Pizzey

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