Happy Halloween!!

Howdy y'all!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 

It's been a great week full of many miracles and good experiences!  First off Brandon (one of our investigators) came to church yesterday and he loved it!  On Saturday we had a member meet us at the church and we gave Brandon a tour of the church.  A lot of members welcomed him at church on Sunday and introduced themselves to him.  One of the members from our ward picked him up and brought him to church.  He had a really great spiritual experience and he kept telling everyone he was so excited to be a member of the church!  He has been reading in the Book of Mormon and telling us all about it.  He also prays with us and he just loves learning more!  We can't wait to continue to see him progress and be baptized on November 19th!  Things are going really well with him!  I'm grateful our Father in Heaven lead us to him! 

We had the wonderful opportunity to go to the San Antonio Temple this week with Sister Lisa Christopherson (a returning less active).  It was a great experience and the spirit was so strong!  It was neat to witness someone come back to church and prepare to go through the temple!  What a blessing that was to be able to go with her!  Sadly I didn't get a picture with her at the temple because she went there a little earlier with her sisters but I got some other pictures with some of the other sisters from our ward! 

This week we also had the privilege to meet with Elder Benjamin De Hoyos of the Seventy and his wife.  We had a conference in Austin Texas and they came to talk with us and I learned a lot from them and hope to be able to take what I learned and apply it to the missionary work that we are doing!  

We were able to do lots of service this week which I LOVE doing!   We helped the Carpenter family move out.  Sad to see them go but they are moving to my first area (Round Rock) and I'm super excited for them!  We also helped Sister Ambuel on Wednesday afternoon put up her fence in her front yard!  That was a lot of fun and we were able to get to know her better. She told us we lifted her spirits that day and that's always something I love to hear!  

This week we had our Trunk or Treat with the ward and it was a lot of fun!  A lot of non-members were there and Sister Loveridge and I were judges for the chili cook off!  Then we went around to all the cars and trick or treated and got to meet lots of new people!  We had a lot of fun and it was a good finding opportunity!  I love the Lake Travis Ward!

I came across this scripture this week in the Book of Mormon and thought I would share it with y'all!

3 Nephi 18: 19-20

19. Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;

20. And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.

I love y'all and I hope you have a great week!! Be safe 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mann 

Miracles do happen!

Hola y'all!

Its the last week in October! Can you believe it!  I sure can't!!  It's been a very busy week!  We did lots of service for Sister Ambuel and we are helping her repaint her house this week!   

It was a week of a lot of walking and we talked to a lot of people, although not very many people were open to listening. But thats ok!  NEVER GIVE UP!  We were about to head to dinner when we saw a man standing outside his truck.  I yelled hello to him as we started walking over to talk to him.  He looked up at us and said hi. We introduced ourselves and started talking to him to get to know him better.  His name was Brandon Williams.  By the end of the visit we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and invited him to read in the introduction.  We set up an appointment to come back Sunday (yesterday). 

What I'm about to tell you next is a miracle!!!  We texted him a couple days after we had met him to see if he had read and to make sure it was still ok that we come by on Sunday.  He texted us back almost instantly and said he had read it and was so excited to talk to us about it!  When we met with him yesterday we talked about what he had learned from reading in the Book of Mormon and he told us everything he loved and that stuck out to him.  We sat outside and taught him the restoration!  He was so touched by this and we all felt the spirit so strong!  We had one of the Young Woman with us and she bore a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon and about the prophet Joseph Smith.  At the end we invited him to prepare to be baptized in November!  He said YES!!!!  Brandon said the closing prayer and it moved us all to tears!  Right before we left he told us the day we met him he was standing by his truck wondering if there really was a God, and if there was he wanted to change and become a better person, and then he saw us (miracle miracle miracle)!!  We are meeting with him again this week and can't wait to continue helping him learn more!

 

We had a great District meeting this week and I learned a lot about the importance of loving the people whom we teach and not just teaching them a bunch of stuff for our benefit, but it truly is important to love them and care about what there needs are. After District meeting my companion and I had the wonderful opportunity to have lunch with one of my Young Woman leaders from back home!  She was out here visiting her brother who lives in Texas!!!  It was wonderful to see her and her family and I'm grateful we were able to get to do that. 

 

We had a wonderful Primary Program at church yesterday and it was very special and I felt the spirit so strong.  A lot of non-members came with family and hopefully really enjoyed it.   I sure do love to hear those wonderful songs from amazing young spirits.  

 

Something I would like to share with y'all this week was a story I read in an Ensign from last year about making choices. 

Pumpkins or Melons? 

By Rachel Cox

The Author lives in Utah, USA.

October 2015 Ensign

My father was quite surprised to discover that the pumpkin seeds he planted last year decided to sprout in the middle of the melon patch this summer. The melons were coming along quite well--but so were the pumpkins. So well, in fact, that my father was tempted to let the pumpkin plants continue to grow. Yet he knew if he did, the pumpkins would stifle the growth of the melons.  So he had a choice to make. He could either pull up the pumpkins so the melons would have a better chance of flourishing or let the pumpkin plants grow and watch them possibly crowd out the melon plants, which would likely produce a lesser product from both. Pumpkins or melons? This choice was between two good options.  In weighing the two, my father decided to pull up the prosperous pumpkin plants. Not only were they late to sprout, but he decided that he wanted the planned melons more than he wanted the surprise pumpkins.  This experience prompted me to think about the choices we make, particularly in our relationships with others. Whether with our family, our friends, our employer, or those we date or marry, when a choice is between two good things, recognizing the right or best option is sometimes difficult, especially when we want to avoid making wrong choices. Fear of making the wrong choice sometimes paralyzes us, and that fear can inhibit us from moving forward in faith. But the truth is, sometimes there isn’t a wrong choice. There’s just a choice. In my father’s case, he based his decision on what he valued more. He hated to see the pumpkins die, but he knew he would regret the damage they would do to the melons later.  In life, some choices we face often don’t matter, such as, what food should I eat for breakfast? What color of dress should I wear today? When faced with a choice between two good things, we might do as my father did and simply ask, “What do I value more?” Then make a decision and move forward in faith, trusting the Lord to correct us if we are somehow wrong.  But some choices do matter a lot. President Thomas S. Monson once said: “Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed--the courage to say no, the courage to say yes. Decisions do determine destiny” (“The Three Rs of Choice,” Ensign, Nov. 2010, 68). When faced with these kinds of choices, a better question to ask is, “What does the Lord value more?” If we know the answer to that question, all we need do is align our values with His and then follow through with that choice. It will always be the right one.

I love you all and I know the Lord loves you as well! Be safe! 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mann 

Transfer Week!!

Howdy Family and Friends!

It's transfer week and I found out I'm staying here in the wonderful area of Lake Travis!  I have been here for almost 4 months so far and I love it!  It is growing so much and I can't wait to continue to see it grow! 

It has been a really good and tough week! I have been praying extra hard for us to be lead to those who are prepared.  We tried a new 'finding method' and it worked, and we were able to find 3 new investigators!  Our lessons didn't always follow through this week so we had some extra time to have those unplanned finding opportunities through service and talking to everyone. 

Our ward has been great at giving us referrals.  I'm so grateful that the members in our ward trust us with there friends and there loved ones!  Something Sister Loveridge and I have been working harder on this week when we have dinner with members, is talking about their family mission plan and how they can invite, or be missionaries themselves, to their neighbors or loved ones.  I have realized how important it really is for all of us to have the confidence to be missionaries to others!  

We have been going by a lot of less actives this week and we have had some really spiritual experiences with them!  One of the returning less actives that we have been working with over the past couple months is going through the temple on October 26th to receive her endowments!  I am so excited for her and we can't wait to get to experience that with her!  She is such and amazing woman and I have loved seeing her make necessary changes in her life to feel closer to her Heavenly Father again!

This week we did a service project with the Young Woman and the Relief Society!  It was a lot of fun!  We wrapped birthday gift sets for kids in need.  We found out about it through Justserve.org!  It is an amazing website that gives you ideas on what we can do to serve the community around us! 

 On Friday we went to early morning seminary!  We were asked if we would like to come in and do the devotional!  It was Fun Friday so after the class someone brought in breakfast!  That was a lot of fun to be with the youth and encourage them to keep staying on the right path! I truly do love the youth in the church!  

Last but not least, I came across this quote in my studies this week that really stuck with me.

"Brothers and sisters, the scriptures offer us so many doctrinal diamonds. And when the light of the Spirit plays upon their several facets, they sparkle with celestial sense and illuminate the path we are to follow." (Reference: "According to the Desire of our hearts" by Elder Neal A. Maxwell)

I love that.  The scriptures offer us DOCTRINAL DIAMONDS. Precious above all other jewels! Our scripture study accompanied by the spirit will illuminate our path.  It provides us illumination.  I love the imagery in that short, profound thought.  I am so grateful for the scriptures and for the personal revelation we can receive through studying them prayerfully, under the guidance of the spirit!  I love y'all and I hope you have a great week!  

Que Tenga un buen dia!

Con Amor,

Hermana Mann

8 Months!!

Howdy y'all!

It's official.......I've been in the mission 8 months today!  Crazy how time is
flying by so fast!!  This week has been great!  We saw many miracles!!
    We walked a lot and talked to a lot of people!  We did lots of service
for Gladys this week and it felt good to help her out because she just
had surgery.  Priscila is doing well and loves reading in the Book of
Mormon!!  She said to us she has been praying about baptism!!
    On Wednesday we had a great district meeting and later that night we
went and celebrated Sister Philpot and Elder Orton's birthdays at one of
the members houses.  They made Texas Sheet cake (my favorite cake
ever)!
    So I officially don't like seafood anymore (not that I really ever
did before), but....as a missionary, the gift of tongues, discernment,
and the gift of stomachs are a few of the things available to those
who are faithful.  I ate an oyster.  Yep it surprised me too (knowing
me I'm super picky) but I did it!  I plead with my stomach the rest of
the night to forgive me. Thankfully all is well now!
    One day this week we were driving and I turned to Sister Loveridge at
a stoplight and said "Sister Loveridge, it's kind of hard to preach by
the way while driving".  We thought about what we could do about that

for a minute considering Sister Loveridge's bike was in the
shop. We came up with the bright idea to write some nice things on some
sticky notes and put them on pass along cards, and at stoplights we
motioned for the cars next to us to role down there windows, and we
would hand them the cards!  One man followed us until we got to the
next stop light and yelled out to us and said we made his day and
thanked us!
    I had the wonderful opportunity to go on exchanges with Sister Bailee
Jones (who I went to high school with and also played soccer with) this week!  I
went to her area and we had a wonderful day together!  We taught the
restoration to two men and it was great and the spirit was strong
while we were teaching.  She is such an amazing missionary and I'm so
grateful that we had the wonderful opportunity to be companions for a
day!
    On Sunday we witnessed a miracle!  We went to go visit Ronda in the
hospital (who isn't a member and who is the sister of a recent convert
in Sister Jones's area).  She told us she wanted a Priesthood blessing
because she was nervous that she had cancer, and some other heath
problems, and might have to get surgery. So she wanted to feel at peace
with things.  So when we went to go visit her some brothers in our
ward came with us and gave her a blessing. About 5 minutes after the
doctor walked in and said, "Ronda it must be a miracle because you're fine."

He said she was able to go home that night (miracle)!  I'm so grateful
for the worthy men who hold the priesthood and I'm grateful for the
many miracles we witness every day!

I would like to end my email by sharing with y'all something from this
past General Conference that went along with something I've been
studying this week.

President Thomas S. Monson has said: “Now is the time for members and
missionaries to come together, to work together … to bring souls unto
Him. … He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to
fulfill His work.”  The divinely appointed responsibility that once
rested primarily upon the shoulders of full-time missionaries now
rests upon us all. We all want to share the restored gospel, and
gratefully, thousands are baptized each week.  But even with this
wonderful blessing, our concern for our brothers and sisters and our
desire to please God bring a compelling urgency to share and
strengthen the kingdom of God across the world."

I know that each of us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints are missionaries, and we all have a part to play.  I
know it's so important for us to share our testimonies with others and
to not be afraid to invite others to church!

I know this church is true and I'm so grateful for this gospel in my
life! I hope y'all have a great week!

Con Amor,
Hermana Mann