June 15, 2014

Well... this is my last email that you will receive from me as a missionary. This week has been really strange, pretty difficult for me honestly. Filled with lots of questions like, "Are you excited to leave?" and "what's the first thing you're going to do when you get home?" (always answered with: hug my brother). I have experienced so much as a missionary. So many life-lessons learned, so many miracles seen, yet I'm still imperfect after this year and half (and that won't be changing any time soon). No one can really understand the lows a missionary reaches, unless you have served a mission. Satan works on missionaries possibly harder than those you are teaching. On the flip side, because we have experienced such deep lows, we experience the most intense joy I have ever experienced. The feeling of finding someone new to teach, someone that the Lord has prepared for His missionaries to find, is the most elating feeling I have ever experienced. "Have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we since the world began." THAT is what being a missionary feels like.

We had a fireside on Sunday night, and it was a tri-stake event. David Hatch, a world-renowned pianist, played with a few of his child-prodegy students. WOW!! The spirit was so strong, it was just amazing, indescribable. Right before the event started, my companion Sister Patterson said, "Look! Sister Woodbury and her companion just walked in!" There were probably 500 people there, and not enough time to get through them all before the event started. So afterwards we shot out of our seats and ran to the back of the gym and i snuck up behind my old companion and tapped her on the shoulder. The second she turned around we embraced, and I just started bawling, i couldn't let go of her and i couldn't stop crying. She said, "i was praying so hard you would be here! There are so many people here, I just asked Heavenly Father!!" That is what Ammon felt like in the Book of Mormon, I think. She was sitting next to her companion who had just come from the MTC 3 weeks ago, and they had their investigator their that is getting baptized at the end of the month. Wow, her success, the person she has become, the missionary she is choosing to be.. that is reason for my heart to rejoice. (For those of you that don't remember, I trained Sister Woodbury.)

Although I have experienced so much joy as a missionary, I am just so exhausted. I don't have a doubt in my mind that I have put my heart, might, mind and strength into the work of the Lord, and I feel good about it. I will so miss being a missionary, but the thing I have come to realize is that committing to be a missionary 1.5 years ago, signing that paper and sending it into the prophet of the Lord, was actually an eternal commitment, not just one that is over after a year and a half. Hopefully I can live worthy of that.

I know that this gospel is true with all my heart. As Ammon says, "I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."
i love you all,
Sister Rose

June 9, 2014

This week we had a lesson with the investigator that came to the baptism and cried really hard. We talked about the plan of salvation. We've been using the Ensign magazine in our teaching lately, and got to share with her a great talk that really summarizes our purpose in our life on earth, how we must persevere. (https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/04/the-blessings-of-perseverance?lang=eng) In it, the article talks about how the Lord needs us to keep going in this life, and in a sense, he says, "I love you, I sustain you, I am with you. Don’t give up. Repent and persevere on the path I have shown you. If you do, I promise you that we will see each other again in our heavenly home." What a great promise :)  In the lesson, she told us her mom got after her for coming to church and taking the lessons seriously. And guess what? SHE STOOD UP FOR IT! She told her mom that she felt good at church, and she learned a lot there, and that she was going to "follow her heart." Wow, that is amazing!! We feel so lucky to know her :)

Also, VIVIANA IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!! We were on exchanges and Sister Patterson was there with Sister Hammon and a Mexican member from Wellington to translate. They had planned to talk about faith, and guess what? Viviana had 'randomly' opened up to Ether 12 (all about faith) before they came when she was reading her scriptures. Sister Patterson powerfully asked her if she wanted to show her faith in Christ, and she said yes. She then committed to baptism. Wow, we are so happy for her!! This is a great step for her and her family, to be eternal :)

Also... on exchanges... the Sister missionary i was with took me to a woman that i had never heard about before. We sit down, and she's a bit eccentric. She begins to tell me that she put her head under the water years ago when she was at a hot pool and contracted meningitis long ago. She then grabbed my hand, picked my pointer finger out, and bowed her head. She started dragging my pointer finger around her scalp, through her short brown hair. Then she came it to... there was a HOLE in her SKULL!!  She stuck my finger in it, then proceeded to look for the OTHER TWO HOLES  as i looked at the sister missionary, about to vomit. Okay, if i was ever in that area and needed my day to get brightened, i would go visit this woman. Only a insanely funny person would do that to someone they just met. I hope i never forget that visual.

The Harbour ward had me bear my testimony in Sacrament meeting to say my goodbyes. I only cried a little bit, so that's good. This week is going to be crazy.

We are going on exchanges this week, and i get to help a sister missionary that is struggling with her testimony. Wow, i love my calling. This is the kind of thing that i love to do; i love to really, really help people, like the way that they actually need and want it - and spiritually helping is the only way that will actually give them lasting peace. I love being a missionary, i love my calling as a sister training leader.

love,
Sister Rose

June 2, 2014

Wow, this weekend was crazy! 3 people we were teaching got baptized!! In the morning we saw a Chinese girl enter the waters of baptism. The spirit was so strong there, it was a sweet, comforting feeling. Quite indescribable. We got to sing at the baptism, which was fun. (minus me losing it during the song.. i'm sorry! the spirit was just too strong!) When Jocelyn entered the waters, the spirit just descended; you could feel that the Lord had accepted this ordinance. We went with her into the changing room, and as she was changing in the stall, we asked her how she felt. She didn't answer, and we just stood there for a while. A bit later we asked again. She said, "I'm crying but I don't know why." Even in the bathroom we could feel the spirit. We made our way back into the chapel, and heard another talk about the Holy Ghost, and then Jocelyn got up to bear her testimony. We heard this sobbing behind us; it was our investigator that had come. She was literally bawling at the feelings of the spirit she was experiencing. Wow, one of the coolest things in the world.

We did service that day, visited some people, and then headed up to Wainuomata for a Samoan/Nuean family to be baptized!! A mother and her daughter; her oldest daughter was baptized a few months ago, and her husband has just recently started attending church again, after years of absence. This baptism had more of a family atmosphere, which was kind of fun; lots of kids, all of us trying our best to keep them reverent. What a special thing to see the family be united in the gospel, at long last :)

On Sunday we had to go on splits because the confirmations were at the same time! (that's a great problem to have haha) The confirmation i attended was beautiful, and the investigator that came to the baptism was at church that day! Later on in church, there was another person there that wasn't a member; we asked if she would like to meet with us later that week and she was really shy. The first investigator i mentioned, invited this girl to her lesson that week at her house so she wouldn't feel shy about learning alone. Whaaaaahhhh??? This investigator is already a missionary!! :)

life is good :) But just so you know, getting to baptism is not easy, even for the missionaries. We literally felt like Satan attacked us with trials and temptations this week; if he couldn't get the people getting baptized, he tried for the people who were helping them get there. So annoying.

i love you all!!
Sister Rose

May 25, 2014

Most of this week was spent at church (8 hours.. 3 wards.. whew!), doing weekly planning, driving people around for transfers, in zone conference, exchanging over. I'm surprised we got any lessons in this week.

We had transfers and i had to say goodbye to the one sister i flew over to NZ with.. so sad!! We were helping with driving the new missionary up to Masterton (along a very curvy road up some mountains, 1.5 hours away). She was brand new, just came from the Auckland MTC. After we dropped them off, we grabbed some KFC for lunch and headed back to Lower Hutt. My companion asked if I was okay, with my KFC chicken sitting in my lap. I said no, and pulled over. I burst into tears (like literally burst into tears). There are only 4 weeks left of me being a missionary... so many emotions, and it all just squeezes out of my eyes in the form of tears. Luckily my companion is very patient with me.

Fast forward 2 days later to zone conference - my last one. IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING ONE EVER!!! Seriously, most powerful zone conference of my entire mission. I was seriously just crying the whole time. (Who would have thought family history would make me all weepy? what the what?) One of the other sisters was crying too, i almost offered my hanky but saw that i had used it a few days ago on the infamous Masterton Breakdown and no one else should even look at the icky thing. Right after the opening prayer, President Kezerian asked me to join him up in the front of the room in from of 20 or so missionaries all sitting at tables. He put his arm around me and asked, "Sister Rose, what happens on June 18th?" I paused, and quietly answered, "I go home." He said, "Would you mind sharing your testimony?" I quietly replied, "Sure," and he asked, "Do you want a tissue?" I said, "Thank you, I'm going to need that." Someone I got through it without using the tissue (wooo!!), probably because my awesome companion was sitting there praying for me. Let me tell you: I love being a missionary. I thought coming here was a sacrifice, but I think God is sacrificing to let me be here. We never have to be scared to share His word because the Spirit of the Lord does all the work. The Lord has promised that He will be with us as we are about his business. I have literally felt that.

Well, i love you all. :) Life is good.

Sister Rose

May 18, 2014

So, this weekend was totally awesome. 3 Reasons why it was totally awesome:

1. I got to go on exchanges with Sister Saunders. She goes home in 2 days :) She is the sister i went on exchanges with the first time i was left in my first area. it was my second transfer, i was terrified. When she went to the bathroom during lunch, i knelt down in the living room and just prayed. I was so scared. I didn't know if i could lead the area, even if it was just for 1 day. When i opened my eyes, she was in the room, praying herself. She opened her eyes and asked me if I was okay. This moment has changed my whole mission, and the rest of my life, the way i will treat others, the way i deal with companions, the way i approach investigators, the way i will help my family. Sister Saunders changed my life just by showing enough love to pray for me when she could tell i was nervous. It was so great to be able to see her again, just before she goes home :) i love her, and i had this overwhelming feeling that she was a close friend before we came this earth.

2. One of our investigators had her baptismal interview!!  We went over the questions with her beforehand and wow... we taught her absolutely nothing. It was so obvious that the spirit taught her every single thing she learned. Because of her work schedule she could only meet with us once a week. Also, she is Chinese so there is a slight language barrier. Yet when we asked her about the law of chastity she said, "Oh i need to be loyal to my future spouse and keep myself pure." When we asked her about the word of wisdom she said, "i need to keep my body pure so i can receive revelation." what the what?! I'm pretty sure we never said ANY of that stuff. It was all the Holy Ghost, man.

3. We had stake conference. The Prophet of the Lord, Thomas S. Monson, an apostle (Elder Oaks) and 2 other general authorities spoke directly to New Zealand. Whaaahhhh??? I have NEVER heard of this happening before!! It was so cool!!! The prophet talked about how "love is the catalyst to change," and how we need to just focus on being obedient and loving others. Another huge theme was families and keeping them intact the way God designed them. SO COOL!!!!!

4. Okay, i know I said 3 but this weekend was just reeeeally awesome - Yesterday was Bulou's baptism!!!!!! :D She was also confirmed at the service. Wow, it was totally awesome!!! I can't really put into words what it was like. All the members came together to welcome here into the ward, it was amazing. I am so proud of her, and feel so lucky that I got to see her make this change. She got the gift of the holy ghost at the service because it was stake conference this weekend. In her blessing she was told she will soon be a full-time missionary, just like she wants. Wow. How amazing is that?!!! :D Can i express my pure joy? I don't think so. (Alma 26)

i love you all  :) thank you so much for all you do! the church is true!!

Sister Rose