August 25, 2013

Wow, another fantastic week. We were preparing to get the Fissore family baptized. Man, it was AMAZING!!! We had the baptism at 9pm like i said last week, and it all went pretty well. There are always last minute hiccups - like the mom realizing there was no room in her car for the two sons because they were bringing some friends to the baptism (and a son that does not live at home and is not getting baptized - not YET anyways!!) so we had to sort that out. But of course, it all fell into place. We drove to Timaru and Alejandro and Roxana came straight from work there. Below is a picture of the family that referred them to the missionaries. The husband baptized all of them and the wife cried tears of joy :)

One of the assistant to the President was one of the first missionaries to teach this family. We called him sunday to update him on the family, as he calls every once in a while to check up on them. It turns out that the way they met them was this: The Zarrias called the elders and asked them to pick up a family who wanted to come to church on sunday (in Dunsandel). They lived far from the cashmere ward, and thought "wow, there is never going to be a member that will want to pick them up." They called the bishop to see who lived closest, and it was president evernden. Guess what? President evernden just happens to speak spanish, he served his mission in Chile. He picked them up and became their fellowshipper/translator. When they moved to Ashburton, the missionaries were gutted! But it turns out i speak spanish, so they were moving from one perfect situation to another. The Lord truly loves this family and wants to see them in His church. 

i love you all!! The church is true, the Book of Mormon is the best thing in the whole world, and life is good! 

Love,

Sister Rose

August 18, 2013

So, last week after emailing we were riding our bikes past a salon. I saw as sign that said "hair appointments open today" and yelled ahead, "Sister! Stop the bike! I'm getting a hair cut!" "ooh, so spontaneous," you say! To be fair, i had been thinking about getting a hair cute for a while. And i had been thinking about cutting it. And we were on our way to a hair salon someone had suggested i got to. So this was really not as spontaneous as i make it sound like. But, my hair is gone (to the collar bone) and although you can't see it in this photo, the poof is back! (For those of you who remember the poof, you can now cheer and jump out of your chair)

Anyways, we have seen many miracles this week. First off, the Fissore family (from argentina) is getting BAPTIZED this week!! They had their interviews this week and everything went well. They are dairy farmers and it's calving season, so all day they are helping calves give birth, etc. Busy, busy time of the year. So that means that we have to have the baptism late at night. Ah! And there's no font here in Ashburton, so it's down to Timaru we go! The baptism will start at 9pm. Permission from President has been granted, hooray! 

Other miracles: the Book of Mormon. If you want to see miracles, read the Book of Mormon every single day and they just happen around you, seriously. When we see investigators read the Book of Mormon every single day, lives change. That's how we feel true conversion, how our hearts are "tuned to sing [God's] praise." We had an investigator (Lily, for those of you who remember Lily) who is living with her less-active partner. We have been trying to get them married for months (we them in february i think). They came to church on sunday and said that they are ready to change; they realized that the sisters have been coming around for a long time and they have just been "ignoring" them, like not acting. But because they have been reading the Book of Mormon, they actually WANT to change. That desire is finally there. Man, hearts are changed through the Book of Mormon. Seriously. We'll keep you updated on this lovely family :) 

Here's a great quote from the Gospel Principles book that explains what i'm trying to say way better than what I can (this is the lesson we taught on sunday - about the scriptures):
“… The Book of Mormon teaches us truth [and] bears testimony of Christ. … But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called ‘the words of life,’ and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. … ‘Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit’” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 4–7; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 5–7; quoting Marion G. Romney, in Conference Report, Apr. 1980, 90; or Ensign, May 1980, 67).

The church is true :) i love you all!

Sister Rose

 

August 11, 2013

Wow, this week went by SOOO fast! So i guess part of being sister training leader is going on emergency exchanges. We got a call from the zone leaders this week and left as soon as our car was out of the shop (we have been 100% on bikes for the past 2 weeks because our car was getting repaired). It was great to be up in Christchurch with the sisters there :) and now missionary leadership responsibilities are beginning to unfold in front of my eyes, so this has been interesting. None of the other sisters in the zone drive, and they live an hour away. So that means that for 2 days we were out of our area. Sounded like a huge problem, right? Well, the Lord provided a way. Somehow we taught more lessons in Ashburton this week than in the history of "Sister Rose and Sister Nuitupuivaha" while we were gone for 2 days, and got to see all of our investigators. God is a God of miracles. 

The Cook Island couple came to church on Sunday! In Gospel Principles we talked about how families can be eternal. They shared with us about how their kids are learning to have a relationship with God. Apparently it was their 3-year old that woke them up this morning and told them "we're going to church!" this same boy always tells mom and dad to apologize to each other when they argue, and his favorite song is "My God Loves Me." Wow! They are looking forward to being sealed as a family :)

love you all!

sister rose