Hey everyone!
This week was WONDERFUL. It was really fun getting to know my knew companion and working with her. Her name is Sister Leonard and she's from Belgium. She's so neat; I love her. She reminds me a lot of Sister Pearson: she loves to work and we have a lot of fun together. We spent a lot of time this week finding, which was good. While she was in the MTC, Sister Leonard heard tell of a prophecy from one of the General Authorities saying that someday, people all along the St. Laurent River would be members of the church and have the gospel in their lives. We're not sure how true it is, but we decided to start trying to fulfill it, so we found a street that stretches clear along the south shore of the St. Laurent and we decided that's what we're going to be working on this month. I'm excited for it :)
I don't have tons to say about this week...not much happened. We heart-attacked the zone leaders apartment on Friday and that was so much fun. They were in Montreal all day for Zone Leader council and generally they're not in the best of moods when they get back, so we decided to surprise them with hearts everywhere...so fun. I loved it :) And SIster Leonard had received a HUGE package (12 kilos) full of Belgian chocolate and candies, so we left them some of those as well. They really appreciated it adn it made things pretty fun.
We also visited with the Caron's (our neighbors) twice this week, and both times went really well. Soeur Caron is less-active and is really nice, but generally doesn't participate tons in the lessons, but both times this week she was asking questions and participating in what we were saying. It was neat. We now know a little bit more about the problems she has and so we have a better idea of where to start working next. Also this week we had a really neat experience in English class. First we asked if someone wanted to volunteer to give the prayer and Michel (one of the men in the class) gave one that he had written, beginning with "Dear Heavenly Father" and ending "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Then for the English class we had them all write a letter to someone they didn't know to practice introducing themselves and asking questions, as well as their grammar and spelling. I brought several pictures from Montreal and let them each choose who they wanted to write. Most picked missionaries, but one woman picked Robyn and then another picked my recent convert, Rob. I'd brought a picture of his baptismal day and I explained to all the students a little about who each of the people in the pictures was so they would know what kind of questions to ask. The woman who picked Rob, Guillaune, asked Rob in her letter how he had found the church, what he felt like after his baptism (if he was more happy, etc), and if he thought his life would be better because of this new religion. I got to explain a little about his conversion story and it was really neat. It would've been better if he'd been there to bear testimony, but it was still really a neat experience and I thought it was great she was even thinking to ask questions like that.
So overall the week was good. Nothing too exciting happened, but I love my new companion and we're looking forward to a wonderful week and a wonderful transfer. It should be good :) I hope all is going well for you! I love you all tons!! Take care! :)
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts...``
Hello everybody!
This week has been crazy....I ended up getting sick for most of it, so we didn`t get tons of work done, but we did still do quite a bit. I`ve been fighting a cold for the last 3 months or so, and it finally won this Tuesday and I was barely able to stand without falling over, so Siste Tschumi and I decided that tracting was probably not the best activity and we spent the next three days at home while I slept. Not ideal for the last week of the transfer, but sometimes there`s not much of a choice. But anyways, in between all of the sleeping, we did get some things done! We taught Liz again...she`s doing so well! I`m not sure if I mentioned her in any of the last e-mails...we`ve taught her twice now and have the third appointment with her tomorrow. We met her while knocking doors one day and she said she doesn`t believe in God or religion because there are so many difficulties in her life (she has huntington`s disease and because of that she lost her job, her home, her husband, and her family doesn`t talk to her tons) and so many people go to church just on Sundays and then are complete hypocrites the rest of the week. Or at least, that was her reasoning for why she doesn`t believe in anything. She also said that of the churches, ours was probably the most generous and the most christlike, and she`d be happy to listen to us, and if we could convince her, that`d be great. So we`ve taught her now a couple of times and I think she`s slowly starting to change her perspective and realize that we`re really there because we honestly believe what we teach. We`re here because we want others to have better lives and more happiness, and we know how that`s possible, and so we`re here to share it. I`m excited to keep teaching her...it`ll be fun :)
We also taught a girl named Shirley yesterday. She`s actually one of the zone leaders investigators, but they didn`t have a chaperone and so they couldn`t teach her and so they asked us to. She`s from Columbia, has a 2 year old daughter who was way active, and doesn`t speak a word of either French or English, only Spanish. Crazy. So we took a Spanish speaking member with us (who unfortunately was so preoccupied with the little girl that she didn`t get a chance to talk very much, but Sister Tschumi did amazing as a teacher, so it turned out all right :) ) and taught the first discussion. It was really interesting...it kind of made me want to learn Spanish, but then I remembered that I`m struggling with French and should probably stick with just one foreign language for now. Maybe in the future....we`ll see. But anyways, it was interesting...she stopped Sister Tschumi in the middle of the lesson and looked at me and told me that I was beautiful and she loved my eyes. She said that she reminded me of some of the people in her Pentecostal congregation back in Columbia who even though they wore longer skirts and not much jewelry and didn`t have that more `worldy` beauty, they were still more beautiful than most of the world because they had the light of Christ in them and people can see that and are drawn towards that. And I have that same light in my eyes that just draws people towards me. It was pretty neat :) I hope others can see that too....
But anyways, so all that was fun. Also this week we had TRANSFER CALLS!! That`s always exciting. I was pretty sure that both Sister Tschumi and I were staying here, and that`s what everyone else thought as well. Elder Grinton talked to me for awhile on Thursday (he`s my zone leader and had just talked to the Assistants the day before when they were going over what was going to happen in our zone) and told me that he had recommended that I specifically stay, that we stay together, and the reasons why he said that, and they said they thought that was a good idea so they were going to pray about keeping us together. But then transfer call night came (Saturday) and we were all at the Institute Center making fluatas (spelling?) for our dinner that we were having and instead of the zone leaders just telling us that we were both staying, the Assistants called us saying that I was staying, but Sister Tschumi was being transferred to Monterrey, which is in Montreal Spanish-speaking. Insane. So I`m getting Sister Leonard as my new companion. She came out the same time that Sister Cottrell did (so this will be her 3rd transfer), she`s from Belgium, and she speaks French, English, and Spanish, and she`s amazing. She`s so outgoing and way excited to be here and be a missionary. It should be fun...I`m excited. And pretty much the rest of our district is staying the same...Elder Williams is leaving which will be really sad, but Elder Magre, Elder de la Torre, and Elder Grinton are all staying, so it should be a blast. I`m way excited for this transfer :)
Other than that, i can`t think of anything really interesting that happened this week. I know everybody was shocked at church on Sunday when they announced that Sister Tschumi was leaving...they were all certain that I was going to leave and she was going to stay. But that`s all right...I love Quebec and I`m excited to stay here another one :) But anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Take care! Love you all! :)
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
This week has been crazy....I ended up getting sick for most of it, so we didn`t get tons of work done, but we did still do quite a bit. I`ve been fighting a cold for the last 3 months or so, and it finally won this Tuesday and I was barely able to stand without falling over, so Siste Tschumi and I decided that tracting was probably not the best activity and we spent the next three days at home while I slept. Not ideal for the last week of the transfer, but sometimes there`s not much of a choice. But anyways, in between all of the sleeping, we did get some things done! We taught Liz again...she`s doing so well! I`m not sure if I mentioned her in any of the last e-mails...we`ve taught her twice now and have the third appointment with her tomorrow. We met her while knocking doors one day and she said she doesn`t believe in God or religion because there are so many difficulties in her life (she has huntington`s disease and because of that she lost her job, her home, her husband, and her family doesn`t talk to her tons) and so many people go to church just on Sundays and then are complete hypocrites the rest of the week. Or at least, that was her reasoning for why she doesn`t believe in anything. She also said that of the churches, ours was probably the most generous and the most christlike, and she`d be happy to listen to us, and if we could convince her, that`d be great. So we`ve taught her now a couple of times and I think she`s slowly starting to change her perspective and realize that we`re really there because we honestly believe what we teach. We`re here because we want others to have better lives and more happiness, and we know how that`s possible, and so we`re here to share it. I`m excited to keep teaching her...it`ll be fun :)
We also taught a girl named Shirley yesterday. She`s actually one of the zone leaders investigators, but they didn`t have a chaperone and so they couldn`t teach her and so they asked us to. She`s from Columbia, has a 2 year old daughter who was way active, and doesn`t speak a word of either French or English, only Spanish. Crazy. So we took a Spanish speaking member with us (who unfortunately was so preoccupied with the little girl that she didn`t get a chance to talk very much, but Sister Tschumi did amazing as a teacher, so it turned out all right :) ) and taught the first discussion. It was really interesting...it kind of made me want to learn Spanish, but then I remembered that I`m struggling with French and should probably stick with just one foreign language for now. Maybe in the future....we`ll see. But anyways, it was interesting...she stopped Sister Tschumi in the middle of the lesson and looked at me and told me that I was beautiful and she loved my eyes. She said that she reminded me of some of the people in her Pentecostal congregation back in Columbia who even though they wore longer skirts and not much jewelry and didn`t have that more `worldy` beauty, they were still more beautiful than most of the world because they had the light of Christ in them and people can see that and are drawn towards that. And I have that same light in my eyes that just draws people towards me. It was pretty neat :) I hope others can see that too....
But anyways, so all that was fun. Also this week we had TRANSFER CALLS!! That`s always exciting. I was pretty sure that both Sister Tschumi and I were staying here, and that`s what everyone else thought as well. Elder Grinton talked to me for awhile on Thursday (he`s my zone leader and had just talked to the Assistants the day before when they were going over what was going to happen in our zone) and told me that he had recommended that I specifically stay, that we stay together, and the reasons why he said that, and they said they thought that was a good idea so they were going to pray about keeping us together. But then transfer call night came (Saturday) and we were all at the Institute Center making fluatas (spelling?) for our dinner that we were having and instead of the zone leaders just telling us that we were both staying, the Assistants called us saying that I was staying, but Sister Tschumi was being transferred to Monterrey, which is in Montreal Spanish-speaking. Insane. So I`m getting Sister Leonard as my new companion. She came out the same time that Sister Cottrell did (so this will be her 3rd transfer), she`s from Belgium, and she speaks French, English, and Spanish, and she`s amazing. She`s so outgoing and way excited to be here and be a missionary. It should be fun...I`m excited. And pretty much the rest of our district is staying the same...Elder Williams is leaving which will be really sad, but Elder Magre, Elder de la Torre, and Elder Grinton are all staying, so it should be a blast. I`m way excited for this transfer :)
Other than that, i can`t think of anything really interesting that happened this week. I know everybody was shocked at church on Sunday when they announced that Sister Tschumi was leaving...they were all certain that I was going to leave and she was going to stay. But that`s all right...I love Quebec and I`m excited to stay here another one :) But anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Take care! Love you all! :)
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
Monday, May 17, 2010
"To say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the people to whom He has sent me."
Hey everyone!
So the past 2 weeks have been so much fun! It really has been great to be a missionary. The weather has been GORGEOUS and it makes everything even better than it was before! We've been working really hard, like always, but it was nice to have a bit of a break in the middle of tracting this week. On average we go out knocking doors about 5 hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes a bit less, with the occasional less active/recent convert lesson in between. But then last Sunday was MOther's Day so we all got to call home (which was wonderful!) and then Monday we had our zone activity with all the other missionaries in our zone, followed by zone interviews on Tuesday. It really was wonderful. We spent most of the day on Monday playing soccer with the other missionaries, which was fun. I'm not the best at it, but I found that if I just run towards people and kick, something happens. Either I kick the ball and it goes away from the goal, or I kick the person and they fall down, thus also preventing them from scoring. I'm not sure that's the way the game is supposed to be played, but it seemed to work ;)
Then zone conference was really wonderful. We had a really great training from the zone leaders about redefining our vocabulary. So we set, as a zone, the definitions for 10+, committing on the first lesson, and junior companions so that everyone was on the same page and we all knew exactly what was expected of us. And they asked the Junior companions to step it up a little bit. They have great faith and great insight, and they need to show that, use it, and use their excitement to push the senior companions to be better and work harder. Sister McKinnon said that's the first time since she's been there that anyone's given a training on that and it was a little different and unexpected at first, but it went really well and I really enjoyed it. Then we also had the district leader trainings and Sister McKinnon's trainings. Oh, and the AP's told us about this really great ice cream place that we went to afterwards, and it was SO good...it's not very far away from the church and they're all chocolate dipped cones and the chocolate is so thick on them (needless to say I gave up my no chocolate goal for that day ;) ). That doesn't really have anything to do with the zone conference, but it was a fun break in the week...I enjoyed it.
Then what else happened? I talked with Patrick and he is doing SO well...I just love him. He's got some difficult decisions to make in his life right now, but he was talking to me and he said the one thing he knows he needs to hold on to is that faith. He says he prays every night and every morning and he reads his scriptures daily and he knows that that's important, so even when it's hard, he's going to keep doing that. It was really neat. I just love him! :) Then we also taught a couple other people this week. We stopped by a guy's house named Daniel who we taught once about 2 weeks ago. He told us that he had read in the Book of Mormong and it was really interesting, but then he'd looked up things on the church's website and he's not sure he wants to get involved in the church enough that he has to pay tithing or go to church each week. We talked about the blessings that come and what a blessing it is to have the gift of the HOly Ghost all the time, and he said that would be great, but he's not sure he can do it. So we told him to keep the Book of Mormon and keep reading it and then to pray and ask if God wants him to continue going forward with the gospel and we'd call him in a couple of days to see what his answer is. So that was yesterday and we're planning on calling him tomorrow so see what he's decided...we'll see how that goes! Then we've had a couple other lessons, but nothing too promising...we're going to keep working though and I'm sure we'll find someone who's interested soon!
Other than that, the week has been pretty average. Transfer calls are coming up this Saturday and we have no idea what's going to happen. We know there will be a lot of changes with the elders and there's at least one new sister coming in (as of right now at least) so we'll see what happens! I'll let you know next Monday! :)
Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Take care! I love you all ! :)
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
So the past 2 weeks have been so much fun! It really has been great to be a missionary. The weather has been GORGEOUS and it makes everything even better than it was before! We've been working really hard, like always, but it was nice to have a bit of a break in the middle of tracting this week. On average we go out knocking doors about 5 hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes a bit less, with the occasional less active/recent convert lesson in between. But then last Sunday was MOther's Day so we all got to call home (which was wonderful!) and then Monday we had our zone activity with all the other missionaries in our zone, followed by zone interviews on Tuesday. It really was wonderful. We spent most of the day on Monday playing soccer with the other missionaries, which was fun. I'm not the best at it, but I found that if I just run towards people and kick, something happens. Either I kick the ball and it goes away from the goal, or I kick the person and they fall down, thus also preventing them from scoring. I'm not sure that's the way the game is supposed to be played, but it seemed to work ;)
Then zone conference was really wonderful. We had a really great training from the zone leaders about redefining our vocabulary. So we set, as a zone, the definitions for 10+, committing on the first lesson, and junior companions so that everyone was on the same page and we all knew exactly what was expected of us. And they asked the Junior companions to step it up a little bit. They have great faith and great insight, and they need to show that, use it, and use their excitement to push the senior companions to be better and work harder. Sister McKinnon said that's the first time since she's been there that anyone's given a training on that and it was a little different and unexpected at first, but it went really well and I really enjoyed it. Then we also had the district leader trainings and Sister McKinnon's trainings. Oh, and the AP's told us about this really great ice cream place that we went to afterwards, and it was SO good...it's not very far away from the church and they're all chocolate dipped cones and the chocolate is so thick on them (needless to say I gave up my no chocolate goal for that day ;) ). That doesn't really have anything to do with the zone conference, but it was a fun break in the week...I enjoyed it.
Then what else happened? I talked with Patrick and he is doing SO well...I just love him. He's got some difficult decisions to make in his life right now, but he was talking to me and he said the one thing he knows he needs to hold on to is that faith. He says he prays every night and every morning and he reads his scriptures daily and he knows that that's important, so even when it's hard, he's going to keep doing that. It was really neat. I just love him! :) Then we also taught a couple other people this week. We stopped by a guy's house named Daniel who we taught once about 2 weeks ago. He told us that he had read in the Book of Mormong and it was really interesting, but then he'd looked up things on the church's website and he's not sure he wants to get involved in the church enough that he has to pay tithing or go to church each week. We talked about the blessings that come and what a blessing it is to have the gift of the HOly Ghost all the time, and he said that would be great, but he's not sure he can do it. So we told him to keep the Book of Mormon and keep reading it and then to pray and ask if God wants him to continue going forward with the gospel and we'd call him in a couple of days to see what his answer is. So that was yesterday and we're planning on calling him tomorrow so see what he's decided...we'll see how that goes! Then we've had a couple other lessons, but nothing too promising...we're going to keep working though and I'm sure we'll find someone who's interested soon!
Other than that, the week has been pretty average. Transfer calls are coming up this Saturday and we have no idea what's going to happen. We know there will be a lot of changes with the elders and there's at least one new sister coming in (as of right now at least) so we'll see what happens! I'll let you know next Monday! :)
Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Take care! I love you all ! :)
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
Sunday, May 16, 2010
More pics
And here are some more!
1. Patrick, Helene, and his parents just after his baptism :)
2. Patrick`s baptism!!! Me, Elder Grinton, Elder Williams, Elder de la Torre, Elder Magre, Patrick, Helene, Soeur Tschumi
3. Me and Sister Tschumi in Old Quebec
4. The elders heart-attacked our door :)
5. Sister Cottrell and I our last p-day at the St.-Anne-de-Beaupre Cathedral
1. Patrick, Helene, and his parents just after his baptism :)
2. Patrick`s baptism!!! Me, Elder Grinton, Elder Williams, Elder de la Torre, Elder Magre, Patrick, Helene, Soeur Tschumi
3. Me and Sister Tschumi in Old Quebec
4. The elders heart-attacked our door :)
5. Sister Cottrell and I our last p-day at the St.-Anne-de-Beaupre Cathedral
Pictures (no email)
here are some pictures from last transfer...
1. Our easter cookies we made!
2. Sister Cottrell and I just after out easter egg hunt.
3. Elder Williams, Sister Cottrell, me, and Elder Grinton at the hockey game...so fun! :)
4. Sister Cottrell and I at the hockey game!
1. Our easter cookies we made!
2. Sister Cottrell and I just after out easter egg hunt.
3. Elder Williams, Sister Cottrell, me, and Elder Grinton at the hockey game...so fun! :)
4. Sister Cottrell and I at the hockey game!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
"...He has chosen me to represent Him. To stand in His place..."
Hello everyone!
This week was WONDERFUL!! :) PATRICK GOT BAPTIZED!!!! It was SO exciting. I was a little nervous last week because he decided last Sunday that he wasn't sure he really wanted to be baptized after all, but then I called and talked to him on Tuesday and some of the other YSA called him and the elders worked with him a lot and by Friday he was SO excited about his baptism. It was wonderful. So the baptism was scheduled for Saturday morning at 10 am (he had to work in the evening, so that was the best time) and we were there with the elders at 9 waiting for him because he was supposed to be there at 9:15 so we'd have time to take pictures and get everything organized and all that. At 9:40, he still wasn't there so the elders called and he said he didn't know what the address was, but he'd be there in about 5 minutes after we gave it to him (he only lives about a 5 minute drive away from the church). At 10:00, he STILL wasn't there and I was a nervous wreck...so I called him and before I can even ask him anything he asks "Did you make me cheesecake for me?" Sister Cottrell had promised him a cheesecake (the only dessert he likes) when he got baptized. I had made one, but unfortunately I'd left it at home so I promised to give it to him on Sunday, and then I asked where he was and he said they were picking up his girlfriend and they'd be there in about 5 minutes. At 10:15 they finally showed up, we had our little prayer meeting, and then we went to get started and his mom and step-dad walked in right as we were about to say the opening prayer. So we were a little late getting started, but other than that it went so well! The Spirit was really strong throughout the whole thing and his mom and step-dad really felt it, and I think his girlfriend did as well but I didn't have a chance to talk to her afterwards. Sister Belanger did a wonderful job with the talk on baptism and then he had asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and I made it through, so that was a plus. It was a little nerve-wracking, but everyone said they couldn't understand me and his mom was crying through the whole thing, so I think it was fine...Then afterwards we invited his mom and step dad to come to church the next day to be there as he received the gift of the Holy Ghost and they said they'd try to make it, but they weren't sure if they could. They ended up coming and staying for the whole 3 hours and it was SO wonderful! His step dad had a lot of questions and really appreciated all the lessons and even asked if he could have a copy of the Gospel Principles book so that he could take it home and look through it and they said they'd be comin back next week. Then in Relief Society, one of the sisters bore her testimony on the importance of families and Patrick's mom started crying in the middle and said that it really touched her. It was so great. And his mom came up an dthanked me at least 4 times for helping her son change his life and bringing such a happiness to him...it really was wonderful to see. I think the elders are going to try to start teaching them before too long as well. It's just so exciting to first see Patrick with these blessings and then see what an example he's been to his family! :) I love it!
Other than that this week I don't think I have any really great stories. We did A LOT of finding, like always, and talked to a lot of people without too much success. We got invited in to a couple of people's houses to teach first lessons, but then they never really went anywhere after that. They either told us they weren't really interested or to maybe try an dcome back in about 3 weeks. It was a bit frustrating. But then last night we decided to pass by a guy who had smurfed us last Monday (we had met him last Saturday, set up the appointment, he wasn't there) and he invited us in, we taught a REALLY quick first lesson, and he said that he was interested and he was busy this week, but next Sunday to pass by again around 7 and he'd love to meet with us! It was so exciting. Hopefully something comes of that, but if not, we'll keep working and trying and we'll find somebody soon :)
We also taught a girl named Lucy again this week for the second time and it was just so sad. She moved here from France back in January and she's been having a really hard time ever since she got here. In France she was meeting with the missionaries and had a baptism date and everything, but then she moved here and met with the missionaries once, decided it was too cold to go to the Institute to meet them, and stopped talking to them. Then she called us a couple of weeks ago, we met with her, she came to church, and then told us to call in a bit. So we met with her this past week and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ: faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, and she said that right now she thinks she's on the repentance step. She said she knows that everything we say is true and it's good, but it's not for her and she doesn't really want it. It was really sad. That's probably on eof the hardest things: knowing how much the Gospel can bless the lives of the people we teach and how much happiness and direction it can bring, but then they don't want it and so there's nothing that we can do. For her, I KNOW that the Gospel could help. Having the Holy Ghost with you to give you that peace and comfort and direction every day is such an incredible gift...we have the opportunity to have a member of the Godhead with us AT ALL TIMES! But she didn't want it. Oh well..hopefully someday she'll realize how much it can help and will decided that she does want those blessings. That was one thing that was so exciting at Patrick's baptism as well....he came up to me afterwards and I asked him how he felt and he said "I'm in paradise. It's amazing" and then he thanked me for it and said that without me and Sister Pearson finding him, he wouldn't be able to have this joy. And at the beginning, he wasn't sure if he wanted it. But then he saw how much it meant to me and realized that if God would give ME that happiness, He'd give it to Patrick as well if Patrick just listened to what I said and did what God asked, and he was SO excited to have that same happiness that I had. It was really neat :) I love being here. I love seeing the change that comes into people's lives and the happiness that the Gospel can bring. It's wonderful to be able to share something that is so important to me with all those that are around me and just watch as even one of them comes to know the truth and feel that same happiness. I just love it :)
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
This week was WONDERFUL!! :) PATRICK GOT BAPTIZED!!!! It was SO exciting. I was a little nervous last week because he decided last Sunday that he wasn't sure he really wanted to be baptized after all, but then I called and talked to him on Tuesday and some of the other YSA called him and the elders worked with him a lot and by Friday he was SO excited about his baptism. It was wonderful. So the baptism was scheduled for Saturday morning at 10 am (he had to work in the evening, so that was the best time) and we were there with the elders at 9 waiting for him because he was supposed to be there at 9:15 so we'd have time to take pictures and get everything organized and all that. At 9:40, he still wasn't there so the elders called and he said he didn't know what the address was, but he'd be there in about 5 minutes after we gave it to him (he only lives about a 5 minute drive away from the church). At 10:00, he STILL wasn't there and I was a nervous wreck...so I called him and before I can even ask him anything he asks "Did you make me cheesecake for me?" Sister Cottrell had promised him a cheesecake (the only dessert he likes) when he got baptized. I had made one, but unfortunately I'd left it at home so I promised to give it to him on Sunday, and then I asked where he was and he said they were picking up his girlfriend and they'd be there in about 5 minutes. At 10:15 they finally showed up, we had our little prayer meeting, and then we went to get started and his mom and step-dad walked in right as we were about to say the opening prayer. So we were a little late getting started, but other than that it went so well! The Spirit was really strong throughout the whole thing and his mom and step-dad really felt it, and I think his girlfriend did as well but I didn't have a chance to talk to her afterwards. Sister Belanger did a wonderful job with the talk on baptism and then he had asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and I made it through, so that was a plus. It was a little nerve-wracking, but everyone said they couldn't understand me and his mom was crying through the whole thing, so I think it was fine...Then afterwards we invited his mom and step dad to come to church the next day to be there as he received the gift of the Holy Ghost and they said they'd try to make it, but they weren't sure if they could. They ended up coming and staying for the whole 3 hours and it was SO wonderful! His step dad had a lot of questions and really appreciated all the lessons and even asked if he could have a copy of the Gospel Principles book so that he could take it home and look through it and they said they'd be comin back next week. Then in Relief Society, one of the sisters bore her testimony on the importance of families and Patrick's mom started crying in the middle and said that it really touched her. It was so great. And his mom came up an dthanked me at least 4 times for helping her son change his life and bringing such a happiness to him...it really was wonderful to see. I think the elders are going to try to start teaching them before too long as well. It's just so exciting to first see Patrick with these blessings and then see what an example he's been to his family! :) I love it!
Other than that this week I don't think I have any really great stories. We did A LOT of finding, like always, and talked to a lot of people without too much success. We got invited in to a couple of people's houses to teach first lessons, but then they never really went anywhere after that. They either told us they weren't really interested or to maybe try an dcome back in about 3 weeks. It was a bit frustrating. But then last night we decided to pass by a guy who had smurfed us last Monday (we had met him last Saturday, set up the appointment, he wasn't there) and he invited us in, we taught a REALLY quick first lesson, and he said that he was interested and he was busy this week, but next Sunday to pass by again around 7 and he'd love to meet with us! It was so exciting. Hopefully something comes of that, but if not, we'll keep working and trying and we'll find somebody soon :)
We also taught a girl named Lucy again this week for the second time and it was just so sad. She moved here from France back in January and she's been having a really hard time ever since she got here. In France she was meeting with the missionaries and had a baptism date and everything, but then she moved here and met with the missionaries once, decided it was too cold to go to the Institute to meet them, and stopped talking to them. Then she called us a couple of weeks ago, we met with her, she came to church, and then told us to call in a bit. So we met with her this past week and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ: faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, and she said that right now she thinks she's on the repentance step. She said she knows that everything we say is true and it's good, but it's not for her and she doesn't really want it. It was really sad. That's probably on eof the hardest things: knowing how much the Gospel can bless the lives of the people we teach and how much happiness and direction it can bring, but then they don't want it and so there's nothing that we can do. For her, I KNOW that the Gospel could help. Having the Holy Ghost with you to give you that peace and comfort and direction every day is such an incredible gift...we have the opportunity to have a member of the Godhead with us AT ALL TIMES! But she didn't want it. Oh well..hopefully someday she'll realize how much it can help and will decided that she does want those blessings. That was one thing that was so exciting at Patrick's baptism as well....he came up to me afterwards and I asked him how he felt and he said "I'm in paradise. It's amazing" and then he thanked me for it and said that without me and Sister Pearson finding him, he wouldn't be able to have this joy. And at the beginning, he wasn't sure if he wanted it. But then he saw how much it meant to me and realized that if God would give ME that happiness, He'd give it to Patrick as well if Patrick just listened to what I said and did what God asked, and he was SO excited to have that same happiness that I had. It was really neat :) I love being here. I love seeing the change that comes into people's lives and the happiness that the Gospel can bring. It's wonderful to be able to share something that is so important to me with all those that are around me and just watch as even one of them comes to know the truth and feel that same happiness. I just love it :)
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
"By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord, Jesus Christ."
Hello everyone!
What a crazy week this has been! We've been working hard, doing lots of finding, and meeting a little of bizarre people...but it's been fun :) There are so many stories to share! But before I get to those, I have great news! PATRICK is getting BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!! :) I am SO excited for him. He's a little nervous about it and slightly concerned about keeping the commandments after he's baptized, but so are most people and he really is just so ready. He's also way excited for the baptism and the blessings that come with that (mainly the gift of the Holy Ghost). It's so great! We went over with the elders to teach him this week (it was so fun...it'd been awhile since I'd last taught him) and he was there with his girlfriend, Camilla, and so we taught the first lesson and it went so well. We invited her to be baptized as well, and she said she would if she received her answer, which is just perfect. We told her that that's how we wanted her to do it; we don't want anyone to get baptized if they don't know it's true. Then Patrick says "And I know it's true. So I'm going to get baptized." It was so exciting :) But then at the end we asked fi they had any questions and Patrick says "Yes, I just have one. Sister Lindsey, can you please explain the Law of Chastity to Camilla so that she understands what we can and can't do?" Just slightly unexpected. And I still don't know all the vocab for that lesson at all...I'm pretty sure when we taught it to Patrick I just sat there while Sister Pearson and Soeur Belanger explained it and then the second time the elders were there and took over...so it was an experience. But it was...I just love Patrick :) I'm SO excited for him!
Then probably the highlight of the week was zone conference. I LOVE zone conference and interviews :) This one was especially good...instead of talking mostly about us working harder and finding more people all the trainings focused on following the Spirit more. As we learn to follow the Spirit, to testify powerfully with the Spirit there, we'll be able to find more success and joy in our work. The people we talk to will better be able to feel the importance and the truth of the message we share and have the desire to come unto Christ instead of feeling like we're pushing them to come unto Christ. It was really interesting, and I really enjoyed it. I just love President and Sister McKinnon :)
For other news, the week was pretty interesting. We went finding on Tuesday for most of the day and we met this one older man drinking a beer who talked with us for awhile and said that everything we said made sense. We kept explaining, kept teaching, he kept agreeing (as well as laughing and teasing us about the fact that we don't have boyfriends waiting for us so he might just try to make a move...awkward) and then at the end we asked him if we could come back and he said no, which was a little unexpected. So we asked if he knew anyone else who might be interested and he gave us the name, number, and address of one of his friends. So we went by and met him on Saturday after service and he was interesting to say the least. He was a nice guy, but completely drunk when we passed by and told us he'd be itnerested in learning more about the Book of Mormon but not reading it because it doesn't have enough pictures and has too many words. Now this man is probably in his 50s, but we told him that we had a children's Book of Mormon that we could bring him with pictures and simpler words and he said that'd be great. So we set up an appointment for tomorrow and we'll be taking it to him then. It was interesting. Then we asked if he knew anyone else who might be interested and he gave us the name of another one of his friends who we passed by yesterday. He wasn't interested at all really, but it led to another interesting experience.
So yesterday when we went to pass by the referral we didn't see a car in his driveway so we decided to walk around the block and knowck a couple of doors and by the time we got done with the street, hopefully he'd be back. We were going to start at this one house but then I decided to start at a different part of the street instead. We knocked on the first door, they weren't interested. The second door was slightly more interested, but not really. Then as we were walking to the 3rd house, a man from across the street called out and asked if we were Mormons. We said yes and he said "Well, if you've got a few minutes, I'd love to talk to you." So we went over there thinking he was one of the golden investigator that you hear about and we ended up talking to him for almost an hour and a half and it was awful. SUCH a waste of time. Turns out he's a Batpist preacher with his own church that he started and he just wanted to convince us that if we REALLY study the Bible, like REALLY study it, we find that the doctrine that it preaches is not the same that is preached in "the Mormon church". It was so ridiculous. We listened to him and we gave our perspective and he just kept coming up with other scriptures and giving explanations that didn't even make sense at all. He used mostly the letters from Paul to the churches at the time and preached from them and said that no where in Paul's writings is baptism mentioned. We told him that Christ was baptized and it was important enough for Him to be baptized because it was necessary to be batpized by someone with the right authority to return and live with God again, but he said that wasn't true. He also said that we're only saved by faith, not by works. I shared the "faith without works is dead, being alone" scripture and he said that if you really read the Bible, you find that there are different scriptures talking to people at different times, and that one is talking about after the Millenium when we will be judged by works by for right now, we're only judged bu our faith. It was very contradictory throughout the entire thing, and finally at the end he told us that really, there were 2 different Gospels in the Bible: the one that Christ taught, and the one that Paul taught. And he's teaching Paul's. It was insane. Sister Tschumi and I almost started laughing in the middle. But at the same time, it was really sad because you know he really beleives it and he's going to spend his whole life teaching it to others and then learn after that it was all for nothing. It also made me realize that you really have to teach with the Spirit, otherwise it's just forcing someone, it's not actually convincing or helping them. We can't convince people ourselves; it's the Spirit that teaches and that converts. Also, I realized how much we really need the Book of Mormon, because the Bible doesn't have a fulness of the truth and can't be explained just on it's own. It was interesting.
Also this week we talked to another drunk man in his 50s or so while we were out contacting (we seemed to find a lot of those this week...) and we tried talkign to him and he said something to me and I didn't catch it at all, so he repeated it and I still didn't understand and so I said "I'm sorry; I really just can't understand what you said" and he said it again and I STILL didn't understand (it was a little ridiculous...) and so Sister Tschumi translated and said "he asked if you understood when he said that you have really beautiful eyes" and it was SO uncomfortable. I guess I started blushing and he just started laughing and the contact didn't go anywhere at all. And then I was talking to Elder Grinton and he said before he met me, he knew me as the "12 year old sister" since that's how all the other elders referred to me...I was the one that looked like I was 12 and WAY too young to be on a mission. It was pretty funny :)
So it was a fun week. We taught a couple of people, set up an appointment or two for this week, and we're going to be doing evern more finding this week! It'll be wonderful. And the weather is really pretty right now, so it makes it even better. But anyways, i hope you all are doing well and having a wonderful time. Thanks for all the letters...I'll be writing back as soon as I have time. Have a great week!
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
What a crazy week this has been! We've been working hard, doing lots of finding, and meeting a little of bizarre people...but it's been fun :) There are so many stories to share! But before I get to those, I have great news! PATRICK is getting BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!! :) I am SO excited for him. He's a little nervous about it and slightly concerned about keeping the commandments after he's baptized, but so are most people and he really is just so ready. He's also way excited for the baptism and the blessings that come with that (mainly the gift of the Holy Ghost). It's so great! We went over with the elders to teach him this week (it was so fun...it'd been awhile since I'd last taught him) and he was there with his girlfriend, Camilla, and so we taught the first lesson and it went so well. We invited her to be baptized as well, and she said she would if she received her answer, which is just perfect. We told her that that's how we wanted her to do it; we don't want anyone to get baptized if they don't know it's true. Then Patrick says "And I know it's true. So I'm going to get baptized." It was so exciting :) But then at the end we asked fi they had any questions and Patrick says "Yes, I just have one. Sister Lindsey, can you please explain the Law of Chastity to Camilla so that she understands what we can and can't do?" Just slightly unexpected. And I still don't know all the vocab for that lesson at all...I'm pretty sure when we taught it to Patrick I just sat there while Sister Pearson and Soeur Belanger explained it and then the second time the elders were there and took over...so it was an experience. But it was...I just love Patrick :) I'm SO excited for him!
Then probably the highlight of the week was zone conference. I LOVE zone conference and interviews :) This one was especially good...instead of talking mostly about us working harder and finding more people all the trainings focused on following the Spirit more. As we learn to follow the Spirit, to testify powerfully with the Spirit there, we'll be able to find more success and joy in our work. The people we talk to will better be able to feel the importance and the truth of the message we share and have the desire to come unto Christ instead of feeling like we're pushing them to come unto Christ. It was really interesting, and I really enjoyed it. I just love President and Sister McKinnon :)
For other news, the week was pretty interesting. We went finding on Tuesday for most of the day and we met this one older man drinking a beer who talked with us for awhile and said that everything we said made sense. We kept explaining, kept teaching, he kept agreeing (as well as laughing and teasing us about the fact that we don't have boyfriends waiting for us so he might just try to make a move...awkward) and then at the end we asked him if we could come back and he said no, which was a little unexpected. So we asked if he knew anyone else who might be interested and he gave us the name, number, and address of one of his friends. So we went by and met him on Saturday after service and he was interesting to say the least. He was a nice guy, but completely drunk when we passed by and told us he'd be itnerested in learning more about the Book of Mormon but not reading it because it doesn't have enough pictures and has too many words. Now this man is probably in his 50s, but we told him that we had a children's Book of Mormon that we could bring him with pictures and simpler words and he said that'd be great. So we set up an appointment for tomorrow and we'll be taking it to him then. It was interesting. Then we asked if he knew anyone else who might be interested and he gave us the name of another one of his friends who we passed by yesterday. He wasn't interested at all really, but it led to another interesting experience.
So yesterday when we went to pass by the referral we didn't see a car in his driveway so we decided to walk around the block and knowck a couple of doors and by the time we got done with the street, hopefully he'd be back. We were going to start at this one house but then I decided to start at a different part of the street instead. We knocked on the first door, they weren't interested. The second door was slightly more interested, but not really. Then as we were walking to the 3rd house, a man from across the street called out and asked if we were Mormons. We said yes and he said "Well, if you've got a few minutes, I'd love to talk to you." So we went over there thinking he was one of the golden investigator that you hear about and we ended up talking to him for almost an hour and a half and it was awful. SUCH a waste of time. Turns out he's a Batpist preacher with his own church that he started and he just wanted to convince us that if we REALLY study the Bible, like REALLY study it, we find that the doctrine that it preaches is not the same that is preached in "the Mormon church". It was so ridiculous. We listened to him and we gave our perspective and he just kept coming up with other scriptures and giving explanations that didn't even make sense at all. He used mostly the letters from Paul to the churches at the time and preached from them and said that no where in Paul's writings is baptism mentioned. We told him that Christ was baptized and it was important enough for Him to be baptized because it was necessary to be batpized by someone with the right authority to return and live with God again, but he said that wasn't true. He also said that we're only saved by faith, not by works. I shared the "faith without works is dead, being alone" scripture and he said that if you really read the Bible, you find that there are different scriptures talking to people at different times, and that one is talking about after the Millenium when we will be judged by works by for right now, we're only judged bu our faith. It was very contradictory throughout the entire thing, and finally at the end he told us that really, there were 2 different Gospels in the Bible: the one that Christ taught, and the one that Paul taught. And he's teaching Paul's. It was insane. Sister Tschumi and I almost started laughing in the middle. But at the same time, it was really sad because you know he really beleives it and he's going to spend his whole life teaching it to others and then learn after that it was all for nothing. It also made me realize that you really have to teach with the Spirit, otherwise it's just forcing someone, it's not actually convincing or helping them. We can't convince people ourselves; it's the Spirit that teaches and that converts. Also, I realized how much we really need the Book of Mormon, because the Bible doesn't have a fulness of the truth and can't be explained just on it's own. It was interesting.
Also this week we talked to another drunk man in his 50s or so while we were out contacting (we seemed to find a lot of those this week...) and we tried talkign to him and he said something to me and I didn't catch it at all, so he repeated it and I still didn't understand and so I said "I'm sorry; I really just can't understand what you said" and he said it again and I STILL didn't understand (it was a little ridiculous...) and so Sister Tschumi translated and said "he asked if you understood when he said that you have really beautiful eyes" and it was SO uncomfortable. I guess I started blushing and he just started laughing and the contact didn't go anywhere at all. And then I was talking to Elder Grinton and he said before he met me, he knew me as the "12 year old sister" since that's how all the other elders referred to me...I was the one that looked like I was 12 and WAY too young to be on a mission. It was pretty funny :)
So it was a fun week. We taught a couple of people, set up an appointment or two for this week, and we're going to be doing evern more finding this week! It'll be wonderful. And the weather is really pretty right now, so it makes it even better. But anyways, i hope you all are doing well and having a wonderful time. Thanks for all the letters...I'll be writing back as soon as I have time. Have a great week!
Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey
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