Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2014

DEAREST FAMILY!!

Whew! We are SO busy and President has given us a few new surveys to do with people...so...please pray that we will be able to get everything done. He is an inspired man of God and I know that it is possible what he requests of us. I feel like the man who came to Jesus with his crippled son: "Help Thou mine unbelief."

Any who, don't worry, we are getting fed by like three different families in the ward so, there is no doubt that we won't have anywhere to be on Thanksgiving. Thank you for all of your prayers and thanksgiving for this work, it is truly all of us members that help the work move forth, whether through prayer, their own efforts, or both!

Yes, I am still the driver even in the snow. And nope, I'm staying for another transfer! Woohoo!

This Sunday our investigator Toywania and her daughter Dalmanisha, Eric, and a young adult Chris, who we just set a baptismal date with on Saturday, all came to church. The members have been so wonderful in fellowshipping them into the fold! We were also able to meet with Chris in the Williams' home for the Plan of Salvation lesson. So far, he is progressing well, but we hope to ask more inspired questions to see where he really is in his understanding of doctrine.

We have been able to see more of Latrina and her family lately as well. She is SO busy, she is so happy when we come over and give her a break from everything she has to do. She asked us to also meet with her daughter Adriane (21) and Adrina (13), and share more of the gospel with them as well. We helped Adriane with cleaning her room and then taught her and Adrina the first half of the Restoration, which they grasped REALLY well! We also taught them more about Personal Progress and their divine role as daughters of God.

We were also able to visit Rena, the older woman with cancer who had a baptismal date a while back, and she was up and moving very well, so she is doing better :)

Sadly, we found out that one of our investigators has a stealing addiction. We conveyed the importance of Civil Law and the concept of agency and how there is consequences to every action in obedience to and/or disobedience to God's law. We promised her that obeying the law will grant her more freedom, while not obeying will limit it :(

Thank you for reminding me of my Patriarchal Blessing...I am grateful for the protection God gives me. When we went to Sister Gunderson's house for dinner last night, she related how grateful she is for the missionary program and how she can come out with us to meet more of His children. She said she is amazed how the Lord protects us in all types of situations or places where it seems that God is far away...I love her and her diligence in helping the work roll forth!

Love you all! (Sorry I don't have much time this time!)

-Sister Weaver-

Last District Meeting
before transfers
(it was a sad day, can't you tell?)    

Diane, one of our investigators
who let us do laundry at her house    

Me and our teddy bear Alma,
who we gave to Dalmanisha
(who came to church!!)    

Yeah, It's Like 9 Degrees Here!

November 17, 2014

Hello Dearest Family of Mine!

Yay! I'm glad that y'all were able to say hi to everyone for me at the reception,

I am so excited that cousin Nick got married! I can kind of remember what he looks like...but then again, there's a picture! Looks like y'all had a blast anyway!

Yeah it's like 9 degrees or so here, so...yes, it is cold.  We got snow on Saturday and it hasn't really melted yet, it is just annoyingly frozen now so all the roads are bumpy, but hey! We still have a car that I am eternally grateful for!

Zone Conference is like Christmas for missionaries! We are uplifted and edified to the point of wanting to convert EVERYONE in Wisconsin after it gets through. It is about 6ish hours, but it goes by way too fast in my opinion. We do role-plays, receive counsel from the AP's and the Mission President, and have the opportunity to teach one another about the doctrines/personal revelation we have received during the months we prepare before each conference. I love it so much! It is right up there with many of my favorite things on the mission!

Yeah...Spanish is still not my forte: I believe I was called to an English-speaking mission for a reason.

Boy, it's transfer time, yet again! It seems the further into the mission I go, the faster things seem to creep up on me. I have been so blessed to serve with such terrific missionaries on my mission thus far. Our district leader just got made AP! (Which I'm really not surprised at, he'll do so great) And my MTC companion, Sister Wilson, is Sister Training Leader with Sister Silcox, my last companion in Waukesha! There is so much awesomeness happening to everyone, I love it!! :)

This week we were able to set three more baptismal dates with Tye (a young adult who wants to be baptized she is just trying to find the right church), Earl (an older man who we tracted into and shared the Book of Mormon with via "drew him a picture"), and his brother Lloyd (who is very happy with brother's decision to meet with us and wants to learn more about the Book of Mormon).

This week I have seen the miracle of how the Book of Mormon gives people a sense of hope in life. It seems that each time we give one away, those who accept the book and the message attached to it receive some kind of initial confirmation that it holds great value. There have been many whom I have seen clutch it or begin to read through it as we walk away. We met a really nice man named Anthony who started crying when we bore testimony of the power the Book of Mormon contains to bless him and his family.

Sadly, this morning we found out that one of our investigators was involved in a 34-year long homosexual relationship in which they adopted kids and raised a family. We are not sure how to proceed except to explain to her the doctrine of the family and how marriage is ordained by God only between a man and a woman. She is still pretty rooted in her Lutheran beliefs...but she is impressed with the work we are doing spreading the gospel word. She still wants to learn more about the church, we are planning to teach her the rest of the Plan of Salvation, so we will have to boldly but lovingly cover the doctrine of the family then and there.

The work is hastening forward and we are excited to see the many miracles that will unfold this coming transfer. It truly is the work of the Lord that is pushing all of us through and guiding us along. I do not fear what the future may hold, only that I may follow the Lord in it and be the daughter He knows me to be. It is the same with all of His children...

I absolutely LOVE what I read this morning in Alma 26:

"My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice...Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves!...as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land for which we will praise his name forever."

You all are my pride and joy! Like Ammon, I will not boast of myself, but of my Lord, who's Spirit is present in the bonds of my family!

Love you all! Work hard! Getter' dun! (Sorry there's no pics this week I sorta maybe almost forgot my camera cord :( )

-Sister Weaver-

We Do Need To Clear Our Vision And Remember Our True Path

November 10, 2014

Dear Family & Friends,

I love that pic too! How true I'm sure it is! I'm glad you were able to hear such inspired words from Stake Conference; we DO need to clear our vision and remember our true path. I love what Elder Holland said in his talk "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence," "If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts." We need to always remember the good things that we have already received as truth, when we come down from our spiritual highs and enter the perils of the world, yet again. I HIGHLY encourage you to read that talk, it is one of my favorites that I always go to when discouraged.

For sure I will most definitely cut up my old card once I get the new one. The weather HAS been pretty cold here, too. It is ridiculous how fast the temperature drops, but I am most happy that the weather turned out better today where the sunshine is concerned  (sorry, that is the closest thing I could find to a sun :)

I have discovered how horrible I am at initial contacting, so this week Sister Rousseau has been helping me overcome my fears of talking to EVERYONE I see. So far, I am seeing the fruits of that endeavor :D. Earlier in the week we flagged down a man who was getting into his car and I was so impressed that Sister Rousseau did so, because he expressed how grateful he was that we stopped him, because he was on his way to do something he knew he was not supposed to. It goes to show that you never know WHAT people are going through...I thought we missed our moment and it was awkward and forward and creepy knocking on someone's window before they pull out, but after our experience, I am grateful we did, because I know that he needed it...and he did too.

After Zone Conference we found a man named Earl, who we have an appointment with tonight, through using the Book of Mormon Map Challenge that your wife encouraged us to use. He has a lot of questions and so does his roommate, but he said he would be baptized if he knew the doctrine was true!

It truly is a tender mercy that so many people are letting us into their homes. We met a retired Methodist minister named Gloria, who knew the sisters before and let us in to share with her more about the Plan of Salvation. We knocked on our former-investigator Patti's door and were thrilled when she invited us in for pizza. She was having a sign-making party for her run the next day and Sister Edgar was there! It was meant to be! We helped her out and met her friend Lisa, who we met street-contacting once but now is much more open to us coming to visit.

We saw Latrina as well! We were finally invited into her home and she and her daughter are very interested in Personal Progress, so we showed her how to access it online and also helped her download the BOM onto her phone. She expressed how excited she was to have us back, despite her having to cancel appointments so often.

Sadly, neither Claire nor Dominique came to church on Sunday :( despite their commitments to do so. However, Claire came to the Music Night we sang at last night and brought her sister! I was so happy to see Bill Stoll there as well! He has been asking more questions about temple ordinances and sealing’s.

Haha we wrapped the Elders into singing with it and us all eventually turned out...the poor dears. But the Spirit was there and I am happy we did it.

You are so wonderful; Momma and you continue to be every single day. I love you ALL so very much and hope and pray that everything will work out for your good!

With All the Love that My Heart Can Muster,

-Sister Weaver-

Our Zone Conference Sisters!
It was so funny;
each one of us had a camera
we needed to take a pic with
so all the Elders in the Zone
lined up and took a pic each
...it was hilarious.

Me holding a baby-like dog
at one of our Spanish
investigator's house, Martha

I'm Glad To Hear You Guys Had A Fun Halloween

November 3, 2014

It Snowed

Dear Family & Friends,

I'm glad to hear you guys had a fun Halloween of vegetation and tube-watching...I admit I sometimes dream about watching TV...SOMETIMES). Halloween here was so fun...Sister Pink, a less-active, invited us to her house a couple of weeks ago, and prepared so many things for us to do like carve pumpkins, make caramel apples, the works! The SP Elders had nothing to do that night, so we invited them and we all had a pumpkin-carving contest (Theirs was pretty legit, but ours was pretty boss too...y'all be the judge). Sis. Pink and her husband have been going through a lot of hardship, since he just got back from the hospital...and she was so happy that we made him so happy. When his nurse came at the end of the night, he kept on raving about how awesome our pumpkins were. I almost cried :) 

Sister Pink 

The SP Elder's Pumpkin

Us proud of our amazing work

Our awesome pumpkin

Kentucky-fried...that brings back pleasant and disgusting memories. While we were carving pumpkins at Sister Pinks', I told her of my OCD and she really appreciated that I shared it because she struggles with it as well. She said that it is good that I am out here offering hope and empathizing with those who struggle with it. That truly is one of the reasons I love serving...I am surprised how anxiety affects so many people, both young and old.

Yup, Sister Rousseau is my new comp. She is ridiculously agile about missionary work, so it is good she keeps me on my toes.

...Nope, Kyle Ames doesn't seem to ring a bell...maybe I dunno, I can't remember much of my life before the mission haha

I love that quote from Elder Uchtdorf. He is boss. Thanks for the poem too; the sacrifices of those who have gone before us have paved the way for the greater good that affects the entire human race in this day and age. This morning I read in Mosiah about Abinadi's example of such and admire his courage and attitude: "And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people...I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands...Yea, and I will suffer even until death..." (Mosiah 15:28; 17:9-10)

Our AP's sent us this message that ties in well to this: "Because Abinadi stood boldly for truth what was the effect that that moment had on the Lamanite nation? Alma was Converted and thousands of Lamanites. Not only that but generation upon generation were affected because of one man. That can be you.  'Pray as if everything depended on God, then work as if it all depends on you.'"

That is so good that you are striving to help those in the church who have distanced them selves. We definitely need to work on that again. Less-actives are easy ones to have slip through the cracks, but I love the new YW in Excellence theme: "Observe, then Serve," it fits it perfectly!

This week was Stake Conference! One of the speakers was an RM named Elder Leanhart (or Lenhart, don't remember), but he just got back from serving in Glendale, AZ!! I wanted to ask him if he knew the Weavers, but a bajillion people thronged him after the service, so I didn't get to check. You guys will have to ask Grandma and Grandpa if they knew him. I am SO excited that Claire and Eric came to Stake Conference! Claire thoroughly enjoyed the first speaker Sister Korales's testimony and conversion story because she said that she could most relate with her. Eric enjoyed the choir and we gave him a notebook to write down his questions...which he used throughout the whole meeting so we look forward to help answer his questions later this week.

We are also teaching a secular humanist named Andrew, who likes to argue allot of things regarding religion. I hope that his heart will soften more to the gospel message the more we meet with him.

Dominique and her family came to the Trunk-or-Treat!! I am so happy she brought her two daughters and two members of her extended family. They arrived late so we gave them a tour of the church while people were cleaning up and Brother Edgar, whom they were talking to, came along and helped answer questions about the church. They really felt the Spirit in the chapel and sang a couple of hymns with us :)

When we met with Brother Stoll, he said, "If we were to join the church, would Luella and I have to be married again?" and then we explained more about temple sealing’s and how priesthood power binds families on earth and in heaven. I am so happy he is starting to ask more questions without fear of offending us.

I am so glad that you all are so firm in the faith, I wouldn't be here if you weren't! Love you all and 2015 is gonna rock!! muah!

-Sister Weaver-

November 6, 2014 in Sun Prairie Madison East Zone

Sisters Weaver, Rousseau, Martin, Brewster, Bennett, McIntyre, Arnold, and Clawson