Hola,
Well, my new companion is Sister Win from Utah! She is awesome and very sweet. We get along very well and are having a good time. Transfer weeks always go very slow, so I'm surprised it's finally Monday again... but with it already being the new week it'll pick up again. Training is fun, and I enjoy it a lot. I think I've been called as a trainer to make sure I'M being reminded of all the basics and important stuff!
Hopefully by the end of this month we will see many miracles and baptisms happen! Ly is still on board (her husband- member- is still VERY supportive and excited for her!) We are going to the Temple Visitor's Center this week with them. Last week didn't happen.
Lan and Ban are still going strong. They haven't quit completely yet, but within only 2 weeks they've gone from 2 packs a day to not even 3 whole cigarettes a day! It's incredible and we are SO proud of them. Lan asked that we make something for her: she explained that she was looking up online stories of converts and how they quit smoking. She found that one lady's missionaries made her a fake cigarette pack with rolls of white paper inside. The papers had scriptures and inspirational quotes written on them. She asked if we could do something like that for her to have so when she gets tempted she can pull out her "pack" and feel the Spirit.
I had heard of other missionaries doing that before and decided that might just make them feel tempted even more, but since she asked, and told us it would actually help her, we made her one! Never having really seen a cigarette pack enough to model it, I created one in a crayon box manner. It looked legit! I covered the outside with pictures of Christ and wrote on the lid "I am a Child of God!". Sister T and I made the scrolls of paper with scriptures inside, and when completed it looked great! Ban and Lan loved it so much! Ban took it to work so he would have something to pull out when he was tempted to take a smoke break.
I'm really trying to get creative to help them out. One recent convert in one of our wards suggested to get them cinnamon-flavored toothpicks! It really helped him kick his 20 year habit. Cinnamon is said to really help with quitting smoking plus it's something they can fiddle with their fingers and stick in their mouth. But the new flavor helps kick the craving.
Anywho, cinnamon toothpicks are hard to come by, so we're making our own today. Our convert friend gave us the recipe online, so here's hoping we find some cinnamon bark oil! haha! Please pray for Lan and Ban to have the power to quit smoking.
Okay, so... Nes (I think I told you about him... 17 year old) and his family met with us on Friday night. We were planning on teaching the Restoration, but as we started out the lesson I could only think about the Plan of Salvation. The Spirit was blocking my mind from what we had planned on and was heavily telling me we needed to change our direction. We heeded the prompting and we had an AMAZING lesson! The family is from Vietnam and have a Buddhist background. The mom didn't know much about Jesus Christ, and as we taught them about Him and His Atonement, eternal families and the Temple they all glowed! The Spirit was incredible and we committed them to baptism. The children, who have many member friends, and who are the ones who introduced the family to the Gospel said they would think about it. Shockingly enough, the mom was the first to blurt out "Yes!" . She exclaimed how much she desired her family to be forever. She reasoned that if a church could teach and provide the means for families to stay strong and close, even for eternity, it must be a church they all should join!
Unfortunately, the dad was not present in our lesson. He was already asleep because of an early work schedule the next day. Our next lesson will be at an earlier time so he can listen. It is my hope and prayer that he will be receptive to the message and also desire for his family to be eternal.
It's so much more than baptism...
Please pray that this family will all work together and make it to baptism and eventually the Temple. (a whole family to teach! A WHOLE FAMILY!)
I am grateful for the opportunity I have to share this sacred message to the world. I'm not perfect at it, but I'm doing my best. I have been blessed with an eternal family: why not go out and share what I've been blessed with so others can benefit from that great, eternal blessing?! :D
I am thankful for your support and prayers. I'm so GRATEFUL we are an eternal family! This work is awesome. I feel a sense of urgency as I start to wind down the months of my mission. I'm still in the middle! It ain't over yet!! But there is still much to be done. I'm excited to continue being a missionary for the rest of my life. I've learned a great deal out here of who I want to become in my life. I'm working on it :)
I LOVE YOU ALL! * * *
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah for Israel!
With love,
Sister SPF 150!
PS- weather's slightly cooling off for a few days! It's been a little rainy the past couple of days! We're in the beautiful 80's. Although we'll hit the triple digits again soon. I can't wait till October!
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