(Nov. 17)
My first transfer is done! that went by so fast!I am now officially over half way done training! As I mentioned last week, I am in the Beehive House now! (Well, I think I mentioned it last week. I don't actually remember.) The Beehive House is so amazing and it is my favorite place now despite the fact that it is kinda eerie at night. :)
This week not much has gone on that is too exciting, so the email may be really short. Most of our investigators are still at the steady phase, but not really moving forward. We are hoping to help them realize how important the gospel really is. Our investigator, T is not doing well. Right now she is in the "do or die" phase. the bishop in her area cannot help her with her financial or physical needs right now. We don't know the full details, and so all that we can do is pray that she will be able to some how keep in contact with us over email because she may not have a phone anymore. We have not heard from her much since she told us that the church cannot help, which is really sad. However, I emailed her again today and we hope that she will be touched and realize that when we put our trust in God, He will help us to have peace and comfort during times of physical strife.She really is so sweet, and we hope to be able to speak with her on the phone again soon, or get a reply from her.There have been a few miracles that happened yesterday! #1: a man named J came into the Assembly Hall and told me that he was Baptist, but that he really loved the community in the Mormon church and wanted to join. We got his information and he is going o call the bishop and go to church this Sunday! Members really do make such a difference in the lives of people! Before my mission I had no idea how much I influenced the people around me. Growing up in Magrath it is easy to forget that perhaps not everyone is familiar with the Church, or does not feel welcome for one reason or another, and so I have learned how important it is that every member reach out to each other. Miracle #2: Yesterday we met an elderly Methodist lady from Alaska that expressed to us her love of the LDS Church. We showed her a little bit of Alma 7 and she got teary eyed and said, "This is how people should live. If people only knew about Christ, and lived like they knew, the whole world would be different. This church is amazing, this is how people should live." She then mentioned how we have the belief about the pre-existence and she said that she had always believed that God knew us before we were born, and that as she really studied the Bible, she had come to the conclusion on her own, that we lived with Christ before our birth.
These two people were just so amazing! The elderly lady told us that she was very set in her Methodist ways, and so would not be interested in having missionaries over, but she said that she has some LDS friends that she would talk to and that her son had a Book of Mormon she would borrow and finish reading Alma 7 on her own :)
It is amazing how God really does prepare people that come to temple Square to hear the message of the Gospel. A few days ago I went on an exchange with my new district leader, Sister L from Hong Kong and it was amazing teaching Chinese people with her even though they do not speak English. When I would say something, she would translate what I was saying and vice versa. the Spirit still really speaks to people even when there are language barriers. Serving in Temple Square I have learned how important the language of the Spirit really is. I am so happy that I have this mission call. Before, I did not know quite what I wanted to do for schooling afterward, but I think I really want to study cultures and linguistics mostly, (and perhaps a little music I would like to get better at that too). I love teaching people from around the world. I just really wish we could teach people while they are in China, because we teach them when they are on trips and out of country and we can give them a Book of Mormon, but as soon as they go back to China we cannot email them unless they go out on another trip. However, we get their information before they leave. temple Square gathers so many referrals from Chinese people. As soon as China is open to missionaries the church will already have thousands of referrals from Temple Square! We love teaching them though, and a few of them get baptized when they are abroad. That is pretty much everything that has gone on this week, not that much I know but some weeks will be more eventful than others;)I love you all, and pray for you all of the time!
<3
Sister Lybbert
Nov. 23
We got to see Savior of the World this week! The performance was amazing, ( although it is true the Elizabeth was a little young). One of my favorite parts was when Mary is talking to her mother and her Mother says something like "You may wonder about yourself, but you needn't ever worry or wonder about the Lord." The song about this was so powerful , and I have really come to know that this is true. On a mission I have experienced many different things, but I never have to worry about the spiritual impressions that I am given. I just need to act on them.
An example of this came today. Sister O and I were on our way to TC (Teaching Center where we call people and email them) when we spotted a couple beside the pictures of Christ. We felt the prompting that we needed to speak with them, and as we did we found out that they were going through a really hard time. The wife was about to get surgery, and she was very devastated about it. We were able to talk to them about Jesus and his love for them both, along with his awareness of her needs. We both felt very prompted to tell her about The Savior of the World. Sadly the couple cannot go tonight, but they will be back on the 18th with their son. When she heard about this though she started to bawl uncontrollably and express her gratitude for Christ. She told us that she was an actress, and that the reason why she was frightened about the surgery was because if it went wrong, she would not be able to do her job anymore (we assume it is a vocal cord surgery). She loves plays and so for Christ to be able to tell her about his love for her through a play, was a miracle. Afterwards expressed that when we stopped by she needed to hear about the savior from some one, and that it was amazing that we were both there for her right when we needed to be. The play Savior of the World truly is incredible! There are so many people who go to see it who do not know about Christ. It is a form of missionary work in itself. We even came in contact with a man who said that he had never seen the play, but when he heard the music he felt the spirit so strongly that it made him want to learn more about Christ, As a result of those songs he is now a strong member of the church, and has read the book of Mormon and gained a testimony about it for himself. Because Christmas is such a wide spread holiday, many people even when they don't know much about Christ are willing to learn more about him. This time of year is the best, and I am so excited for the lights to come out on Friday!
One more thing about the Savior of the World that I really loved was in the second act ( I loved it all though and the first act was the best in my opinion) was the perspective that is portrayed through Thomas. I had never thought too much about the importance of the fact that Thomas was the only one out of the twelve not to see the risen Lord right away. He had to believe on the Saviors words and believe on the words of the other disciples. He had a hard time with this and in the production he is told by peter " Come let us go fourth and be a witness of these things, because we are all witnesses of the Christ." to which he replies "How can I believe, what I have not seen?" His initial reaction is the reaction that many people have. Thomas then has to go through a change of heart until he is humble enough to say that he has faith in the Savior Jesus Christ and it does not matter if he sees him, but he will believe, and bear his testimony of the Savior. It is not until after he puts his faith in the Savior that he beholds the resurrected Christ.
This part reminded me of Ether 12:6.
The church has made a few new Christmas video clips that are very powerful, we as a mission got to preview them so that we know what we are going to be showing guests this year. They do not come out publicly until this Sunday, but when they do I encourage everyone to watch them.
This week Sister O and I were also able to spend some time with B (Sister O was his missionary when he was baptized on September 5th ) He has talked to us quite a bit as we have helped him to continue to build his testimony. However the past little while has been very hard for him, because his grandpa is dying. This week we were able to go with him to the church history museum and watch a panoramic video of the first vision (I love this version the best). We were able to re- testify to him about the importance of the Restoration of the Gospel, He understood it before, but I feel that as we went through the museum, he was able to have the spirit witness to him again that this Church is true and that the restoration happened so that we could have a greater knowledge of God and receive the blessings of the temple, and be with our families forever. I am so thankful for the knowledge that we have that Jesus is the Christ.
Thank you for all of your emails! I love you all! XOXOX
Sister Lybbert
Dec. 1
Christmas is coming! It seems like time is flying by so fast, I cannot believe that I have already almost been out for three whole months, it does not seem like it has been that long. We are all busy as bees here on temple square. We all got a new Christmas schedule which is so fun to do! It was amazing to see all of the people here when the lights came on! Everything is so colorful!
It is also nice because I am on late schedule so I get to go to bed at about 11:45 pm and wake up at 7:45 pm! Normally we get up at 6:45 and go to bed at 10:45 pm (if we are on late schedule if not then normally it is 6:15- 10:15).
Our investigators are doing alright, but as I may have mentioned last week they are still not really progressing. The problem I find the most is that they are not keeping the commitments to pray and read their scriptures daily. The difference when people do these things is literally the same as night and day. One of my favorite sayings is something like.. "There has never been anyone that has gone less active who had been reading their scriptures and praying every day. That just does not happen." When we commit ourselves to think about the Savior for just a few minutes a day it will strengthen us more than we know.
Being out here on a mission I have observed many people who use to be very strong members in the church, with firm foundations who have let everything slip away, because they were not doing the basics. I never realized just how important giving even just 10 minutes a day to the Lord is. Ten minutes really is not that much time, but it makes all of the difference. There is another saying that I heard that goes "If we give 30 minutes a day to the Lord, we will spend eternity with him." Of course we do not go and do things that are against the commandments as soon as those 30 minutes are up for the day, but as we take a half hour out of our day to think about things that are really important, we are able to have the spirit with us for the rest of the day to help us cling to the word of God, and act on it.
It is very upsetting to see multiple returned missionaries who come to temple square that are inactive. Some of them will tell us what it was that drove them away from the church, but the foundation of the reason is always the same. They did not have a Testimony of the Book of Mormon, because they had not been sincerely reading it. There is a difference between just reading and reading something with the intent to learn more. Many sources that are out there have the intent of driving people away from God. It is so very important that we do not buy into these tricks even when they may seem harmless.
This past week was the first time that we got fed by members! I miss being able to have real home cooked meals so much! Because it was thanks giving in the U.S.A. some members of the Salt-Lake city stake decided to invite us to their homes. Sister O, Sister W, Sister L and I all went to a lovely Tongan couples house! It was so amazing! Before the meal we all talked about what we were thankful for, bore our testimonies, read some scriptures together and sang some songs in Tongan! After the meal we learned the hula and feasted on Ice-cream cake! It was amazing to be able to experience coming into other peoples homes to teach people. That is something that most of the Sisters envy about those that are not serving on temple square. When the sisters here go out bound they always say that teaching people in their homes is the thing that they miss the most. The one thing that is really hard to get on temple square is a true bond with your investigator. Do not get me wrong I do have a few that we are really tight with and call us almost everyday, some I have even met in person, and others have plans to come to temple square so that we can all meet. However it usually takes just a little bit longer to gain peoples trust if you are not always there with them in person, and it is harder to help them keep their commitments other than sending them texts to remind them every once in a while. 
Love
Sister Lybbert XOXO
No comments:
Post a Comment