Sis Loveland

Sis Loveland

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

One week full of service and fun!!!!

So this week we have had many opportunities to serve a part member family in the cute little Hamilton Branch! We got to help them build a enclosed porch! (we were more the heavy lifers) We also played alot of softball with there 5 boys to keep them busy and out of the way! Goodness me am i sore from all of that fun work!!! :) We are going over again today to have Family home evening with them, we will be going on a Restoration treasure hunt!!! HAHA!!! Me and Sister Fausett are just a little creative :)

We also were kept very busy with teaching our investigators! WOW!!! We really dont ever have time to breathe! Between all the serves we do and the people we teach, I am honestly surprised that I can get up and walk everyday. We had a wonderful lesson with our some of our Less Actives about Temples and the Plan of Salvation. This week really was just full of all ups and lots and lots of spiritual moments!!! All I can say is I love being a missionary!!!

So this weeks email is a little short simply because I am a little short on time. We have lessons starting at 3 today and we have to also finish our Restoration treasure hunt. But being busy is a good thing :) Because that is a sign that people are truly prepared here in Hamilton! 

So this week we have been doing alot of focusing on the Doctrine of Christ. I absolutely love the Doctrine of Christ! There are so many chapters on the Book of Mormon that talks about the amazing Doctrine that Christ taught. My personal favorite chapter (even though i shouldn't have favorites) is 2 Nephi 31. Nephi teaches and testifies so simply the power of this doctrine! In verse 10-13 it reads; " And he said unto the children of man: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus Save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father? And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son. And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism- yea, be following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, than shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel." I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple and so wonderful! I know that as we live the Gospel of Christ and let it sink deep in to our hearts and be firmly rooted to the marrow of our bones that no temptations can over come our faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ and that we will be able to keep the commandments in which He has given us for we will truly know that Jesus in the Christ.

I love you all and I am so grateful for all your love and support :) I would like to invite you all to pray and ask God the Eternal Father if this gospel is true, I know and I can promise you as you do this you will see you testimony grow and you will feel the spirit of the Lord more abundantly in your life.

P.S. I met the Elder in my mission that is from my Grandma and Grandpa Loveland's ward! He is in my Distric :)

1 year and 3 days!!!

Well its offical i have hit my year mark!! Before I know it I will be home with my wonderful family. Goodness my mission has really flown by!!! There is nothing more rewarding then being on a mission at this time in my life.

This week we have been busy teaching so many people! We are trying to contact all the less actives in the Branch and some of the Former investigators that were taught in the past and WOW that is so much fun and alot of work! Because all at the same time we are trying to find new people to teach so we are trying to talk to literally everyone! But We are still having lots and lots of fun!!!!
We recently found a awesome New Investigator Dustin! He is the Boy-Friend of a Less Active. He is super nice and has just about finished the Book of Mormon. I am so excited we will be teaching him again on Tuesday and man his he prepared! Also we have found some new less actives that haven't been contacted in a while and the best part is they want us to meet with them and help them start coming back to church!! Oh my Goodness the Gospel is true and there are miracles happening here!!!!

So today I want to talk a little bit about the 2,000 stripling warrior. They are some amazing men with in the Book of Mormon the truly show that as you put your loyalty first to the Lord then to your families you will be able to see miracles! In the Book of Mormon it describes them as men with great courage, they did not fear death, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt God would deliver them. I want to focus on the first part they were men of Great Courage! I truly love the word Courage! My sweet family has a wonderful saying that is ," Courage not Compromise" I remember when i was young not knowing why we had this as our family saying. But now as I go though my mission often times I hear my sweet mothers voice in the back of my head saying those sweet word. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we need to have courage to stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places. " be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest" The prophet Thomas S. Monson once said, "Dare to be a Mormon, Dare to Stand Alone, Dare to have a Purpose Firm, Dare to make it known." I invite you all to go forth and share the truth and knowledge that you know to be true. Have the courage to stand out and be a true decipcle of Jesus Christ!

I love you all and thank you so much for all that your have done for me and all your support in helping me be able to be on my mission. I am so grateful for all your loving support! My the Lord bless you in all you do!

P.s. it decided to snow Sunday!!! Oh what fun it is to be in New York!

Monday, May 9, 2016

A Fun busy Week!

So training a new missionary is fun and interesting, but the best part is seeing them grown in their ability to teach the message of the restored gospel.

So I am second transfer training, a wonderful Sister; Sister Fausett! She is amazing with her desire to share the gospel. We are working hard to organize our apartment and area. All I can say is it was a mess!!!! There are so many old records that are pointless simply because the people no longer are there and this a a college town so most everyone here are college students so year there are alot of people moving all the time. So we have spent many of hours going though finding the people that no long live her and just simply de-junking our area. Its super fun! Especially doing it with a new missionary because then you get to help them learn of how they can help future areas.

So the Hamilton Branch is so cute and tiny!!!! We have about 21 active families and there really isn't to many young families so we have about 35 active members with in the branch. Because it is so small we sadly dont have our own building we meet inside a chapel inside a medical building. All i can say is i have come to truly be so very very grateful for my cute church building back home. Truly the saints in the west are basically spoiled rotten compared to the east. But i have never met so many saints that have such a strong faith like i do here in the eastern part of the US. Goodness i love it here!!!! i truly cant believe that i am on my last stretch then i will be able to see my lovely family at the airport welcoming me home. 

Oh by the way Mothers day was wonderful!!!! It truly is such a blessing to have the amazing mother that i do! She has been such a blessing and a wonderful example of letting your faith be first in all thing that you do and that come your way. On Sunday I was able to speak in church on mothers as well and wow all i can say after writing that talk being a mother is truly the most divine calling any women can ever have. 

Sorry is this seems jumbled my brain is just going 100 miles a hour!!!!

Also we had a few changes in our mission, we are now able to go to the temple every 6 months or 1 time a transfer with new converts. So that is a hidden blessing! Because now I will have the blessing of being able to go the temple more then once before i go home!So yeah it is pretty sweet!!! 

Oh also I had cow tongue taco's one of my first nights here. And all i can say is Heavenly Father must bless his missionaries with a stomach of steel!! Because i have no idea how i ate them because they were so gross!!! But i did it!!!! 

I wont to share with you all one of the many women in the scriptures that has strongly influenced my life and helped so much to  gain my testimony of the Atonement. That person is Marry Magdalene. Her love for her savior and what he did for me truly inspired me as a young women. in John 20: 11-16 it reads, " But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master."
I absolutely love these verses because they have truly change my out look on how much we truly need to love our Savior. My first time reading this a thought came to my mind of, " how would i feel if i found my saviors tomb empty?" would i react as Marry did? I know that our saviors love is real and is around us all each and every day. Now its are job to let our love for our savior change other peoples live.

I love you all so much and thank you for the support that you have given me! Please stay strong and true to the promises in which you have made with your heavenly father. I know that it is through those sacred promises our testimonies that we have in our savior and his atonement we will be able to one day dwell with our Father in Heaven once a gain and have eternal happiness. i invite you all to go forth this day and again your one testimony of the Saviors Atoning Sacrifice.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Hamilton NY

So I am getting transfered again!!!! I will be 2nd transfer training Sister Fausett in Hamilton NY! I am so excited but nervous at the same time!!! It truly will be a great and wonderful experience!!! So you all know Manchester VT will be closing so that means no more missionaries here. It is sad but it is a good thing all at the same time. This is only happening because we dont have enough sister missionaries coming in to keep every sister area open. But that is ok I did what I was suppose to do here in Vt and tat was to find the sweet little Loveland Family that i emailed about last week.



So this week not much happened, We just cleaned out our apartment and said good bye to everyone so there isnt much to report. But we still had lots of fun. We found every opportunity to serve and that was tons of fun!!! 

Sorry this email is so short, I am kinda short on time sense today i will be going into my new area and we are traveling alot today! I feel that this is what is suppose to happen, I dont know why but I feel so much peace going into my new area so fast. 



So as I have been studying the Book of Mormon in depth I have come to understand alot and one of the things in which I have come to understand is the mighty faith and strength of Captain Moroni! In Alma 48: 11-13, 17 it reads, " And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; Yeah, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for  the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon he people; an man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safty of his people. Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood. yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, if all man had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." I would like to invite you all to strengthen you faith like unto Moroni's so then we will all be able to be strong saints and have a firm steadfast testimony of this wonderful and restored Gospel!