Temples and Moving Forward

The ESL crew!  We love them!

Hello Everyone!

So this week was crazy... very crazy. To start with tracting is actually a thing now and we've actually found some success with it. We found a family who seem to be searching for the truth and it's so cool to see their desire to be together as they figure out the gospel. We finished transitioning in between the old and the new programs for ESL and it's been fun working with the groups. What we need now is some more member involvement but that'll come in time. 

We also got the transfer call this week. I was a wreck on Sunday I was so nervous. I think a big part of it was not really knowing where I wanted to be. But when the call finally came. It was sister Penrod leaving. Sister Chen and I will be staying in Mississauga while sister Penrod heads of to English work as a Sister Training Leader.... She's kind of up in the air about it right now, but she's going to do so great. 

I don't know there was so many little things that really changed me this week. I wore jeans on Saturday as we helped paint a house. We had warm sun and cold snow. We celebrated a members birthday and ended up with more food than we can eat in our fridge. We went to the temple and heard from our president the new member of the seventy. There were moments where we laughed together and moments where we all were freaking out. I wish I could describe the spirit felt this week and the joy found in the little moments. The sorrow for people choosing to go the wrong way and the joy at seeing them progress. I feel a bit like I'm in a tunnel carrying a torch I can see light a head and yet there are people around me who can't see that light and it's to them that I need to find. 

I guess in the end it's all about the movement though. We have to keep pressing forward. There's no other way. 

I hope you all know how much I love you. How much I appreciate every single one of you. There's so much to be hopeful for. 

Love,

Sister Skinner

The lovely sister Chen! and her rabbit face! She's amazing! 

Sister Liao, and the hermana's that we stayed with
 for my first couple transfers! Plus one but hey!

Nancy and Her cake!

The biggest breakfast plate ever!
 and where we ate after the temple.

And the fabulous sister Penrod and her impression of the
wicked queen with the apples given to us by members.

And then more apples!

Transfers and the Work of Salvation

Hello Everyone!

So Transfers, it was fun stuff! I didn't even cry! (Teared up a bit when hugging sister Liao for the last time for a while but no real tears!) I guess I should start from the beginning. Monday we finished packing and we went to dinner with our members and investigators. It was so sweet to have all of them there and supporting us. I'll miss them but I have the feeling that Kitchener hasn't seen the last of me yet! So when the time comes again I'll be ready! We also went to see Tangier for one last lesson that night and we all just ended up bearing testimonies and he made us all tear up when he started talking about what a blessing knowing this gospel is and how he will keep on sharing and living it for the rest of his life. He's the sweetest most humble person I think I've ever met and I can't wait to see him again someday!

Well we finished packing that night and we started towards the mission office. Long drive but that's okay I enjoyed it. I don't think it felt real until we actually reached the mission office. I felt out of sorts for the rest of the day but it really did turn out okay. I am now working with sister Chen, who is super sweet and is from Taipei, she's about at the same level of English as I am Chinese so we have a hard time communicating sometimes but we're getting there! This does mean however that sister Penrod does a lot of translating between the two of us. Sister Penrod's mom is from Taiwan and her dad's american so she's pretty fluently bilingual. It's a good thing too or else sister Chen and I would be pretty lost! She's follow up training both of us which has been interesting since we're both at different points this means that I actually do most of the training of sister Chen (When I can) and we try and working things out together. She's super cool and reminds me more of sister Erickson than sister Liao which is interesting. We both thought that we would never serve together though since we're the only two Chinese sisters that can drive but we are and she's the designated driver. She's also a California driver so there have been a few points where I've been just a bit frightened. Still she insists that she's the safest driver I'll ever meet and I just kind of smile and keep on praying. (No she really is good just a bit... faster than I am)

Besides that working in a trio has been a learning curve. It's not easy especially with sister Chen and I barely being able to communicate with each other but we're getting better and I look forward to going through this transfer. There's going to be so many miracles! We're going to baptize this transfer too!

Meeting the members here has been fun. The ward I'm working in right now is multi lingual so during Sunday school there's Chinese, English, and Spanish, classes to choose from and to go to and so unless you speak all three languages there's going to be someone that you can't quiet communicate with. Still it's been great getting to know the members and being able to be in a family ward again. (I didn't realize how much I missed primary...)

This area is going to be a little bit different then the last one I think we're going to have to work harder to find people to teach but like sister Penrod likes to say. "The whole mission is run on faith... this area is just running on a little more faith then the average." But I think it's going to be great once we can really get started. We managed to find two new this week anyways. Both of who look really solid. Jane and Brother Tian are going to get baptized I know it! 

Something important I learned this week is kind of an interesting thought. Sitting in church I was pondering on the fact that we are living in a fallen world and therefore subject to Satan's influence. I was thinking about the fact that in a real sense we are living in a battle field. We hear all the time that Satan is working against us but something in the passing phrase of 'God is hastening his work caught my attention. 

If we are living in a battlefield and not just any battle field we are living in the climax. That critical point in history when all outward signs show that the bad guy is gaining strength and good is loosing ground. We are living in the point of the story where everyone is hanging on to their seats and waiting to see the final triumph. That is our day. And yes Evil has it's power right now, but do you ever think about the other side of that battle. If Satan is working against us then do you ever think about the fact that God is working for us? Do you ever think about the fact that God is actively working for us?... isn't that so cool! We are the climax this is the point where God is more active in the lives of his children then ever before. Christ is working with us. The Holy Ghost is urging us on wards and in the face of the opposition God stands at our head. He is not idling He stands. This is His work and His Glory. His work...

Work is hard. But it becomes easier through love. Always through love. 

I know the ending to this story. I know that Christ will reign triumphant. I know that the work that I do now is just a small portion but also infinity important. We must be active as well. If God Himself is working for us then we ourselves can't be idle. That example should make us realize how much more we need to be active. 

God loves us enough to work for us. The least week can do is work for Him as well. 

Have a great week everyone!

-Sister Skinner

Let Us All Press On!

Hello Everyone!

So, TANGIER GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!!! We were so excited he was excited too and it was such a great experience to watch him and Roy (The elder's investigator) get baptized. They both bore beautiful testimonies and then watching them the next day get confirmed with such joy and happiness on their faces was the best thing. I feel so happy for them. I have loved seeing Tangier progress and seeing him really interact with all the members and people is wonderful.

We had a lot of success this week teaching members and working on the street. There were a lot of people who wanted to meet with us but didn't have time right then and there. Every time we went out we found someone willing to talk to us and that was such a blessing. It was also reading week and so everyone had a little bit more free time so we got to meet with Tangier and the rest of the people who didn't go on vacation....

We also celebrated one of the members birthdays which was a lot of fun. Cheryl goes with us to many of our lessons and helps us get investigators to church. So we tried to do something really nice for her. Somehow she managed to pay for the dinner we took her to though so I'm not sure if that quiet worked out like we thought it would.

Sister Liao and I really felt a lot of spiritual power this week too which was such a blessing. Working with others and teaching to the best of our abilities we saw a lot of success and progress. An investigator by the name of Caleb that we hadn't been able to meet with for two weeks came to our next lesson with him having read almost all of 1 Nephi and he was a totally different person. He wanted to know more about the plan of Salvation, he asked how the atonement works, he actually smiled during the lesson. It was amazing!

We also got to go to the temple this week for the first time. We had a wonderful experience and it was such a blessing to go and to see missionaries we had known previously and to feel the presence of the Lord. It was a very long drive but it was worth it.

So with all the success we had this week, all the joy and the lessons learned and taught, of course that meant that we're too comfortable with how things are so last night we got the call. Sister Liao and I are both being transferred away. She's going to Bayview and I'm going to Mississauga I'll have new companions tomorrow. Sister Penrod and Sister Chen (For all the MTC crowd it was fun to see her again this week at the temple.) I'm not sure if I've mentioned this but there is a grand total of 5 Chinese sisters in the Canada Toronto mission and so with sisters in Bayview and Mississauga that means there are elders coming to our area. For some reason all the members are really disappointed. I just kind of laughed when Jin called us just to scream NOOOOO! into the phone and then hang up.

I'm really going to miss sister Liao she and I have become really good friends and I've learned a lot from her both about being brave and about being kind. I hope I'll get to see her again while on my mission. She's been transferred or moved every transfer of her mission and so she's been preparing to leave all week. I was more stubborn but that'll be okay. When I told her I would miss her she just shrugged and said. 'I'll see you again. If not on the mission then I'll visit you afterwards to watch Start Wars together." ....This post mission Star Wars party is going to be a big one and I'm really excited. You're all invited! Ha! I guess we're all dreamers in the end.

Still spiritually I've felt like I've really grown this week. I made a mistake in a lesson but I was able to make it better still I was beating myself up for it for a while but after some words from sister Liao and a nudging from the spirit I was able to pray and the peace and the gentle. "You are on my errand. I will make it all okay." was one of most comforting things I've ever felt. We have so much to learn and so many ways that we can share and grow. I've got some more packing and cleaning today and I'm sad I have to take all my pictures down just after I put them all up but I'm so very grateful that I'll get to have them with me for the rest of my mission. So thank you all so much for your support and your prayers and your faith. I wouldn't be able to make it with out you. God really will pull us through everything and I'm so very grateful for His love and His spirit. We will go though this life together. Even if we're just on the same planet we'll grow just from our faith in each other.

God be with you all!

-Sister Skinner