The Miracle of People

 

 

Hello Everyone!

This week was slower than last week but it happens. Up and down and all around but through it all God is at our side making sure we make it through! So our biggest struggle right now is finding new investigators! We've got a lot of potentials, people who are like call us... but not this week and we're out on the streets almost everyday but it was still not as fruitful as we would have liked this week. But we'll keep going!

We did have quite a few NC lessons though which was YAY! the best way to lose your teaching pool is to baptize them all so we're counting blessings not numbers. Caleb is doing great. When we reviewed lesson one with him we suggested he could read JS history in the Pearl of Great price if he had a desire to learn more, we suggested it as a kind of longish term project and he had it all read by the next day. He told us he had just sat and read for an hour straight and it was so cool too see the sheepish look on his face when he told us. "I just didn't want to stop." So happy for him, so happy. And then on Sunday he got the Aaronic Priesthood. In Branch Conference, so the meetings were combined and we got to watch and the smile on his face when they took their hands off his head... Words can not describe how beautiful it was. Worth every tear, every worry, every pain, all 9 months of his investigating, so worth it.

Robin is also doing really well. He had us over for dinner this week and while we were there we talked to him about the temple and family history in preparation for him to go to the temple on Saturday and he just lit up like a Christmas tree. And then on Saturday we got a text from him that started out with him saying that he wasn't able to find a ride to the church. (Where the temple car pool would meet.) he had asked Tommy, (Long term member) and Allen (The investigator who gives everyone else a ride to church and lives all the commandments but has told us that he doesn't want to join a church.) If they were going to the temple and the three of us all thought immediately... 'but Allen can't go to the temple why would Robin ask him?' And we were all worried he wasn't going to want to go but then the text followed up with. I'll just take the bus. And we were so excited! He texted us again later that day and told us all about it and was over the moon with excitement. Fantastic experience.

So Allen, Robin, and Caleb have all become good friends, in the last couple of months and we've been so hopeful for Allen, he's been coming to church, reading, praying, and has taken every single commandment with a 'yah, that makes sense.' And then this week we taught family history and temples, we finally found his problem. He told us he wasn't sure he believed in resurrection and in the necessity of baptism to get into heaven. It was a powerful lesson though and actually Caleb was there having stayed after his lesson as well as Cheryl, but the strongest presence I felt was a powerful feeling from the holy ghost urging me to promise him that he had ancestors who wanted Allen to know their names. The Spirit was strong and he committed to make a family history account.

That Sunday was Branch conference and the talks were all fantastic, Robin passed the sacrament again, and it was a great meeting, and then after the meeting was over, Allen turns to sister Chen as says, "I've decided I want to get baptized." (Later that night sister Chen had a fun time trying to find the English word for 'dumb founded') She tapped me on the shoulder and Allen repeated his words only in English this time... I had about the same look on my face. We both turned around and shook sister Moody and we repeated what Allen had said... She looked at us and looked at Allen who was smiling by that point and then looked back at us. We all looked over at Allen who said. "Thank you all for helping me get to this point." We were still speechless and Robin who was sitting on the other side of Allen was just like "Yah, Allen wants to get baptized!" And Caleb was sitting next to him nodding with an "it's about time" Look all over his face.

We then all had to go to the next class but needless to say it was one of the most beautiful days ever! We kept hearing snippets of their conversations as Robin explained that Allen would need an interview first and he and Caleb talked about Church. And our new converts are planning our Investigators baptism and I just about started crying right there!

Things aren't always like this but these weeks these beautiful moments of clarity where the whole plan of Salvation just makes sense. These are the reasons people go on missions. I can not even comprehend where I would be if I hadn't made the decision to come out here. I don't even want to think about it. Because next temple trip they are all going to go together and I've never felt such love for those little moments.

This gospel is the truth! There are prophets on the earth today who lead and guide this church under the direction of Jesus Christ the Son of the living God whose priesthood makes the ordinances and covenants possible so that we can all return to live with Him again.

Look for miracles, work for miracles, and you will find miracles.

Because They are all around you.

I love you all,

-Sister Skinner

Work!

 

Hello Everyone!

Guess what? Caleb got BAPTIZED AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!! So yes that was amazing. Saturday we were going to have the baptism at 11 and so we got there at 9:30 to start filling up the font and set everything up and so we pulled up to the church in the rain and there Caleb was standing with his bag and a that sheepish smile on his face. We were all like '!' You're here early! and he was all like. 'I wanted to be here' and it was the sweetest thing ever! So Caleb helped set up for his own baptism and the look on his face when we told him we were going to fill the font and then walked right into the men's bathroom was priceless. He figured it out quickly but that initial shock was quite good. And then he was worried about all these little details and we were just so happy for him. It was beautiful! His testimony was wonderful as well. He talked about being so grateful for the example that Jesus Christ set for him so that he could know what was right and he talked about how happy he was and it was just... perfect. The next day as we watched him get up and prepare to get the holy ghost it was amazing to listen as the blessing specifically stated a temple marriage in his future and I just started tearing up. Sunday was such a blessing. Robin passed the sacrament for the first time and had his temple recommend interview, Caleb got the holy Ghost, Allen came to church and had a great time, and another blessing that made my joy just about full was that Tangier came! He was there at church and it was the most amazing thing to see my first convert sitting there side by side with Caleb and just knowing that God is looking out over them and I just... It was so... I can't even describe it. God is so real and so loving and so kind to all of His children. That doesn't mean that things are easy but they are so worth it, every time you think about quitting just know that there is something great in store in front of you.

So other highlights of this week was we got a seventy visit from Elder Arnold who in the last general conference talked about going to the rescue. Him being here and being able to hear his words was such an amazing experience. He sat us down and told us how it was and he talked about how yes... your obedient... but God needs more than obedience he needs consecration! And that means understanding and using every single tool you've got! That means asking for referrals that means talking to everyone, that means forgiving yourself! That means letting go of the past and holding on to the rod. That means helping and lifting and making cookies for your ward leaders! That means knowing when to teach a 15 minute lesson and when to teach a 45 minute lesson. And above all else it means relying on God first. Always. It was a fantastic meeting and we left just like he wanted us too. With Fire in our veins ready to do what needs to be done!

We're so excited to keep working in this area and with these people because there is so much work to be done! We can't do it alone it's going to take everyone! When they say every member a missionary they aren't just saying words. Members are so, so important and until we start working together we will never reach our full potential. This is more than a church this is the kingdom of God and every citizen in that kingdom can change the world! You are a vital part of the plan of salvation and that means something! Isn't that amazing?

I wish I could fully convey to all of you the joy that I've felt in this past week. Things weren't perfect, they never will be in this life. But things worked out. And if we keep that eternal perspective in mind they always will.

I love you all so much and I hope you know how much I pray for each and everyone of you. There is an urgency to the work and it won't ever end and THAT is a blessing beyond compare.

I know that God lives, I know Jesus is the Christ, and I know these things by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Love,

-Sister Skinner

 

 

Step by Step

Hello Everyone!

So first some thoughts from this week. CALEB PASSED HIS BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW AND IS LOOKING SUPER SOLID FOR THIS SATURDAY!!! YAY! Okay sorry about that but Caleb has such a special place in my heart, Sister Liao and I found him way back in January and now he's finally getting baptized and it's one of the most humbling and amazing feelings/realizations ever. I'm super happy for him and I know that he's ready to be a member of the church. (It's not like he's been coming every week for three months now and knows just about everyone already) So yes that was super crazy exciting.

So let's see Monday I finally broke down and went to the craft store and have been making bracelets for everyone who's allowed to wear them. (Sorry Elders) We've been working really hard with Allen this week and it's kind of funny because he's willing to commit to every single commandment and understands the whys really well for everything except baptism. He's even driving other investigators to church and participating but he's not ready to commit to a church. So we're really trying to focus on the fact that this isn't just a church this is THE church. It's slow going at the moment but we'll get there.

Tuesday we went on exchanges! Sister Moody got pulled away to Spanish work for the day and we took sister Tyler for an adventure as we tried to find out where all the Chinese people were hiding that day because none of them were outside. So that was fun. Sister Chen and I missed our baby though. Also Tuesday we met with a potential named Johnny who also brought his friend Sheldon and so we got two new in one go and that was really cool. The two of them have been meeting together which has been fun but then just yesterday they also brought their third roommate along and so now between three of them and the three of us it's starting to feel like a classroom setting getting a member present out is hard because... that's a lot of people. But we're going to figure something out!

Robin continues to meet with us and continues to be hilarious and adorable. He ran up to us on the street the other day and he had a pink and purple stuffed turtle in his hands when we asked about it he said that he had found it with one of it's flippers ripped off and he had sewn it back together... He was just so proud and wanted to show us and it was adorable! He also might be doing the baptism for Caleb this Saturday which is really cool because they have become really good friends.

So on a less happy note I got sick this week... again. This time in order to get better, I was put on a clear liquid diet for two days. That was really rough but my companions pulled me through it and once it was over I felt a lot better. Also the pizza at the end might have helped... Maybe.

We've been having a lot of fun as a companionship really trying to work on our Chinese even if sister moody wants to learn Chinese with a Chinese accent instead of a Taiwanese accent, which is what she's going to learn anyways because she's being trained by people who have Taiwanese accents. Still, it's a lot of fun to tease her about.

Life is just moving by so fast! I'm never quite sure how to deal with the shock when I realize how long I've been on my mission. Every day just seems to fly by in some way or another and yet in a way it also feels timeless. Things are just going to keep flowing and somewhere along the way God is going to teach us what we need to learn.

I've learned a lot recently and I'm so very grateful for it.

I wish you all the best of weeks!

-Sister Skinner

Training and Doing the Best We Possibly Can

 

 

Hello Everyone!

So this week has been really good. And of course with the news you've all been waiting for... Sister Chen and I are tag team training SISTER MOODY!!! She's already such a great missionary and I'm super crazy impressed with her. She goes for it and her Chinese study is truly inspiring. We've had a lot of fun getting to know each other this past week and also running around and introducing her to every member we possibly could. We also really focused on talking to everyone this week as part of the Ballard Contacting Challenge and now we're really, really focusing on talking to every person possible no matter how odd the situation might be. Rolling down windows and talking to people outside of the car hasn't quiet happened yet but were getting really close. 

Training a new missionary really does put a perspective on your mission. I was laying in bed thinking about the lineage of missionaries and how I had two wonderful trainers in sister Liao and sister Penrod and they had trainers who had trainers and it just keeps going back and back. While Elder Ballard was here he apparently had someone look up the statistics for this mission and there has been 10000 missionaries in this mission since the time that Elder Ballard served here as mission president and 1.6 million lessons taught. He used this statistic to point out that while it's important to plant seeds we shouldn't forget that there has already been many seeds planted in preparation for the harvest that has been promised today. That's a large number but at the same time it's so encouraging to think that my missionary lineage goes back to those times and that there are people here who need me now and have been getting ready for years. 

We're going to find those people! And we're going to teach sister Moody how to find those people and somewhere along the way were going to figure out how to speak Mandarin while we're at it because that's a goal too!

So in the little details of this week. We finally went met with the Nabrotzky family at their own house and found out why they don't usually invite us to come out to their house. Middle of nowhere farmhouse in the middle of all these corn fields. They don't actually farm the land they just live there. It was beautiful but it was also a 45 minute drive one way. It was a good thing we were able to have lunch and have a good pre-ward council meeting with the relief society president because it was a very, very long drive. 

We met with both Bella and Tommy as active members met with Allen three times (any prayers you can send his way for understanding that joining this church doesn't mean he'll stop progressing it just means he'll keep going, Also about why we need baptism we've assigned him 2 Nephi 31 twice now! would be really appreciated), we had a lesson with prayers and everything just on the side of the street, held district meeting, ran into our returning member family twice just out on the streets, turned over two investigators, worked like crazy on our Chinese and during weekly planning on Saturday we got a call from Robin who told us his mom didn't want him going out to Montreal even for work and that his family would be paying for his schooling this semester and HE'S STAYING HERE!!! It was fantastic! and yesterday he was able to get the Aronic priesthood! Let me tell you it's such a nerve wracking experience when you're new converts tell you that they'll be leaving before their records are solidified and therefore before they can actually get the priesthood.... it's like sending them out not fully prepared!!! We were so sad! And then he got it this Sunday which was probably the biggest miracle we saw this week!

Also Caleb came back from his vacation and he was excited to be at church. He stayed all three hours and talked to so many people! He's going to get baptized really soon and we're super excited for him!

The only other lesson we were able to have this week was with Vincent a new investigator and he won't be able to come to church next week but he's going super strong right now and has such a desire to be better and to do better in his life it's so cool to see. 

So yah... we have like... those four investigators right now, and a handful of potentials we're going to be trying to contact in September which is like... this week, wow that's weird! 10 months has gone by so fast and I'm not sure completely how to feel about that but we're going to be working on it!

Also since we were at Camara's (The relief society president) house this week she felt comfortable enough to ask us to teach relief society this week as a last minute thing. We taught on 'In praise of those who save' and 'To the rescue, we can do it!' Two of my favorite talks from this last conference and the lesson went really well despite the fact that we almost zero time to prepare. So that was a blessing as well we had a sweet sister from the branch who will be putting her papers in this week come up to us afterwards and give us a hug and say "I was that less active for nearly 10 years and I'm so grateful that I came back you sisters really helped me feel that I've made the right decision thank you." That was a great experience. 

So yes this week has been good and we look forward for things to keep getting better and better! We grow grace by grace and we'll keep growing and getting brighter and brighter until we are prepared for that glorious day. Christ is our savior and He loves us infinitely. Keep shining the world needs your light. 

-Sister Skinner