March 25, 2013

Hello Family!!

Thank you so much Mom, for your letter! It means so much to me! I love you all and miss you too and I can't wait to be home in November. However, just as you said, there is much for me to do here and I'm praying everyday that I will be guided to fulfill my purpose in being here as a missionary. A missionaries week is full of ups and downs but there are very sweet moments that come when we feel the presence of the Holy Ghost so strong that it fills us up and we don't dwell on the negative. This week has had its ups and downs. Some of the downs come as appointments get cancelled, but its in these moments where we realize that we are needed else where at that time and we pray to be lead to where we are needed most. One such case happened on Friday after district meeting and interviews with President Jergensen. We had several appointments scheduled, but they all fell through. Sister England and I prayed to know where we needed to go. A less active sister's name came to my mind and another came to Sister Englands. We planned together which one we would visit first. Both of these families were home and we had a good visit with each one and we knew at the end of the evening that that is where we needed to be.

On Tuesday we went over to meet with Betty, a sister to a referral whom we had received on Sunday. We taught the Restoration to her and her daughter Rebecca who is nine years old. We told us that she is looking for a church to go to every Sunday and that she and her daughter want to be baptized. We invited them to be baptized and they accepted! After our appointment we called Betty's brother, Tato and set up a lesson with him. We had a lesson with him the next day. During our lesson he mentioned that he had been baptized before. As we talked we explained the priesthood and he understood it and asked if he could be baptized again because this time it would be with the priesthood and we said "Yes!" So this week we received three new investigators! We had been praying the previous week to receive a referral that was solid and to also find a family to teach and the Lord is blessing us so quickly and our prayers are truly being answered. As long as we pray in faith and do the best we can and are obedient, the blessings will come, we have been promised that they will come as we obey. This family is from Africa and Betty asked if we have the Book of Mormon in Gio, but we don't. Just as you (Mom) said it sounds like I'm serving a foreign mission, I sometimes feel that that is true! We were tracking in a neighborhood the other week and met a man who is Catholic and his family is from Cambodia and that he would like to read a Vietnamese Book of Mormon.

Our ward mission leader's wife just had a baby on Friday and so he asked if we could teach gospel principles this last Sunday. We accepted and chose to have our lesson on The Church of Jesus Christ in Former Times. As we studied for it Saturday night we learned so much and had so many light bulb moments!! There were several items mentioned during our meetings on Friday that I was able to pick out in our lesson. A major item that stood out was when I was reading about the responsibilities of the Apostles that Christ called when he was on the earth and how they were unable to stay and strengthen their new converts. The church was organized in such a way that these new converts would continue to be nourished by the good word of God through church leaders (Bishop...). The second time I read through this paragraph I was reminded of something that Elder Jeffery R. Holland said in a clip that was shown in my MTC class. He said that we as missionaries are called as apostles with a lower case "a". Our responsibility as missionaries is very much the same as that of the Apostles.

Another thing that occurred as we were preparing for our lesson, I was reminded of how I have been chosen to serve a mission at this time. I reminded of D&C 75 and the verses I read that one night. I truly have been called of God to serve and I felt that again so strongly that night. I shared with Sister England my experience and she shared that she had received so much strength one night to continue working towards serving a mission by reading that very same section. It is so interesting how we have had similar experiences.

From studying for the lesson we were also again reminded of how important our ward members are and so this week as we set numbers we have a goal to teach 10 lessons to investigators with a member present. This last week we had 5. We have a growing teaching pool and we really think that we can meet this goal, it will take a lot of work but we are committed to working hard to see it fulfilled. There is great power that comes as members share their testimony and experiences with these Sons and Daughters of God that are searching for the truth.

Oh there's an amazing experience that happened to Raelyn that I have to share. Last Wednesday we were explaining fasting and I felt it would be important to talk about faith and miracles as well. We knew for her it was going to be a challenge and a test of her faith to pay tithing and so we wanted to help her see that miracles will happen as we exercise our faith. We shared a number of scriptures and Sister Boucher shared a few experiences and then I shared an experience that happened last August when the mission fasted for the drought to end (and the drought of baptisms) and how we had received a huge thunderstorm the day before we even fasted. We knew in advance that we were going to be fasting that Sunday and so in all our prayers prior to the fast we prayed for that. We were committed and Heavenly Father could see that and Sister Boucher was then able to relate that to Raelyn and an experience she had. A previous week we had talked about Tithing and she committed to pay titithing when she was baptized. A few days later her husband receives a 50 cent raise and she asks him, if that was a blessing for committing to pay tithing. He said maybe, but she felt that it truly was. So even when we commit to do something, and even before we've actually done it, we can receive blessings! Heavenly Father is truly aware of us and of our desires.

I know that Heavenly Father is our Eternal Father. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I know that the church and the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and I'm thankful for this opportunity to invite others come unto Christ by receiving the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. I leave my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love you all lots!!
Sister Tucker