1 Month Already?!

August 27, 2018

1 Month Already?!

Hey Hey Hey!!

It's been another great week in Virginia!! I can't believe I've already been out for one month!! Time is a crazy thing!! This week has definitely had it's ups and downs but I try to focus on the ups:) Most day's we tract for almost the whole day! Since our area is so close to Washington D.C. there are a lot of people that drive up there for work and aren't home during the day and then go to bed early... it makes it hard to find people to talk to! But we just keep trying everyday! This week we found out that we are going to switch areas with the Elders in our area! Both of us serve in Aquia but we have different areas we are allowed to tract in. I think this will be a great change and allow us to go to new neighborhoods and areas! I'm super excited!!

ZONE CONFERENCE

This week we had Zone conference! It was SO good!! I loved getting to know other missionaries better and I got to see Sister Ray and Sister Crandall (from the MTC). It was so good to see them! The focus of this conference was Personal Righteousness. We talked about Authority, power, overcoming the natural man and the process of perfection! I learned so much! My favorite topic we discussed was the process of perfection! Personally I know I am always trying to be "perfect"...but when it comes down to it none of us will become perfect in this life. But we can all start the process of becoming perfect. The first way we do this is to realize that we all have failures. We are all going to make mistakes and sin while we are here on earth but we can't let those failures define us. Let them make you STRONGER! Failure is just an opportunity to grow and become better! The next step in perfection is having the knowledge that God doesn't judge you by comparing you to others. The only person we need to be better than is our self. By simply improving a little bit each day we are starting the process of perfection! The next thing we need to understand is that God doesn't look back! He only cares about who you are today and who you are becoming! Every single day we have a clean slate, a new opportunity and infinite access to the Atonement! What a great blessing!! The final step to becoming perfect is to LET CHRIST IN! After we have done all we can we must let Christ in to help us along the way! The Lord never promised an easy life but He promised He would always help us. I'm so grateful for the Savior and His infinite love and mercy to his imperfect children!

TEACHING

This week we taught a few lessons! We had a lesson planned with Klarke and Samantha for yesterday but sadly they had to cancel because their little girls are sick:( We rescheduled for Wednesday! They are the coolest family and i'm excited to continue to teach them! We taught Sidney again this week!! We taught him about the Plan of Salvation and he thought that was the coolest thing! He said it all made a lot of sense but he had a lot of questions! Some of the things he asked I didn't know how to answer...But i've learned if I just open my mouth the Lord will tell me what to say. That was so true during this lesson! I had no idea what to say but as I opened my mouth I had different things come to my mind! It was so cool! We also taught an awesome guy named Christopher this week!! We read the Book of Mormon with him and taught him a little bit about Joseph Smith! Sadly he is YSA aged so we have to send him over to the YSA elders to continue teaching him. He was so grateful for us and told us multiple times how much peace he felt as we were there teaching him! He genuinely just wants to be a good person and he says we were the answer to his prayers! He's so cool!!! We also taught a lesson to a lady named Angelique. She has been taught by missionaries in the past! She has so much knowledge about the gospel... she's just scared to make the step of being baptized. In the past she has only been taught by the Elders but this week they switched it over to us. This was a great idea! As we talked to her she really opened up about her worries of joining the church. She said it was a blessing that Sisters are teaching her now because she feels more comfortable with us. We talked to her for a really long time and shared personal stories and ways we have strengthened our faith. We will continue to teach her and hopefully we will help her have a desire to get baptized and experience all the joy that comes from being a member of this church.

MIRACLES

Everyday is full of small miracles! The Lord is so involved in our lives and i've really noticed his hand in my life this week! One day in particular we had been tracting all day and no one wanted to talk to us! They either weren't home or they were not very nice haha! (I've just learned that when someone says something rude to us I just smile and say "have a great day!" It catches them off guard and it's pretty funny actually haha) Anyway, we were getting pretty discouraged! But the last house on the street was a miracle! As we walked up there was an older couple sitting on the front porch! They were very friendly and we had a great conversation! Their names are Chris and Jim, they just moved in about a month ago and they have been looking for a church to go to. We talked about the Book of Mormon and gave them a copy. They were super interested and said they will definitely read it! We also invited them to a church open house we have this week! It's on Friday and it should be a great experience to teach people and help them talk to lots of members and missionaries! They said they would love to come! Hopefully they will actually be there! As we were walking away Chris said "You will see us in the very near future...I promise!" They were so cool and definitely a miracle that day! This is just one of the countless miracles I have seen this week!!

CAITLYN

Caitlyn is the check out lady at the grocery store! She's there every Monday morning when we do our grocery shopping! She's a 20 year old girl and she's so friendly. She always tells us that we make her day and she's always so excited to see us. This morning as we were doing our grocery shopping we talked to her for a while! We talked about what we do as missionaries and talked about the Book of Mormon. She said she's heard about it before but never had the opportunity to read it. She seemed really interested in the things we were telling her so we gave her a copy. She was so grateful for it and said she will read it! Missionary work is everywhere!!

TEACHING THE GOSPEL 24/7

People have told me that I sleep talk sometimes and that is still true on my mission haha! I never remember anything I say but Sister Cunningham says I talk almost every night. A few nights ago I sat up out of bed at about 2 a.m. and started talking about the the Gospel. I taught a clear five minute lesson about the Priesthood and then at the end said "was that good" and then laid back down! Haha I must have been dreaming about teaching a lesson or something! Missionary work never stops!

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

"Never assume that you can make it alone. You need the help of the Lord. Never hesitate to get on your knees in some private place and speak with Him" -Gordon B. Hinckley. I have really come to have such a personal relationship with the Lord. WE ALL NEED HIM! We simply can't make it on our own. He is SO willing to help us but we have to let him in first! He's our older brother and our friend. Please never hesitate to talk to Him! He wants to hear everything and He wants to help you on this journey back to Him. I love you all so much and i'm grateful everyday for this opportunity I have to be a missionary! I hope you all have the best week!!

Love,

Sister Stringham ❤