HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

November 19, 2018

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Hello everybody!!

Time is still flying by here in Virginia! I can't believe it is Thanksgiving this week!! I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to serve here in Virginia! And i'm especially grateful for all of you and the love and support you give me!! I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving!!:)

ZONE CONFERENCE

This week we had zone conference and it was so good!! We talked about family history and how we can use it in our missionary efforts! It was so cool to learn more about it and make connections to missionary work! I always love zone conference and learn so many valuable things and have a great time! I'm so excited to use family history more and see all the miracles that can come from it!! That night after zone conference we were out tracting and had a really cool conversation with someone. We knocked on a door and talked to a really nice man. At first he didn't really want to talk to us but as soon as I mentioned family history he got pretty excited! We talked to him for about 20 minutes and he is excited to set up a family history account and learn more about it!!

PAINTING WITH ANGELIQUE

This morning we went over to Angelique's house for a few hours to paint. She is an artist and does a lot of beautiful art! She uses art as healing and has a lot of meaning behind each of her pieces. Before we began to pain she had us tell her one of our favorite scriptures. I told her Philippians 4:13 which says "I can do all things though Christ which strengtheneth me." As we were painting she read the scriptures we had picked and played some beautiful music about Christ. When we were done painting she told us what each of our pieces meant to her. It was so cool to see the connection she was able to make with art work and Jesus Christ. It was so much fun to be with her for a few hours and feel like an artist for the day haha!

KILLIAN

This week we went over to talk with Ben's daughter Killian. Ben just recently got baptized about a month ago and his wife and younger daughter are both baptized also. Killian has had some interest in the church before and even been put on date a few times. She is 17 years old and such a nice girl! This week while we were over there she said that she is ready to take the missionary discussions again and she is really excited to start meeting with us! I am so excited to start teaching her and continue helping their whole family make to to the temple in the near future!!

NEW BISHOP

We got a new bishop in the Aquia ward yesterday!! Our old Bishop got a job working at BYU Idaho so he has been back and forth from Virginia and Idaho for the last few months! He is a great guy but he's had a crazy few months! His daughter has had a lot of major medical problems and she is back in the hospital so he left for good this week!! Our new bishop is Bishop Johnson! I leaned over to Sister Church before they said who it was and said "It's going to be Brother Johnson" haha! When they said his name she was like wow you totally called that one! He's a great guy and very missionary minded! He will be great to work with and learn from!

KLARKE AND SAMANTHA

I just love Klarke and Samantha so so much! They are the greatest!! They are continuing to progress so much each week! Last night they were having dinner with some other members in our ward and we went over with them and taught a new member lesson. We went over the Plan of Salvation in depth and shared a lot of personal experiences with it. It was one of the best lessons I have ever been to! The Spirit was so strong and my own personal testimony of the Plan of Salvation grew so much as I testified of the truthfulness and the love of our Savior. Being a missionary is just the coolest thing ever!!!

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

This week I have been pondering the story of the 10 lepers in the book of Luke. Leprosy was a terrible and dreaded disease anciently. The 10 lepers came to the Savior and asked for Mercy and to be cleaned from this awful disease. Christ cleaned all 10 of them but only one of them returned to the Savior to thank Him. The Savior then asked the one where the other nine were, sadly they didn't take the time to thank the Savior for cleansing them from their awful disease. "It’s so easy in life for us to receive blessings, many of them almost uncounted, and have things happen in our lives that can help change our lives, improve our lives, and bring the Spirit into our lives. But we sometimes take them for granted. How grateful we should be for the blessings that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings into our hearts and souls. I would remind all of you that if we’re ever going to show gratitude properly to our Heavenly Father, we should do it with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—because it was He who gave us life and breath. He gave us the opportunity to live as we are, to have the gospel in our lives, to have the example of good people..." -David B. Haight. I hope that each one of us are striving to be like the one leper who thanked the Savior. With it being Thanksgiving this week I just encourage each of you to thank the Savior for all the many blessings he has given you. He is so loving, so merciful and wants us to show that love back to him! Please thank Him this week!!

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving and focus on all the many wonderful things we have to be thankful for!! I love you all and I"m so thankful for each of you!!

❤Sister Stringham❤