Back to the Basics

This week has been really great! I have been reminded of and brought back to basics of finding, teaching and baptizing.  

Last Monday we had a super cool experience with a member, Sister N*. She comes out with us almost every week, she is THE BEST because she truly understands the members role in missionary work. We knocked on so many doors for about an hour with no luck and then we were inspired to go visit a part member family that we had just visited not too long ago. We knocked and they didn't answer so as we were leaving they pulled up! We had an amazing lesson with them about the Book of Mormon and at the end, the non-member dad said the most heart felt and powerful prayer ever asking God for direction and guidance. I truly know that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of His children and it's all in His timing because if we would have gone over there earlier then we would not have met with them! The Dad, is also super prepared and really searching for the truth, the only hard thing is he works on sundays so he can't come to church. So we are still going to pray and work hard with that family. I also learned not to quit before the miracle! After an hour of nothing, but continued diligence, the miracle happened! 2 Nephi 27:23, God works according to our faith. Never Lose Faith!

We did a lot of community service this week for the members in our ward, less actives and then just random people we find. Since we are super trying hard to find more people to teach we talk to Everyone that we see, we go tracting, ask people if they need service or volunteer work, ask about peoples families and just everything we can. I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father is preparing people out there for us to teach. We did meet a couple people actually that set up a return appointment to come back this week so that's exciting! Also during service we have been talking to our less active, sister W*. We challenged her to read the first chapter of the Book of Mormon and after many times of encouragement she finally did. The next day her new job called her and said her background check came in and she starts orientation on Monday!! That was such huge miracle that we know happened because she exercised her faith and put God first.

On Friday we had a lesson with T*, our Jehovah Witness investigator at the church! It was super cool because our other lessons were always outside in his driveway and there was a complete difference in the church building. We gave him a church tour and talked about the plan of salvation, even though it was a little different from what he grew up believing he took it pretty well. and I know that it's because of the spirit that is in the church. He really enjoyed it and actually sent us a message on facebook later that night thanking us for the good time that he had.

some other cool things that happened this week:

-I went on exchanges with one of the sisters that will be taking my place in a week

-in the morning while we were running one day we saw 2 coyotes run right in front of us! It was pretty crazy and slightly scary at the same time.

-for dinner I tried deer meat for the first time, it was in the form of like a sausage. it was pretty good!

-A* got her temple recommend on Sunday and is going to do baptisms for the dead this Friday with the ward! So excited for her and the progress she is making, even though her baby could come at any time!

Life is great! I love the gospel, I love my companion Sister Bullard, I love Maricopa and I love being a missionary. It is bittersweet as this is my last week here, but I will definitely go where the Lord wants me to go!

Happy Valentines Day! I love you all!

Sister Dewey

Transfers

This week has been so totally crazy! The biggest miracle ever happened!!

So it turns out that Sister Bullard and I are both leaving Maricopa... that's not the miracle. The miracle is that we are staying together in our new area!!!! That seriously NEVER happens, being transferred together. We are so stoked. The crazy part is that the members we live with now are out of town, so because they don't want 2 strangers to be in their house when they get back we are going to stay in Maricopa for 2 more weeks until they get home! Then we will both leave and go to a Young Single Adult ward! It will be different not working with families but I'm just glad we get to stay together and I know this is what the Lord wants for us at this time. It was weird going to transfers and seeing our name go to a different ward but then we got to come back to Maricopa for 2 more weeks! I have been here for 7 months now and going on 8 and I still LOVE  IT! So we are going to work our hardest these next 2 weeks to find more people to teach!

Another crazy thing that happened is about this one guy we have been teaching. He's the one with the brain injury where we don't really know how much he understands. But he has been coming to church, so that's great! This week we found out that he looks at me more than just a missionary... He told Sister Bullard that I was making "googly eyes at him and he was making them back at me" during the lesson and that's why he couldn't focus. He then proceeded to tell her that he was in love with me and called us like 3 times a day to have us come over and see him. Then he started posting shrines on Facebook using the Book of Mormon and other pamphlets we had given him... it was super weird. We talked to him yesterday and hopefully made things VERY CLEAR with him that that is not our purpose as missionaries and that we can't come by anymore. oh the joys of being a sister missionary. haha

The craziness continues as we played Zone sports last Monday we played chair soccer and I guess after not playing soccer for a long time I forgot how competitive I am... I accidentally tripped one of the other sisters and she got a minor concussion. I had a long repentance process with that one... haha so because A* got baptized we don't have any other super solid people we are working with, so for the past couple weeks and especially these next 2 weeks we are doing a lot of finding. By going tracting, talking to everyone we see, asking members for referrals, just doing everything we can! We talked to this lady one day that told us we were going to Hell because we were being deceived by false doctrine. That was fun and took a lot of patience not to bash back with her.

But don't worry, "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing"! There were many tender mercies this week as well! For FHE on Monday we got to go with T* and her family to the temple visitors center to watch Meet the Mormons! I got a really cool blessing from one of the members telling me that my next phase of my mission is going to be really impactful and rewarding! A less active, Brother R*, told us we were his 2 little angels and then he had never let any missionaries in his house before us! We read the Book of Mormon with our Jehovah Witness friend and he really enjoyed it and is going to read a couple chapters a day! While getting lost in the desert, we asked for directions, only to find out the guy we asked his a less active member living with his non-member girlfriend and they said we could come back! We met A*'s neighbor, who is not religious at all, but her 7 year old daughter has lots of questions so she invited us back as well! We found this less active lady who has a 13 year old granddaughter that she wants us to teach and baptize!

so I don't know if you know the parable of the wheat and the tares, but that is kind of my life right now! And it takes a lot of patience and longsuffering to not pull the tares out... But we are finding the wheat and helping it to grow! Matthew 13:24-30.

I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and support! And I am doing a project on Facebook to promote happiness and cheer! So I was wondering,if you want, if you all could take a picture of you doing something that makes you happy and send it to me through e-mail or facebook with a sentence or two of why it makes you happy! And then I can post it on my wall! Thanks so much, I am excited to see all of your great and HAPPY pictures! have a HAPPY week!

Sister Dewey

BEST ZONE EVER!!!

"Soccer with the Zone on P-day!!"

This week was amazing, that's all I can say. Seriously my testimony of this Gospel seems to grow everyday as I see it blessing the lives of others and as I realize how much it CAN and WILL bless the lives of others!

on a funny note: we went by this girl's house, S*, and she is kind of interested and we were talking to her for a little bit and then all of a sudden her Baptist grandma comes out of the room and starts preaching to us about living in Fear and how we need faith and she just went off for a solid 20 minutes. And then when we tried to pray at the end she kept interrupting and yelling "PRAISE JESUS". It was funny and totally unexpected.

On Tuesday we had Zone meeting where Sister B* and I, and the zone leaders did some training for the zone! It was so powerful as we really pumped up the zone about each companionship having a baptism this transfer! The way to achieve that goal is through referrals and member presents, we also got out 10 baptism suits and had each companionship envision who was going to be in suit! Everyone was so excited afterwards and I just know that we have the best zone ever! Our goal was to ask for 200 referrals every week as a zone and after 2 days we were already at 154! #wethebest #HeavenlyFatherisamazing

We had dinner with the B* family this week! They are doing good, we are trying to help them see the importance of reading the Book of Mormon!! I know without a doubt that no one can read the Book of Mormon and NOT feel anything. And I know that reading the Book of Mormon is the fastest way to gain a testimony of this church and the best way to prepare for baptism. So we are working with them on that.

On Thursday we went to MLC (mission leadership council) with the Zone leaders. We received some powerful training from the assistants about how we are literally in a battle right now and how we have to unhesistantly go to the rescue when there is a "MAN DOWN!" We also got chastised by President T*, but all-in-all the meeting changed my life. I am now more committed to my Savior Jesus Christ and to serving those around me.

I had a cool experience when we went to this part member family on Thursday. We were teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ and talking about repentance, faith, sacrament and the holy ghost. We heard the story of her ex-husband how he was so faithful but because he wasn't truly converted he fell away. I just sat there looking at these kids (who looked bored to death and weren't even paying attention) and I thought to myself, I hope these kids realize how important the gospel really is and how it literally is a way of life. The spirit came to me so strong and just whispered that nothing else is ever more important in life than the gospel and our relationship with Heavenly Father. Let's just it was a powerful moment for me and I know the Church is true!

We had a cool experience with a pest control guy that came to spray our house because there was a scorpion in it. we started talking and at the beginning he was kind of offensice but by the end we gave him a Book of Mormon and committed him to read 3 Nephi chapter 11!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, yesterday was the dedication of the Phoenix Arizona Temple!!!! it was one of the coolest feelings every! first, on Saturday we got to watch the cultural celebration where youth from my first area got to dance and sing for the prophet! Also-J*, my recent convert from Phoenix got to participate too! Then on Sunday we got a special recommend to go to the stake center (which is an extension of the temple) to watch the dedication. President Monson and President Uchtdorf were there and President Monson did the dedicatory prayer! The spirit was so strong and because President Monson was dressed in all white and the dedication took place in the celestial room of the temple, which is all white, He literally looked like he was glowing. He looked like an angel from God and he was speaking with such a strong spirit that I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real! I know without a doubt that we have a living prophet on the earth today and that he is the leader of this great church! Temples are amazing and I am so blessed to have seen the dedication of 2 temples this year in this great valley of the sun!

I love you all, thanks for the support! Have a great week!

Sister Dewey

Happy Halloween! (11/3/14)

Happy Late Halloween Everyone! This past week was really fun and full of changes! This week is the end of another transfer! thankfully Sister B and I will both be staying!

First off, we moved houses today! We moved into a couples home in our ward, the S*. Their home is super nice and we are excited to get to know them!

Also-BREAKING NEWS! the weather has finally changed! after so long of being hot! On Halloween it was 94 degrees and then once it hit November it literally changed overnight and we woke up and it was in the 70's! Sister Bullard and I were actually cold! Good things are coming my friend.

This week we have been working a lot with our recent convert K*, and teaching his non-member mother, M*! She is this super sweet and sassy black lady that could talk for hours and you would never get bored listening to her, I just love her! We found out that this whole time she thought we were nuns. hahah wouldn't be the first time someone has thought that of us.

We had our ward Trunk or Treat party on Tuesday and it was a huge success! We had so many investigators and less-actives there! And they all were fellowshipped and had fun and interacted with the members! And now we are helping a couple families return back to activity! You never know the impact that can have on someone.

We are still working with T*! It was so cool, we went over to teach the word of Wisdom and she had no problem with it! Then we started talking about when she wants to be baptized and she said after her divorce is final so that she can be baptized with her own name! She is really taking it seriously! So we set a date for December 13th! I'm so excited, it will be an early birthday present for me!

A part member family we are working with, less-active husband and non-member wife, went to the phoenix temple open house on Saturday and LOVED IT! They have a goal now to be sealed in the temple together as a family! and before we left, we took his cigarettes and lighter and threw them in the trash when we got home! not sure how happy he was with us, but in the eternal perspective, it's better that way :)

On Thursday we went on Exchanges with Hermana S. I love her, she is so sweet. She taught me some more Spanish, like greetings and small talk stuff. Also we had the coolest experience with skyping my friend A* from Home! So I didn't really know who she was, I know she went to Glencoe but I had never had a conversation with her. And I saw that she had liked one of my posts on facebook, so I messaged her asking what she liked about it. I came to find out that she has been less active for like 10 years and her grandparents are in the Evergreen ward. We started talking and I found out she is doing the BYU-I pathway program and is reading the Book of Mormon for the first time. I asked if we could Skype and we set up a time for Thursday. I felt the spirit so strong during that lesson as we talked and testified about the Book of Mormon. We talked about how the Holy Ghost changes us and makes us want to do better. By the end of the Lesson and after some teary eyed moments, she committed to go to church on sunday with her grandparents!

Halloween was fun, we got to help some less-actives make cookies and cake and get their costumes ready. Then we had to be home by 6 that night. So we pretty much spent the night packing for the move today. We had stake conference this weekend and got to hear from Elder Bradley Foster, Elder Christofferson and President Uchtdorf over a state-wide broadcast!

Lastly, on Sunday we took a trip out to the desert! We are working with a part-member family and the 2 boys, J and C are going to be baptized! They are so funny and get off topic really easily. So we are always looking for fun games to play while we teach. We also got to visit some other less-actives and see all their horses and their animals! I love it out here! and I love the work! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sister Dewey

"When we took away his cigarettes and lighter!"