buenos diaaaaaaaas. su hermana favorita llamando de Federal Way! We had a pretty great week, nothing too spectacular except everything is spectacular because I'm a missionary and I see miracles every day. Can't be better than that! This week we had exchanges, zone conferences, meetings, and craziness all thrown in with the craziness of getting this meet the mormons activity, but lemme just say this activity is going to be SO AMAZING. I would invite you all if it wouldn't put me into tears to see you all right now, but I'll try and get our member to put it on youtube after or something so you can all see it. We've worked so hard, and by we it's mostly been our member, hermano cardenas, and we work a ton on it on pdays. It's going to be amazing. Other tender mercies of the week JOSE CAME TO CHURCH! Not sure how much I've told about Jose, but the english elders found him and at first he wasn't really itnerested but this elder was an elder from wyoming and started roping with him and he totally opened up and we go over and have lessons with him on his front porch. He is so cute and has such real intentions to find God but has been so confused with what the world says and what he's been told and everything, but this week he came to church and our shiny new branch mission leader took him on a church tour and it was AMAZING. He closed with "nos vemos la proxima fin de semana". YEAH. Also, kamay and her whole family came to church and her mom was happier than i've ever seen her. It's crazy the power it has when we follow the spirit and take out the bad in our lives to fill it with the good things that only come from jesus christ. We can already see how big of a change it has made in their life and it will only keep improving. So, last week I finished the book of mormon, so i started reading it again this week and lemme just say 1 nephi is so good of course it's at the beginning. Something that impacted me a lot was in 1 Nephi 3:5. Sometimes as a missionary i think people think that we're telling them to change and we're telling them to live this commandment, but these commandments come from God for our benefit. I was then reading Elder S. Mark Palmer's talk from the last general conference where he says "my dear brothers and sisters, now anytime you feel like you are being asked to do something hard- give up a poor habit or an addiction, put aside worldy pursuits, sacrifice a favorite activity because it is the sabbath, forgive someone who has wronged you - think of the Lord beholding you, loving you, and inviting you to let go and follow Him. And thank Him for loving you enough to invite you to do more." I'm so grateful for a Savior who sees who I can become and not just who I am, and who invites me to make changes to live more according to His standards. I'm grateful for a father in heaven this fathers day who protects me when I can't be home eating ice cream and playing basketball with my earthly father, but who pushes me and encourages me all the same. to you pops, tu eres muy padre. nunca lo olvides. :) Love you all so much! Embrace change, it's what life is all about. Hermana Reed IV no pics this week, but get ready for tons next week as MTM goes live and transfers come!
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This week was an emotional roller coaster, but holy cow being a missionary is so awesome. This week we had exchanges with Graham, and I had my last exchange EVER with Hermana Souza ): It was a little heartbreaking, my mama is going home! We will literally never be together and both be missionaries ever again. It was such a great day. She has taught me so much on the mission and it's crazy that she's ending. All these missionaries ending their missions, it's really gettin me down. Good thing I'm here for life. :) Biggest news of the week is KAMAY GOT BAPTIZED!!! it was probably the biggest stress project of my life but it was so so good. Her mom dropped off the planet for the entire week, but then we were finally able to get in contact with her and set everything up and it was 1 pm on saturday and we still didn't know if it was happening but Kamay got baptized at 5 pm! Everyone look back on what you were doing at that time and then be sad you weren't at kamay's baptism. It was super special though. What we found out is that Friday, her dad just up and left. Took all his things and left the family.. super heartbreaking but he had a lot of difficulties and emotionally abused them a lot, so it was good he left, but classic satan throwing things at the best family ever. But they are stronger than ever and Kamay was able to make a covenant with the Lord :) The craziest thing, was I thought that the day of the baptism I would feel something, I don't know like I completed my purpose more that day, but I didn't. I realized if I'm living my life right and putting my heart in the work right, that every day I am completing my purpose as much as I can. I am inviting people to get to know Jesus Christ, and that's all He asks of us. Meet the Mormons is going SO WELL. We finished all the interviews this week and there are just so many incredible people with incredible stories. We interviewed one guy who could be Matt Damon's twin brother. He shared his story of addiction which led to homelessness and hopelessness, and how coming to church and finding Christ again changed his whole life. We also interviewed two brothers from North Korea who shared their story of escaping communism and fleeing to Paraguay and finding the gospel. There are so many people with these incredible stories, and then there's people who just think the mormons are the weird people at work. IM SO EXCITED TO SHOW EVERYONE WHO WE REALLY ARE. This week is all about translating the videos to make it bilingual. we're so excited :) Last tender mercy of the Lord this week, OUR BRANCH GOT A BRANCH MISSION LEADER. Dumas Bay branch hasn't had a branch mission leader the whole times its been a branch, about 2 1/2 years. We had a few new families move in so we finally had enough people and I have never been so excited to finally have someone just to help us organize and think and work on this work of the Lord. Other major news: I finished the book of mormon again this week, almost cried near the end of Ether its just so sad am I right. For all of those who haven't read the book of mormon ever, read it. just read it, it will change your life. It has mine. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!! Hermana Reed IV 1 sopes con petra :)
2 familia lawrence, plus missionaries, plus hermana stewart haha 3 IT WAS HERMANO ACUNAS BDAY SO WE MADE SHIRTS WITH HIS FACE AND HIM A SHIRT WITH OUR FACE HE WORE IT TO CHURCH HAHAHAHA 4-7 Kamay lookin flawless happy baptisms :) bye hna souza ): hno acuna bday lunch, indian buffet best day of my life So there comes a point in basically every day as a missionary where there's some people who just don't want to be taught. Okay I'll rephrase that, Satan just gets all up in their life and makes them think they don't want to be taught. It's the worst. And there's this lil' tactic my good friend Alma taught me in Alma 4:19, we call it "bearing down in solid testimony". And this, this is the theme for the week. maybe my whole mission. Here's an update on our investigators: We are working with and hoping to have a baptism this week for Kamay Lawrence. She's from a part member family and she's 9 and literally I have never met anyone so ready for baptism but she's had a lot of struggles in her path to get here. This week, she came to church for fast and testimony meeting, which is a meeting where anyone can stand up and share their testimony or what they believe and she wanted to go up so bad. She asked all of her sisters and none of them wanted to go up, so she asked me. We walk up to the front and it was her turn so she stood at the mike and I sat in the chair behind her and she looks back and says "I thought you were going to stand with me?" So I pull a classic primary president and squat next to her as she bears the sweetest testimony about how the scriptures make her happy because miracles happen. SHE ALMA 4:19-ED THE WHOLE CONGREGATION. Super tender mercy. We are also working with two youth, Kimberly and Junior, 16 and 14. They are so awesome. Their aunt is a member and have been coming to youth activities and we've been teaching them for a while. Before, they really had no relationship with Christ. Didn't even know really what he did while he was here, but they've been learning so much and I have seen a physical change in both of them. This week we had a lesson on the plan of salvation and what we have to do in order to be able to return and live with God and Christ again, and hermana short the power house that she is ALMA 4:19-ED THEM TO THE MAX AND THEY ACCEPTED A BAPTISM DATE FOR JULY 8TH. Their mom, who we're teaching seperately, cried she couldn't believe the change her children are making. The power of pure testimony. I think before I've told a little bit about Celia and Gilberto. They are so amazing, I've been teaching them since my first week here inFederal Way, but we've been noticing more and more that they've been struggling to act and not willing to make the necessary changes. It is the most heartbreaking thing when we realize as missionaries that the Lord's time has to be spent on other people, even when we love these ones so much. We had a final lesson with them where we asked if they were willing to make changes and they couldn't come to say yes, so both me and hermana short ALMA 4:19-ED THEM and the spirit was the strongest I have ever felt in that house. Maybe it isn't their time, but we know that someday they will accept the gospel and remember the spirit they felt in their home as they learned of the restored gospel. As for our meet the mormons video, it is a straight Alma 4:19. We had some interviews with the people this week and their testimonies are incredible. One family told their story of escaping from north korea and moving to paraguay and learning spanish and finding the gospel and not being allowed to go by their parents but going anyways and they just stared at the camera and said "you know it's true. so change". We are so excited for this video and this vision God has given us to help his children learn more of the gospel. I know that the power of pure testimony is indescribable. It is the only way we as humans can command the power of the Holy Ghost to fall upon the area, but the people might not always accept our testimony. We can bring the spirit to their heart, but they must be the ones to accept. BUT Never lose hope! You never know when someone is goign to meet missionaries and say "I remember years ago my friend who shared a book of mormon with me" or "my friend who told me about how they felt at church". They make a difference, I meet people every day that say so. LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH THE CHURCH IS TRUE :) Hermana Reed IV 1 MLC!!
2 when president photo bombs 3 sisters in zion 4 hermanas in $ion 5 when we knock on our investigators door and she's on her way out for prom. LOOKIN GOOD NANCY ALSO, did something fun last pday for once! Went to a bonsai tree museum. So WA it hurts buenos diiiaaaaaas y feliz dia de memorias :) gracias a todos los que han servidos o han dado su vida por este pais! We had another great week this week. Check out these miracles. First of all, Rosa is MOVING TO MEXICO. I know, insert tears. Hermana Short and I were so sad, but also so excited to send her information to all the elders down there in Colima to help her move on to baptism. She's such an amazing lady. In our last lesson together she said the closin prayer and said "padre oramos que un dia nos podamos reunir otra vez con estas hermanas y aprender mas de tu palabra". RIGHT I FEEL THE SAME WAY. Supposedly she'll be back in about six months, probably baptized and happy as ever. I had an exchange in Renton this week with Hermana Livingston. Renton is super awesome!!! For my whole mission it has been an elders area, but last transfer they took the elders out and put hermanas in. I had this awesome feeling while i was there that I'm going to serve there someday. Who knows, might be my next area, but we met this family that were recent converts which means they got baptized recently and joined the church and they shared their conversion story with us. He is from mexico and she is from honduras and theyve seen missionaries since like forever and talked with them a lot but never progressed in making changes in the gospel. he got encarcelated for not having papers for like 8 years and then finally was released and they moved to WA and didn't have a car and had to walk 2 miles to the grocery store and one day they were walking home and it was pouring rain so they stopped and waited in a taco bell and said "we need the missionaries" and right as they said that they saw two elders walking down the street. They were baptized within the month. It jsut grew my faith so much that these people exist. There are people looking for the gospel, looking for jesus christ and waiting for the day that theyre ready and they change everything. It made me just want to go out and find them all! So we went knocking that night (this was last night, happy memorial day) and we met this boy named Johnathan. he's 24 years old and from El Salvador, speaks no English, and we taught him the restoration and his eyes were just glowing as we shared the first vision and testified about the joy and peace the gospel brings. He asked US about being baptized. I'm just so happy to be a missionary and to share this message with the world. to help people change their lives and find Christ. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. even with all the heartbreak that comes. This week we were supposed to have lil Kamay get baptized, but last minute friday night they decided to cancel and wait longer until they could have some special people there and her mom felt like kamay was more ready. kamay was really sad, and crying, and just wanted to be baptized. She will someday soon hopefully. Satan works really hard on people trying to just do the right thing, but it will be okay. Okay last news, so hermana short and i have this vision of this activity we're doing and we're finaly putting it into action!! It's based off the movie meet the mormons, which if anyone reading hasn't seen that movie they definitely should. but we're interviewing our members and making a meet the mormons federal way edition. Our member is helping us make it into a video and we're going to have spanish and english translation on the screen and invite THE ENTIRE CITY TO COME MEET THE MORMONS. It's goign to be so good! Mark your calendars, release date june 23rd. also, one of our members got her mission call this week to orem, utah spanish speaking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to go out with her when im back in provo. THE CHURCH IS TRUE DONT FORGET IT AND DONT FORGET THAT NEVER DOESNT EXIST. THERES NO 'IM NEVER SEEING ROSA AGAIN' AND THERES NO 'I CAN NEVER CHANGE MY LIFE' NUNCA NO EXISTE. hermana reed IV 1 our favorite neighborhood punks
2 when it was sunny and then surprise rained on us. this was our wetness level from running from teh church to the car 3 my comp putting aloe vera on my almost sunburned legs 4 ADIOS A ROSA LA QUERREMOS 5 OREM UTAH BOUND YAY HERMANAS |
Hermana Fallyn ReedMissionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Federal Way, Washington Mission. July 2016 - January 2018. Archives
January 2018
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