Greater Miracles

Monday, 17 April 2017

Dear family and friends,

Isn't it amazing that Christ lives? I am so thankful for this Easter time that we have been given each year to celebrate the sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior. He has given us so much! And what better way to repay Him than by doing our very best to follow Him?

I've been reflecting on the Savior and His miraculous life lately. He did so much for us. We sang the song "Greater Miracles" in sacrament meeting yesterday, and it was a powerful reminder for me of the miracles that Christ performed. The greatest of all being the Atonement and resurrection! He gave everything so that we could gain eternal life and true joy! What a beautiful gift!

There is so much joy to be found in doing the work of the Lord. Every day, we can find joy through our Savior. As we seek to be cheerful, to love, and to serve, we will find joy. The Lord grants us opportunities to grow as we seek Him. He gives us the ability to serve and help others to come closer to Him! (Not just missionaries--ALL of you!)

All of us can experience the joy of miracles in our lives if we but open our hearts to the Savior and let Him in. I know that as we seek to make Him the center of our lives, He will give us pure joy, and we will see the "greater miracles" in our lives take place. :)

Rays of sunshine!

-We decided to go back to follow up with some people that we had lost contact with, and Miss D was home! So we were blessed with an opportunity to teach her the Plan of Salvation! At first, we weren't sure what we needed to share. But the Spirit guided our words and she opened up to us about some loved ones who passed on, and she was touched by the lesson! This time, instead of being really casual and not expressing much interest, her eyes opened up more and she looked more and more excited! I could see the wheels turning in her head as she processed what she learned. And now she is praying about baptism! I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that the Plan of Salvation is a powerful and beautiful blessing we have in our lives. It is true. It touches hearts and helps us to heal. God has given it to us so that we can know our purpose and so that our eyes can be opened to the whole picture (because He loves us!)! :)

-Right after the lesson with Miss D, we were walking back and saw a cute family outside, enjoying the weather. And it turned out that the mom was someone we had met before and lost contact with! We talked with them for a few minutes, and she told us that she wanted to know more about our church now and she was ready for us to come teach her! God is so good and I know that He guides the efforts of those who are seeking to do His will!

Y'all, there are so many more miracles that I could share. There are miracles everyday. We just have to open our eyes to them! :)

My invitation to y'all is to watch the Easter video on mormon.org. It is a touching and powerful witness of Jesus Christ. I love that it talks about how He is the Prince of Peace, and we can find peace through Him. Our Savior lives, and He loves you. I testify in His name that as you put your trust in Him, you will find peace. You will find joy. And you will see greater miracles in your life!

Keep smiling, and have a blessed week. :)

We went to explore historic downtown Newnan Square last Pday! It was so fun! :)

#SisterPlehnthemodel

Well... I set a pan on fire. Yep. You heard me! On. Fire.

...It was really scary! 

But we're alive!

(I was trying to make popcorn and the pan got too hot, so when I put the oil in it caught on fire. Yep. Sister Plehn was an expert at staying calm and fixing it while I freaked out haha!)

Our Stake held an Easter fireside! It was a tour around the church, with each room depicting a scene from Christ's life. Very touching and beautiful! :)

We rode with the Shifferts, who are amazing!! :D

Well... we attempted to take some fun selfies... And I look drunk... haha! Imma mess... ;)

But we had fun! (post these if you wish... eep... but don't judge! ;))

Greenie Fire!

Monday, 10 April 2017

Dear family and friends,

Can I just talk about Sister Plehn for a minute? ;) Whaat? She is on fire!! This amazing sister sees a little boy and his mom while we are filling up our gas tank, and decides that we are going to go into this tiny, sketchy gas station to talk to them! So, we go inside and guess what? Now we are teaching the sweetest family! :) When we went to go visit them, D, the mom, opened up to us and said that she wants to quit smoking. She also had a ton of questions to ask us! So prepared! And her two kids always have questions about God and Jesus that she can't always answer, so she wants us to teach them so that we can help answer those questions, too! :)

I love watching Sister Plehn embrace her calling. She knows Who she represents! We've seen so many miracles from her desire to talk with everyone we see. 

Another miracle! We went store contacting the other day to get some much-needed groceries (since we weren't able to on Monday because of a big storm!! Tornado warnings and all...). As we were walking around, I saw a lady who looked like she was having a hard day. I asked her, "One of those days?" And she nodded. We started to walk away, and then Sister Plehn turns around and strikes up a conversation with her!! Right there in the middle of the store. I was in awe. Because I'm an introvert, it's a lot harder for me to begin conversations in situations like that, especially since I don't want the store managers to get mad at us or cause any trouble. (That's the "natural man" side of me that I've been working on overcoming.)

But anyway, we keep talking for a bit and she ends up telling us how she's had a lot of deaths in her family lately and she doesn't know what's going to happen to them after this life. She asked us what we thought and we were able to testify to her that she would be able to see them again! We introduced the lessons to her and she now wants us to come back to teach her! :)

There are so many more that I could share. But I am out of time, so I'll summarize. 

1. GENERAL CONFERENCE WAS AMAZING!! BEST ONE YET! (Of course it keeps getting better and better!) If you didn't watch it, go to lds.org and watch it or read the talks! They are amazing and your prayers will be answered as you seek guidance from the Lord's prophets!)

2. Trust in the Spirit and follow its every prompting, immediately, and you will find success and joy! (Answered prayer from that one!)

3. Sometimes, things don't work out the way you'd like them to. But as you turn to the Lord and follow in His footsteps, He will guide you on a better path! :)

My invitation to y'all is to listen the promptings of the Spirit and act immediately! I know that as you do so, you will be protected, given answers you seek, and you will be blessed with comfort from knowing you are doing the right thing!

Keep smiling, and have a blessed week. :) Y'all are amazing!

Kevin was curious about the camera... #Kevinselfieattempts

Imma nut ;) (I love y'all!)

Tabling at Newnan square... Very unsuccessful because there wasn't anyone there! (Normally there are... maybe they avoided us this time haha ;))

Beauty pageant at Newnan Assisted Living! It was SO fun!! Sister Plehn and I got to be judges and the elders in our district all got to be escorts for the beautiful ladies! :)

Last one! Another beauty! :)

Livin' It Up And Lovin' It!

Monday, 3 April 2017

Dear family and friends,

God is so good! He really is. He loves us. He is watching over us. He knows our needs, our concerns, our likes and dislikes. He knows when we need a moment to breathe. He knows when we need the little nudge to keep going. He knows our pains. He knows our weaknesses. He knows us perfectly. He is our loving Father. He cares about us! More than we could ever know! I know that God lives. That He LOVES you. Each of you. He knows you personally and He is ever-waiting for the moments that you turn to Him! He loves it when you turn to Him. 

There was a quote shared in Sunday School last week that really struck me. 

"There is a mighty difference between saying prayers and praying." -John G. Lake

Think about it. As we pray, are we just saying words and being done? Or are we having a conversation? God wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives. The more we pray sincerely and take the time to listen, the more we will receive personal revelation (guidance from God) and the closer we will become to Him!

I've noticed as I seek to make my prayers meaningful and involve God more, that I can hear His voice more clearly than ever before. And my prayers become more of a two-way conversation. Not just me saying words and listing of my needs. Instead it becomes a personal conversation, where I share my thoughts and things that I learned, and He answers. He gives me guidance and advice and He talks to me just like a parent would to a child. I know that God truly is our loving Heavenly Father. He is watching over us and as we seek to make our prayers more meaningful, He guides us and answers and helps us to find joy!

Here are some RAYS OF SUNSHINE for y'all to enjoy! :)

-Well, first off, I'm training! My greenie arrived into the mission field on March 28th. Her name is Sister Plehn, and she. Is. Amazing! Wow. She is already on fire! Ready to work hard and ready to embrace the miracles that come from it! :)

-We felt inspired to go to follow up with someone recently. When we got there, she wasn't home. There was a lady outside who was walking her dogs, so we went to talk to her, but her dogs went crazy so we weren't able to. Then, the next day, we were visiting a less-active and she had two friends over. When they were about to leave, we talked to one of them and she said, "I know y'all! I was the lady who was out walkin' her dogs the other day." 

We were so excited! We were able to talk to her for a minute and now she wants us to stop by and teach her! :) God places us in situations for specific reasons. Sometimes it isn't to see the person we had planned to see. But as we look for opportunities to serve and follow the Spirit, the Lord provides!

-After a dinner appointment, we were driving away when the Spirit said, "Pull over and talk to that family." So we did. Immediately. (That's something I've been learning. Follow EVERY prompting you receive, IMMEDIATELY, and miracles come!)  They weren't interested, but we turned around and across the street, there was a guy with a guitar and his girlfriend outside. We asked him if he'd play for us, and so we got to jam out to some epic guitar music (he's super talented!). Then Sister Plehn amazingly tied it into the gospel somehow and we now have a return appointment for tonight! We are so excited to teach them!

-Yesterday, we just felt like nothing was happening. So we stopped, said a heartfelt, specific prayer, and then paused for an answer. The answer I got was to let Sister Plehn decide. So I did. She thought for a moment, and then told me the name of a street that we had been planning on knocking. We drove over there and the Spirit immediately testified that we were in the right place. We pulled over, said another specific, heartfelt prayer, asking God to guide us to someone who was seeking for truth in their life. Just as we concluded the prayer, a man walked over to our car and asked us why we were parked by his house. Sister Plehn immediately explained that we were praying (and why we were praying), and he opened up to us and started asking questions! We were able to touch on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he invited us back to teach him! We are so excited to go back and share the truth of the restored gospel with him.

Y'all, there are miracles out there, waiting to happen. We just have to put our trust in the Lord and be "All in" like it was talked about in General Conference!

My invitation to y'all is to take the time to make your prayers meaningful. Think about what you're saying. Take the time to listen. Have a conversation with God. And then see what happens from there. I know that as you seek to make your prayers more meaningful, that you will develop a stronger relationship with your Father in heaven. 

Keep smiling, and have a blessed week! :)

For mine family :D

(Not the greatest picture, but oh well haha)

Sister Plehn's first week! :D