A Happy Person

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the amazing fathers out there and for so many who have influenced me in my life, especially my dad!! Thank you so much for your example, love, and hard work. Love you!

 

So much happened this week I don't know where to begin! 

 

Monday was straight up terrible (Besides the package that I got from home. Thank you so much, we loved it!! It made our day). We had one of those days where no one wanted to talk to us, everything went wrong, and it felt like we were the cause of every bad thing. No joke! Hahaha. We had set the goal of doing all we could to find the people who are prepared to receive this gospel, but it felt like we were doing the complete opposite. 

 

Satan needed to try harder though, because the opposition we faced only helped us know that there really are people prepared in this area. It gave us the motivation to work harder and fight back.

 

We are so grateful we did. We saw so many miracle on Tuesday. Everyone was talking to us and we were able to share part of the gospel with everyone we talked to except one. Everything that happened on Tuesday was a blessing and miracle, for which we are thankful. 

 

One of the miracles from Tuesday is M**. We were walking by his apartment and he was sitting on his porch. It was shared and we barely saw him, but as we were walking away, we decided to go back and talk to him. He was interested in who we were and what we shared. We were able to share a Book of Mormon with him and set up an appointment for Thursday. 

 

Thursday rolled around and we had our lesson. The member who came with us just moved in and she is amazing! It felt like we were in tri-pan just teaching M** (she served her mission about 5 years ago). M** is golden. We asked him about the Book of Mormon and he told us he only read a little -a "little", meaning ALL OF 1 NEPHI. He then asked all the golden questions throughout the lesson of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit was so strong and it was obvious that Heavenly Father had been preparing him to receive this message that day. M** committed to be baptized when he comes to know that all of this is true, which he is already starting to feel. We are so excited for him and know that he will continue to progress, even as family opposition will soon arise. We are a little sad that we will be passing him off to the YSA sisters, but in the Great California Ventura Mission, we are one. We are all working together to help our brothers and sisters on the path back home.

 

We have one more YSA investigator to pass off as well. We were able to have another lesson with him on Wednesday, before our Zone Conference, and he also committed to be baptized when he comes to know the truth of this message. He also was asking the best questions. We were discussing the Plan of Salvation. As we were talking about the Spirit World and how the gospel is preached to them, he asked how they progress. He then said they would need to do things like baptism as well, if that is necessary. We were able to talk and share our testimonies about temples and how they [those in the Spirit World] are able to receive the necessary ordinances through temple work.  So cool!! 

 

Our Zone Conference was good! I never thought the day would come that I would give my departing testimony, but it came. There are two others in my zone who gave departing testimonies as well. It was fun because I have served in the same zone with one of the Elders for 10 1/2 months. He has been my zone leader for 6 out of those 7 transfers. 

 

Zone Conference was so good. The day started with interviews (which were good), then we had the Conference in the afternoon/night. The first half before dinner was just missionaries and the second  half was with the missionaries and the ward mission (Ward Mission Leaders, Ward missionaries, auxiliary presidency members who are over missionary work). I really enjoyed it and felt it was a unique and beneficial way to help us come together in unity as missionaries and wards to help build Zion.

 

One thing I would like to share: 

The whole first half of Zone Conference, I feel, had the overlying theme of happiness. My thoughts went back to something a member said earlier this week. He said the gospel is not here to make us happy later or after we die, it is here to make us happy NOW. President Nakken talked about 14 things that a happy missionary is and I know that they can apply to everyone.

 

A happy missionary (person):

 

1. Is purpose driven

2. Is a truth seeker

3. Is not afraid of making mistakes

4. Is teachable

5. Likes him/herself

6. Is creative

7. Knows God and their relationship with Him

8. Is jam-packed with gratitude

9. Has moral courage

10. Is hard-working

11. Spreads sunshine, lifts others, and is an optimist

12. Doesn't look beyond the mark

13. Takes 100% responsibility for their actions and everything in their life

14. Knows how to live in the present

 

When you look at happy people, can't you see these qualities!? I just want to add that happy people aren't perfect and they still have trials, but happy people can see the eternal perspective and are able to humbly accept and follow Heavenly Father's will with faith that, when they rely on Jesus Christ, all will be well.

 

Look at this list and this week I want to invite you to pick one to work on this week. As you work on improving that quality, you will see each day in a more positive perspective and you will feel your happiness increase. It will give you the desire to do more, serve more, and love more. 

 

I know this, because each of those things in the list is who Heavenly Father wants us to be and knows we can become. As we are becoming more like Him we ALWAYS have more light and joy. Never forget though, that unpleasant things still happen and opposition still comes, but light always follows after.

 

xoxo, Sister G 

 

Forever Rely On God!!

 

Forever Rely On God!

We had exchanges this week. I spent a day with Sister F**.

 

Two is better than One

From the way this last week went, I know this will be a transfer of miracles!!

First things first though: Sister W**! (My companion)

She is from **

Her favorite car is a truck and she wants to be a farm girl 

She had been out a little over a year

The best thing---SHE IS A TWIN!! No joke, twins unite! She has an identical twin sister. What makes it even better is that our District Leader has a twin sister, so there are three of us who are twins in our district. It has been fun to talk about being twins this last week because we know what each other is talking about. Her twin is at school as well.

Before Sister W** came to **, Sister P** and I had a unique opportunity to house a new sister the night before transfers. She is a visa waiter for **! It was special to have her with us because I can see a little more of what generally lies ahead for her and I am excited. She will have so many great experiences and will help others have great experiences and you can't get these experiences anywhere else. She will bless so many!

On Tuesday Sister W got here and the atmosphere has been completely different since! We have seen miracle after miracle and we both know it is by Heavenly Father's hand.

One miracle I'll share is about our friend D**. We have been teaching him and trying to figure out his concerns/holdups. The lesson we had with him this last week was 110% by the Spirit and exactly what he needed.  We went in with only 6 questions and a topic to talk about. The whole lesson I was able to feel and witness the pSirit working through me, my companion, and our member, and as a result I saw the Spirit working in D**. We were straightforward with him and told him that there was only one church on the earth that Christ had established, that this was His church, and the ONLY way to know that is to pray and ask God and to read the Book of Mormon. At the end he grabbed his book and asked us to show him where to start so that he can actually read it for real. I know that as he sincerely reads, and as anyone sincerely reads the Book of Mormon, that they will feel the emptiness inside them start to be filled and they will come to know that everything The Gospel of Jesus Christ and His church have to offer, is real and true. Please pray for D** that he will receive that witness!

In addition to our miracle with D**, we have seen so many other miracles in meeting and teaching people, and working with the ward. Sister W** and I are continually thanking our Heavenly Father. We both know that the success we saw this week was definitely not because of us. 

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." (Alma 26:12)

I hope you all have a great week this week and that you can see Heavenly Father guiding your life each day. Most often, it will be in the small and simple things. Look for them and thank Him when you recognize them.

xoxo, Sister G 

I'm getting so old in the mission I forgot to tell you about a few other things!

We had the opportunity to teach the Laurels on Sunday. Our lesson was based on the worldwide devotional President Nelson held for the youth of the church, ages 12-18. Wow. That devotional was so powerful. It was so fun to teach them as well And I hope they were able to take something from that lesson. We focused on something President Nelson said. He talked about how Heavenly Father had reserved His most noble spirits, His finest players, and His heroes for this time. He then said, "those most noble spirits, those finest players, those heroes are you." So powerful! We chose to focus on that because President Nelson didn't tell the youth that's who they were supposed to become or who they could become, he told them they were. These youth are already this way and they have the potential to rise even higher. 

I was grateful to talk about this with them because I remember all the lessons in YW that I had talking about who we were and who we could become, and they were influential in my life. I believe that when we know who we are and whose we are, all things are possible and our lives will forever be changed. I hope the girls saw a little bit more of who they truly are yesterday.

I think that's it....We were able to give a cute little 88 yr old lady a Book of Mormon after we offered to take her trash to the bin for her. She said giving her a Book of Mormon made her day! Heavenly Father placed us all there at the right time because she was so tired she didn't want to move, but she needed to take her trash out so she got up and took it. We were just coming from picking something up from a member when we were driving past her and stopped to help. Gotta love the tiny moments Heavenly Father shows you that He knows His children!

Sister P, new sister, Sister Groneman

Transfer Day

emailing home

The Beginning of the End for Sister Boot...

Hi everyone!!

I hope you had a good week! Sister P and I had a great week! One quick announcement before I'll share a couple miracles- You are now allowed to call me Sister Boot...JUST KIDDING please don't. But yes, because my foot is breaking I am in a boot to try to prevent a full break. The work continues on though!

Miracle time!

1- So I'm not sure if I mentioned them, but about a month ago Sister P and I met a man named R**. He wanted us to meet his wife. During this last month we haven't been able to meet with them due to conflicting schedules. On Saturday, we just happened to see them on a walk...Right outside the church! So, like the good little missionaries that we are, we waved them down and ended up giving them a church tour! It gets better- they came to Sacrament Meeting the next day..and then we had dinner with them! This was such a miracle as they have been on our minds a lot. We were able to share a little bit with them, and they are open to have us share more, so we are excited! We know that everything that has happened with our friends has been because of Heavenly Father and we are so thankful.

2- This one is about our friend D**. Flashback to the beginning of May. He was a former [investigator] and (I think on the walk day as well) we felt to see him. We set up a time for the evening, but when we got there we realized we didn't have the specific apartment number so we texted him to ask. It was almost 9 and we still hadn't heard back so we decided to knock some doors until he answered or until it was time to go home. The first door we knocked was him! What a miracle! We ended up inviting D** to ask God if He knew him by name. We followed up, but he answered that he felt alone as he prayed. We promised him that he would receive an answer and to keep praying in faith until he did. Fast forward to now: Yesterday we received a random text from him. "God responded." We called him and he told us of his experience of Heavenly Father answering his prayers. He was sitting at a bus stop when he received his answer. We then asked him if he knew that God knew him by name and loved him. He said yes.

This is why I am on a mission. To me, a mission is not about baptisms, leadership positions, fun adventures, or anything like that. It's about helping people know, understand, and feel that they have a loving Heavenly Father who knows them and has a plan for them. To help someone come to know that is something you can't buy or sell. It is something of eternal value.

I have been so lucky to spend this time sharing this message with the people in the California Ventura Mission, and I am so blessed to have a little time left to continue to share it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ means everything to me and I know it is the way back home to our Heavenly Father. It is through our Savior's Atonement and our obedience to God's commandments that we can receive all the blessings that are in store for us. It is for everyone, too. We are all invited to come unto Christ, and when we choose to come unto Him, He is there waiting with arms outstretched toward us.

Love you all. I hope you have a great week this week!

xoxo,
Sister G


I forgot to talk about transfer news!!
Sister P** will be headed to **! I am excited for her!!

I am staying for my last 6 weeks and Sister W** will be my companion. It will be fun! We are having a new missionary stay with us tonight as well so I'm excited to welcome her into the best mission!

Our district filmed something really powerful and I will try to post it soon. Keep an eye out for it and invite everyone to share it!!

Zone Conference

Cleanest Car Award for Zone

We rode the trolley one day to try a new way to find. We ran into our friend D**.

Hi😄

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Thank you to all who have served and are serving our country. I am so grateful for so many who have made it possible for us to enjoy the freedoms we have today.

We had Zone Conference this past week which was really good! We have a Sisters Meeting before which I love as well. It's always fun to meet as sisters and talk about the work in a sisters'  perspective. 

 

One thing I really appreciated from the Conference was one focus of using technology in finding and with the ward. I definitely needed it because I have no idea what I'm doing with this technology stuff haha! The ideas that were talked about I would've never even thought about because I didn't do them before the mission. Sister P and I finally have some ideas to work with so we are hoping to implement them soon.

 

One more super cool thing from Zone Conference was a video that was shared. It made me cry a little bit. It was a video of all kinds of people, all over the world stating how missionaries found them. There are endless ways of how people learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and begin to meet with missionaries. It really testified to me of how this is one work and it's the Lord's work. I wish I could share it with you, but only our Mission President has access to it right now:/ When I have access to it, I'll share it!

Update on our friend D**! He is doing well. We continue to teach him and he is continually progressing. Slowly, but surely:) We have been trying to understand what concern is holding him back and we have been focusing on his testimony of The Book of Mormon, knowing that as he gains a testimony of The Book of Mormon he will know that everything else is true. The day of one of our lessons and right before we were really praying to be able to perceive his progression and Heavenly Father definitely helped us. We followed up on his scripture study and he began to tell us different things (he likes to talk about different things, sometimes pertaining to the question and sometimes not:)). Right in the middle of what he was saying, though, he said the clearest statement I've ever heard him say. He talked about how the things he was reading all made sense, then said "The Book of Mormon is true." He then continued with what he was previously talking about. Woah what!? Heavenly Father answered our prayer on helping us see where he is at in his progression for sure! He also has finally talked to his doctor about different ways to overcome his challenge with the Word of Wisdom. And yesterday in Sunday school he made a random comment that maybe him getting baptized was a good idea. Our friend is progressing and slowly gaining a desire!!! There is a concern that is holding him back though and we are still trying to find and address it. He almost brought it up the same lesson, right after he talked about his studies, but then stopped. We are hoping to be able to address it this week. 

One thought I do want to share comes from a comment that was made yesterday in class. It comes from Sister Sharon Eubank, from the General Relief Society Presidency. She said to ask Heavenly Father what was one thing He wanted us to do that day, every day, and then do it. I loved it because when we do that we can be confident in knowing that we did at least one thing that Heavenly Father needed us to do that day, even if we felt like the day went out the window. I know that when we do this we will be more focused on His will each day and have an outward focus towards others. It will also help us to stay close to the Spirit each day and become better at receiving and understanding personal revelation. Try it out!

I hope you all have a great week this week. Keep smiling, keep loving life, and keep being you! There is a specific reason that you are you and only you can be that person! 

Love you all! 

xoxo, Sister G 

Enjoy the endless amount of flowers :)

 

We're All on the Same Team!!

Happy Birthday to Grandma Groneman last Friday! I hope it was great! Love you!

My time continues here in Beautiful California:)

This last week was filled with a couple of exchanges and some miracles!

Sister Training Leaders and exchanges have changed. There are now five Sister Training Leaders throughout the mission with a junior companion. When exchanges happen missionaries just swap places instead of going to one area [like a chapel, and then heading out from there with a new companion]. I love it this way! On Tuesday I was with Sister M** and on Wednesday, Sister W**. Both days were way fun! Sister W** and I were able to meet a man who is from the valley and was interested in missionaries coming to see him there! It was fun to send a referral to another mission. We really are all working together to help Heavenly Father's children! 

We may be starting to teach 2 new friends this upcoming week!

One of them was a complete miracle of how we found him. Earlier this last week Sister M** and I met a man who accepted a BOM, but needed one in Spanish. We had tried to deliver it for a couple of days with no success. One day we never got around to trying until right before we had to go in for the night. We hadn't had much success that day and we were both trying to stay positive and not become grumpy. We almost passed two people on the way to this man's house but decided to talk to them. The first person wasn't interested, but when we said hi to the second person he knew who we were and started talking to us. It turns out that he had moved here from LA 2 months ago and was actually meeting with missionaries. He asked us about church and was interested in coming. He also asked if we could start teaching him like the other missionaries did. We set up a lesson for tomorrow and we are excited! 

The other friend we have been stopping by to see for a few weeks. He has great questions and is willing to try to find answers. He also had met missionaries in the past. He wasn't interested then, but he remembers them and really liked them. We have a lesson set up for next Sunday and all 3 of us are looking forward to it.

Reading over this email, I guess the theme is working all together as missionaries, those who are serving now and those who have served in the past. You really never know what impact you have on someone and what part of their story you are in. Without the help of other missionaries we wouldn't have these two lessons set up. I am grateful for them and their service as a missionary. We are all on the same team!!

We all have opportunities to influence people for the better, in everything we do. Someone is always watching whether you know it or not. Someone's life may have completely been changed by something you've done or will do. This is why we should be an "example of the believers" at all times, in all things, and in all places. As you strive to represent Jesus Christ in all that you do, you will be surprised to see just how much influence you can have on others for the better.

Thank you for all the prayers and love! Have a great week this week!

xoxo, Sister G 

Relief Society activity for Mother's Day

exchanges

The best weekly planning snack

Celebrating Sister P**'s and Sister F**'s 7 month(cold stone:))

We liked the yellow flowers

Another one down!

Hey hey hey! I'm still here and I'm still loving it! It was so good to see everyone yesterday. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms reading this, especially my mom! You are so special and you really do help everyone around you to be better. Thank you!

 

This last week was filled with all good things. We are still teaching a few people which is good! We are focusing on building their testimonies. They have a desire, but not a strong enough desire to want to become more like the Savior.  Our goal is never to just get someone into the water to be baptized, rather it is to help them come closer to Christ by helping them develop and exercise faith in Him, repent, make covenants, or promises, with Him and follow Him to the end. We are grateful we are able to help our friends come to know their Savior and we know that when the time is right they will baptized. 

We had interviews with President Nakken after we had a great district meeting on Friday. It's weird to think that I only have a couple of interviews left. I have been so blessed to not only have one, but two amazing mission presidents. I have learned so much from their actions and examples and their wives' actions and examples. They have pushed me to reach higher, run farther, and to always look to our Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father knew what He was doing when He sent me here. I will be forever grateful for President and Sister Felix and President and Sister Nakken.

On Saturday we had our monthly Walk Day! It was cool this time because the mission kicked it off with a mission-wide video conference call, which included a devotional and prayer. I loved it because it united the mission even more. 

Our Walk Day was filled with miracles. It started out with a miracle lesson that came from us calling a former investigator that morning. She called us back and wanted to meet that day. We met and I know that Heavenly Father truly knows her. She is at a point in her life where she is making changes to better herself and she knows it was no coincidence we called either. She stopped the lesson when we testified that "this life is not the beginning or the end. We came from God and we are going back to God." She started to cry and explain how she just felt when she heard that. We know that she felt the Spirit testifying to her of the truth that she just heard. It was a powerful lesson and she is willing to be baptized when she knows the truth of this gospel. The sad part is that she doesn't live in our area anymore so we will be passing her off soon. I am so grateful she is learning more though and wanting to come closer to Christ!

At the end of our Walk Day, we ran into so many people one right after the other, and had great conversations with them! There was one man who saw us and started talking about how he wanted us to come see his wife because she is a more dedicated Christian and would love to talk to us, but she was sick that day. They are actually looking for a church to attend and he was so excited when we invited him to ours and gave him a Book of Mormon to read. We are hopefully going to see them again this week and invite them to learn more!

One last thing before I go-

I want to share something that was shared yesterday in Relief Society. It is found in John 6:9

“There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”

This verse takes place when Christ feeds the five thousand. His disciples are trying to figure out how to feed 5 thousand men and this is who they find. One lad with 7 articles of food. And we know that Christ takes those 7 articles and feeds the five thousand with 12 baskets full of leftovers. 
The point was made that sometimes we are the lad. Sometimes we go into whatever situation we are in with only a little bit to offer the Savior. That little bit could be our poor attitudes, our weaknesses, our few years of practice, it can be anything that we may think is a weakness. But the miracle is not Christ taking what you have and changing it. The miracle is Him looking at what you offer and telling you that He can work with it and then multiplying it so that you and others can be filled in whatever way they need to, with extra to help someone else later on. 

Whoever you are and whatever you have to offer Christ, it is exactly enough. The truth is, without Him it can NEVER be enough no matter how hard you try. He is the One who will help you become better, strengthen you, and lift you to where you need to be and hopefully where you want to be. 
I love you all and I hope that this week you can offer what you have to Jesus Christ. If you do, I promise that Christ will multiply your efforts in a way you never thought possible. You will be able to accomplish more than you had hoped. But don't take my word for it, I invite you to see for yourself.

Until next week!
xoxo, Sister G 

Sister P and I really liked the flowers...

Another Email Comin' Your Way!

Hello Family and Friends!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful, amazing parents this week!! Love you both!

This last week was sunny side up with a side of miracles!  

We have some friends that we are working with and trying to work with. One of our friends, D** is doing well. He has a goal to be baptized on June 2. Currently, we are reteaching the lessons from the beginning to strengthen his foundation. He has some things to overcome before June 2, but we know that if D pu**ts his faith in Jesus Christ to action it can happen! We also are hopefully going to start teaching a family. We are currently teaching the mom, but have been working on involving her whole family. Schedules have been crazy with kids so we've had to reschedule a few times, but hopefully this upcoming week will work!

The ** Stake had their Stake Conference this weekend which was great! I had a great moment before it all started when I was able to talk and take a picture with a family who's related to a family in my home ward! They actually were at my Farewell just over a year ago. I remember them telling me to look for them if I ever served in ** and I was so excited to see them! What a great night! 

 

The conference was awesome. Elder Acosta, an Area Seventy came and spoke. He illustrated the impact of one person's decisions by bringing a Priest waiting for his mission call up to the stand. Elder Acosta stated that, in general, the 3 most important decisions to make are being baptized, serving a mission  (which includes receiving your endowment), and being sealed in the temple. He then told the Priest to imagine he had 5 kids to whom he taught the gospel and had 5 youth stand in the audience. He did the same to those 5 youth and had 25 more youth stand up, and continued to do so until everyone was standing up. His point was that our decisions not only affect us, but they affect generations. When making choices, we should always consider the impact our choice will make on our life, but also on our posterity. 

Sister P** and I are working hard and are enjoying the work. I am continually inspired by her dedication and hard work. She is teaching me every day!

Before I go, I'd love to share some verses found in the Book of Mormon with you. A Prophet, Alma, is talking to his son about Jesus Christ and how He will come to take away the sins of the world and declare His message. It is found in Alma 39:17-19

"And now I will ease your mind somewhat on this subject. Behold, you marvel why these things should be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul will be at the time of his coming?

 

"Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people as well as unto their children?

 

"Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to send his angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after the time of his coming?"

As I was reading this this morning I was struck by these verses. They testify of God, our Father in Heaven, and how He loves ALL of His children. No one is exempt from this love, ever. And because He loves His children He desires all to know His son, Jesus Christ, and the hope that He and His message bring. 

 

I know this is true and I know that God will give every single person a chance to learn of Jesus Christ and His gospel. This is why we are here on earth and this is why I am here in California. 

I hope this week that you can pray and look for an opportunity to share with someone the knowledge you have of our Savior Jesus Christ. And remember, it's not a decision and an opportunity that just affects you. 

Love you all. Have a great week

xoxo, Sister G