La Vie D'Ivee

Bonjour!

This week was highly discouraging. Sister Paine and I have been having a lot of less than fantastic weeks work Wise. It appears as though all of our investigators are either dropping us, ignoring us, or making a bunch of empty promises. We have been trying really hard to apply what Elder Bennett taught and being urgent, obedient, and loving. But in all honesty, it's hard. This past week was just filled with let down after let down. However, before I allow myself to think too negatively, we did have some good things happen to us nontheless. 

 For example, this past Thursday was Thanksgiving. It was my first big Holiday away from home, and it felt nothing like Thanksgiving. Sister Paine and I had a wonderful day planned, but of course, it all fell through. We contacted our relief society president and asked if she knew anyone in the ward who could use some love or service. She came up with a couple of suggestions, and we thought maybe we could heart attack their doors and leave some love. However, it didn't feel like enough. Fortunately for us, it was snowing a ton on Thanksgiving day. We decided we would borrow some shovels from the Church and go do some service for a couple of families in the ward. When Sister Paine and I started to shovel away we instantly felt better about the day. It felt good to be doing something for others, especially because they were unaware of it. One woman saw us and asked if we could shovel her driveway to which we willingly agreed. She was super touched, and said she'd love to visit our Church someday. And then as we shoveled for one of our less actives her neighbor came out and we were able to help and contact her. By the end we had shoveled about 5 driveways and were tired, but felt great! There truly was no better way for us to show our gratitude and appreciation for our Heavenly Father than by serving His children.

MLC was wonderful as always. We were introduced to the new Christmas initiative #LightTheWorld, or #ÉclairezLeMonde in French. It is amazing! It focuses on how Christ was the light of the world, but how we are also the light of the world. They really want to emphasize the importance of service over this next Christmas season, and the video truly does a great job!

Saturday was a wonderful day as well! We had a good amount of lessons. The first one was with one of our less actives who actually forgot we were coming over. It ended up being amazing though because we had a member and our less actives excommunicated mom and non-member boyfriend were there. We were able to share the Christmas initiative with all of them and she really loved the idea of having 25 days of service in December. Following, we were able to see our investigator Ange! She has a baptismal date, but we have not been able to see her the past couple of weeks. She was super happy to see us and we were finally able to teach her the plan of salvation. She loved it and said that she wants to go to the celestial kingdom with her family some day. We showed her the christmas video and she too was touched by the wonderful spirit it brings. 

We saw our investigator Paola who's only 15! We taught her the restoration, and she loved the idea that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His son Jesus Christ. I think she truly relates to him because she is very young, and she too has the question of "Which of these churches is true?". She referred herself online to receive a book of mormon and a bible. She's very smart, and poses a lot of good questions. That night we were able to pass by our less active Serge! We had Sister Scott with us and it was fantastic. He has not been able to be contacted in months. He's always busy, and doesn't have a phone which makes it a bit difficult. However, this night he was home, he was happy to see us, and he even came to church on Sunday! 

Sunday evening we had the opportunity to go to the musical fireside at the stake center. It was a wonderful way to kick off the Christmas season. The stake did a fantastic job with all of the musical numbers, and our less active was crying as the spirit truly touched her. I am so excited for all of the wonderful events the stake has in store for this Christmas season including the live nativity, and first presidency Christmas devotional! I love Christmas.

Quote of the week:

"I've never called sisters before...it's really awkward"

Scriptures of the week:

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Matthew 5: 14

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

To watch the video go to:

www.mormon.org

Love,

Sœur Garcia 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday we received transfer calls, and luckily I will be staying here in Gatineau with lovely Sister Paine! I am so happy, I would not have wanted it another way, especially for this upcoming Christmas season! 

This past week was not at all what we had planned for, yet it was amazing nevertheless!  I was able to go on 2 exchanges and they were really awesome, because I got to go into their areas. The first exchange was with Sister Ortega in Riverside. We only had 1 actual lesson planned for the day, but that fell through, leaving us with a pretty open day. However, I was very impressed that Sister Ortega had back up plans and then back up back up plans. The whole day was filled with pass bys and contacting. One cool experience was that we were able to have was with this Christian Buddhist named Poncho. He allowed us to help him rake up some of his leaves while he enlightened us of how he came to choose his religious path. It was all very bizarre, and I'm not sure he was all there. However, we talked about how the gospel brings us endless joy And the whole time he kept saying "give me the spiel, I wanna hear it". But we just informed him there was no spiel, just our own unwavering testimonies. He seemed pretty touched, and then let us leave with a prayer. It helped us to get the fire started, and by the end of the day we had managed to get 9 potentials!

I was able to go into Chapel Hill to hold an exchange with sister Rodriguez. I was super excited about this one because I kept hearing how Chapel Hill is the land of milk and honey. Let me tell you, it was a wonderful exchange. We were able to teach a lot of lessons, and sister Rodriguez did a wonderful job leading by the spirit. We were able to have a dinner in Spanish which just made my whole night and we even got to teach a lesson in French at the end!

As far as Gatineau's week went, it did not go as planned that's for certain. Every lesson, every day, fell through. It was honestly pretty frustrating. Sister Paine and I decided that rather than sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves, we would just get out there and get to work. I'm so glad that we did, because one day within a span of 3 hours we had taught 5 lessons, receieved 3 potentials, and 2 new investigators. Miracles do happen when you just get out there and get to work! 

Another special experience happened to us on Saturday night. We were making phone calls and had a few people that were willing to set up some appointments, but it was pretty unsuccessful otherwise. That is until we got to the last phone call we wanted to make for the night. The man who we contacted was named Pierre. He did some work on a couple of the church buildings here in Ottawa and the only note that was left on the potential sheet said, "TEACH HIM." When we called, he just told us he wasn't interested because we're kind of weird, and we have weird rules, and we're a weird community. However, rather than just let him go, or ask who he knows that would be interested, I felt prompted to just try and continue the conversation. I asked him why he thought we were weird, if he's religious himself, what he wants out of life. Every question was completely spirit directed. Somewhere along the way, he confessed that he doesn't agree with his religion, and that he feels there is something more, something better. The table turned because he was asking us to go and meet with him this week. And at the end we asked if we could pray with him to which he just responed, "I would really like that". Imagine if we had just given up!

With the holiday season just around the corner, I would like to just let all of you know how much I appreciate and love you! I know it say it all the time in these e-mails but it's so true. I would not be able to be out here doing what I do if it wasn't for the endless support I have receieved. So thank you for all that you do, and all that you are!

Love,

Sœur Garcia 

Scripture of the week:

2 Nephi 32:3

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

Quote of the week:

"Hi, I found your brothers phone on the train"

"What?"

"Yeah, you're saved in here as sisters, so I figured he was your brother"

"We're sister missionaries!"

"Oh..."

I don't really have words to describe how amazing this past week. Elder Bennett of the 70 came and visited and I was able to spend 2 full days with him, his wonderful wife, and president and sister Phillips. It was so spiritually uplifting and more than I could have expected. Because I have like 8,000 thoughts going through my mind right now, I will just leave you with some highlights from this past zone conference and MLC.

"This work is not of man, it is of God. He loves you, He knows you, He chose you, and assigned you"

"The fact that you are trying is success"

"You were reserved because of your strength, and because of what you could become. You were spectaculor and wonderful. You were strong and you have within you the seeds of divinity. He can help us overcome anything and everything."

"Every righteous effort we make, the Lord will bless us in His time. We have to be okay with it. Every time He asks us to do something hard or difficult, He asks us to be blessed."

"Always follow the spirit, even if it doesn't make sense"

"Conversion does not occur through passive reception"

"We must waste and wear out our lives, cheerfully"

Elder and Sister Bennett were the mission presidents in the Russia, Samara mission. When they got there their mission was the lowest baptizing mission in the world. Over time they were able to impliment some changes that not only changed their mission, but it changed their missionaries. He understands how to change the culture in a mission, and how to truly help them be successful. Our mission isn't a bad one. We have a lot of really hard working missionaries, who strive to be obedient. We all want to see our mission improve, but over the years the work has been declining. A lot of us have seen some dry spells that have caused our motivation to decrease. Elder Bennett came in and helped us realize our potential. They don't send mediocre missionaries here, they send exceptional ones. We need to have the desire to go out, get to work, and make miracles happen. 

One thing that I really took away from all of this was a sense of Urgency. How eager am I to do the Lords work? How eager am I to find scattered Israel? How eager am I to help change someones life for the better? After this past week, I have so much more desire to get out and get to work, I feel all the missionaries do.

The MLC was really special. We got to drive up with 9 missionaries from our zone and stay at the mission home for the night. After we all finished the meeting and had lunch, we had a couple hours before our bus came. We knew there was no way we could just sit around and wait at the mission office while there were literally millions of people around us who didn't know about the gospel. We all decided to grab our bags, head to the metro, and just start contacting. I was able to contact several different people, one in particular spoke spanish and was meeting with missionaries in the DR. I was able to relay her info to the only phone number I knew in Montreal (Zarahemla) and it was so cool! When we got to the station, the whole bus had been contacted, and we all sat with someone different. I chose a girl who had headphones in, and I almost kicked myself for it at first. But I just forced myself to talk to her and we ended up talking the whole ride and exchanged info, it was so cool.

The next day was amazing. We didn't have very much set up at all, but Heavenly Father just provided miracle after miracle. We ended up finding 2 new investigators, teaching 4 lessons, and setting someone on date for baptism. The mission is the best! We literally just do what Heavenly Father asks, and he gives us blessings. It's that simple.

Love,

Sœur Garcia

Scripture of the week:

Alma 26:37

 

Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving ; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

Quote of the week:

"Why did you decide to do your research project on our religion?"

"I was late so I got last pick"

Hello everyone!

This past week was so amazing. Miracles upon miracles were being rained down on me and Sister Paine. This past week alone we were able to get 3 new investigators, and 2 people with a baptismal date. Sister Paine and I saw the most miracles while we were on exchanges with the Dow's Lake YSA sisters and the Kanata sisters. 

I had the opportunity to conduct and exchange with Sister Ferrell of Dow's Lake. She has been on her mission for about 15 months now and she's pretty familiar with this area. We were on bus and foot for the exchange which was actually so much fun. It gave us more opportunities for contacting. Sister Ferrell did a wonderful job of sitting down and immediately striking up a conversation with the person next to her. Although it was difficult for her to find people that were willing to listen or offer their contact information, she kept going. 

A miracle I saw while I was with Sister Ferrell happened at the bus stop. While we were waiting, a member saw us and began to speak with us for a little bit. As his bus came and he left, a girl turned around to us and said, "what ward are you from?". Going off of appearances, with all of her piercings, and her shaved head I would have not guessed her to be a member. We told her and she mentioned how she was born into the Church, but no longer goes. She happens to be friends with the daughter of the member who was talking to us at the bus stop! If she had not spoken up, we would have never known that she has friends and family who are still active members of the Church. And, she's YSA age.

I was also able to conduct an exchange with Sister Jex from Kanata. She has been out on her mission for about 5 months now. The area she currently serves in is a difficult one. They haven't had too much success up until now. Her and her companion, Sister Clark are doing wonders there. My exchange with Sister Jex was one for the books. We had a lot of great lessons, and on the way to one, we found a new investigator. His name is Patrick, and he was a referral about 3 months ago. Sister Paine and I have tried to pass by him several times with no success. This time though, he was home! There was no woman there so we couldn't go inside, but he was more than willing to let us share a message with him on the porch and pray. He was super excited to see us, and we have a return appointment for this week. 

The biggest miracle of the night though would have to be with our investigator Ange. Her family had been taught once before, and so we planned to teach her the plan of salvation this time around. When we got in there, we found out that she had been absent for most of the first lesson because she was cooking dinner. Automatically we knew we had to teach her the restoration. The spirit was so strong. She loved and agreed with everything. And at the end, we invited her to be baptized on Dec.10th and she accepted! It was the best.

While Sister Paine was on exchanges, her and Sister Barton were able to get into the home of, and teach the wife of our investigator Jean-Mil! It was all by chance, but it was a miracle indeed. Jean-Mil has been reading, but he's not super sure if this is the "true" Church. However, the sisters had an amazing lesson and not only did his wife, Suze, accept a baptismal date for Dec. 3, but she has asked that we go back and teach all of her family!

This week is looking to be another busy one! We have exchanges tonight with the Fallowfield sisters, and this week we will have the Elder Bennett visit! On Thursday he will be visiting our zone conference and we will spend roughly 7 hours with him, go to stake Council, and then drive up to Montréal that night. Then on Friday morning we will spend 8 hours with him as sister training leaders, zone leaders, and the assistants. It will be super uplifting. Elder Bennett is the 70 that has been assigned to our mission specifically. I know that he has all the ability to receive revelation and direction that will guide our mission to be consecrated representatives of the Lord.

Thanks for all you do!

Love,

Sœur Garcia 

Scripture of the week:

Alma 29:9

I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

Quote of the week:

"I don't know what you said, but it sounded mean...and sassy."