Thursday, June 26, 2014
Transfer Day!!??!!
Hello!
Wow what a week it has been. We started of this week with going
to one of Ottawa’s biggest Museums on Preparation day. This museum
captures to whole experience of Canada. They even have one whole section on the
snow of Canada. It was really great and I learned a lot about the country I am
serving in. Sister Verdin taught us how to make homemade burritos. She made me
make my first tortilla and it looked like a flying squirrel and the rule was
when you make it you have to eat it. Luckily it tasted a lot better then it
looked! On Wednesday we all mourned Sister Verdin and Sister Mays last district
meeting by wearing all black. I have now watched four Sisters leave the mission
and its funny how they all take it differently. At random times Sister May and
Sister Verdin will yell out O NOOO I’m dying!! My mission is over!! They will
forget about it for a couple hours and then repeat the same thing over again!
On Saturday we got to go to a baptism from our ward and one of our
Investigators was able to attend it with us. He really enjoyed the baptism and
got to meet lots of members. Transfer calls were on Saturday as well so we
ordered pizza and sat around our table nervously eating it waiting for the
call. They told my companion that she would be transferred home!!! Then they
said Sister Dick.... you will be... going.... to Laval with Sister Alvarez! I
was so shocked after nine months I am leaving my first area. Laval is an Island
Next to the island of Montreal. It is French speaking ahhhhh and a family ward!
I already know Sister Alvarez because I came in with her from the MTC. She is
super awesome and Columbian so I can keep my Spanish up =) She grew up in
Canada and is even child hood friends with some of the people I met in this
ward. My heart breaks to be leaving this area because I love this place so
much, but I know this is where Heavenly Father wants me to be and I will go
where he wants me to go. It was really hard to give my leaving testimony
yesterday and church and know it was my last time going there. This place has
shaped me into the person that I am now and more of the person that Heavenly
Father wants me to be. I will be forever grateful for the memories that I have
from here and Ottawa will always have a piece of my heart. I love you all tons
and I hope you all have a fantastic week much love!
-Sister Dick
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Happy Father's Day!!
Hello!
I hope that everyone had a fabulous Fathers Day! I know I wouldn’t
be anywhere with out my daddy. He has helped me be the person I am today. I am
also very thankful for my Father in Heaven because he has helped me in so many
ways. How is everyone enjoying their summer?? It’s been really rainy here sometimes
I think we are going to get washed away! We were lucky to have yesterday and
today as really gorgeous days though. Missions are the best and you will hear
that from 99.9% of the people who went on them, but with most things in life
they come with their struggles as well. This week would be one of them. As I
have mentioned many times summer in a young single adult ward can be difficult
at times. It’s difficult because there is no one here. Campuses are pretty
empty as well as our congregation because most members have left. This week has
been a struggle to find people and when we find people we pass them off to the
family wards. On nice sunny days its hard to get people to want to come to
church for three hours. I knew this time would come and I have been very
blessed to be in the ward and have so much success. Its a good lesson that not
all times are the best and to really enjoy the good times.
Some Miracles that happen this week is that an older Philippian
man who the sisters we live with have been teaching for more then a year now
got baptized Saturday! it was so cool because I have been here for a long time
and they taught him every week. He wouldn’t always be progressing very much,
but they never gave up on him. They said every time they taught him he would
look better and better his appearance would seem better and his
attitude. All the Sisters who have taught him are still in the mission
including Sister Houde my trainer. They got to call them all and tell them the
great news. It helps you know that you never now the right time when someone
will be ready, but being consistent and always sharing the gospel can help them
prepare for that day. He was smiling from ear to ear on Saturday and when I
asked him how he felt he said "better…. much better"
Another miracle is Caleb; he is our recent convert
who got baptized in March. I have seen him grow so much in the past few months it’s
amazing. He is so mission motivated! He is out teaching with the missionaries
everyday! He always calls to make sure certain people are doing good and texts
them and asks them why they weren't at church and that they were missed. He
makes our job so much easier through his efforts. He has come to find the joy
in missionary work that everyone should experience.
The last big miracle this week was that we finished our
Book of Mormon 50 day challenge!! Wow it was so amazing. This was the
first time I read the Book of Mormon with real intent pondering the
things it said and trying to apply them in my life. Never have I been able
to feel the spirit so strong and to really imagine the things the people
were going through in the Book of Mormon. I put Moroni’s challenge to the test
through out the whole time reading it and I knew through out it all that it was
true, but at the end I really prayed to know and in companionship study that
day I was explaining what I had read and baring my testimony about it in French
and the spirit was so strong I started crying because I knew it was true I just
wanted to kiss the book and never let it go. It was cool to feel this when i
was speaking French because so many times when French words roll off my tongue
they sound and feel weird to me. I love the Book of Mormon so much and I hope
that you can take advantage of it!
This Saturday is transfer calls so I will see who my new
companion is and if I am going anywhere or staying for my 7 transfers! I hope
you all have a great week. Lots of love from Canada!
-Sister
Dick
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Happy Tuesday!
I know I know you thought I got stolen, or just didn’t want to
talk to you guys anymore, but the truth is we had an amazing Zone Conference
yesterday, so our preparation day got changed to today! This week was another
great week! Full of lots of sunshine. Our YSA activity this week was water balloon
Volley ball a couple people that we teach came and it was lots of fun. We even
got Elder Adams the senior couple Elder with a full bucket of water. On
Wednesday I hit my half way mark WHAT??? That’s right I am on the down hill
slope. I don’t know how this happened, but time just goes by way to fast! I am
excited to see what this next half of my mission has to offer.
A miracle that happened this week was we contacted this person
on our way home from church one day. She is in her 20's white girl with red
hair, but she told us she was from Africa. We asked her how she was from Africa
and she told us that her parents moved there because her dad wanted to preach
the bible to the people in Africa. It took him 2 years to learn their language
and now he is translating the bible into their language. It was super cool to
hear her stories! I asked her if they had built a church over there and this is
what shocked me. She said o no we haven’t been able to build one yet we have
only two converts so far. This just floored me! This girl had to be in her 20's
and so for at least 20 years her family has been over there preaching the
gospel in Africa and they only have converted two people. The spirit whispered
to me right then that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints is true.
I have only been in Canada for 9 months and i have been able to see 3 people be
baptized and in Canada people are not as open to the gospel. I have only been
out here for 9 months and I can speak French! I know that we could not help
these people in the world come unto Christ with out the spirit and with out
this church being true. Even with 85,000 missionaries I know that we would
barley have any success.
A couple weeks ago Sister Verdin and I were at a store about to
meet with someone and someone yelled over to us and said Hey sisters! I am
Mormon, but I haven’t been to church since my Grandpa died when I was little.
We got his number and now a couple weeks later we were able to meet with him
this past week. We met with him and his wife and his cute little 6-month-old
boy. His wife was very interested in learning more and they want there boy to
be baptized some day. We will pass them off to the family ward elders this week
but it was super awesome to be apart of it.
On Saturday we the missionaries were aloud to go to this Stake Broadway
that the Ottawa put on. All sorts of people members and member’s friends put on
a free Broadway of lots of different shows. It was so fun and such a great
missionary tool for them to invite their friends out to!
The
zone conference we had yesterday was so fantastic and it was so great to have
such amazing trainings from our mission president. I learned so much from all
of them and felt so pumped to keep contacting people to find those that god has
prepared. The lunch they served at it was by this cute French man form Québec.
It was such amazing food and there were about 15 different kinds of cheeses you
could choose to spread on your bread. I was so confused I had never seen so
many cheeses in my life. I love you all so much and I hope your week is a good
one!!
Love,
Sister Dick
Monday, June 2, 2014
Happy Monday!
Hello everyone, now that a lot of people are graduated its
officially summer. I remember this first day of summer when I was back home. It
would be the first day where you would be in school but its now summer and you
are lying on the couch like this is awesome no school and just as you are
thinking to yourself i could get use to this! Your mom well always my mom at
least would crush your reality and say get up! Just because its summer doesn't
mean you are going to lay around all day go clean your room or something. Well
if you have already got that discussion with your mother my condolences. My
summer this year will be tons different I am sure because i get to spend it all
on the mission! Its starting to get really toasty here with humidity. Last
P-day we got to go to the Canadian Mint where we got to see how Canada prints
their money it was really cool! Something crazy that happened this week was one
of the people we were trying to pass of to the sisters in the family ward was
beaten up by a drug gang because they told her she owes her money, so yesterday
we had to get her to a shelter, but she has a cat, so we had to take the cat to
a members house to watch it for a bit and the cat was so mean it was hissing at
us the whole time and wanting to bite us i was about to crawl out the window!!
Luckily we got the cat to a safe home and this lady!
The whole ward had lots of fun stories about going to
Palmira NY last week. One of my recent converts was able to go and it was
really cool to hear that he had seen the first book of Mormon, the Sacred Grove,
Hill Comorah and all the cool things of when the church was first restored. He
also got to go to the temple for the first time and had a really awesome time!
I imagine that place is really spirit filled and helps you gain a stronger
testimony. I got to go on splits again this week with the Sister Training
leaders in Gatineau Quebec and try to speak French. It was a really fun day
because we helped a less active and non-member move. We had great interaction
with them and it was one good work out going down three flights of stairs with
couches, cupboards, and tables! We got a flat tire some how on the sisters car
this week and I had to search my brain for all the times I sat on the side of
the road just watching my dad change the tire instead of helping. Some how with
Gods help he managed to get all four sister missionaries to be able to change a
tire!
I believe the coolest thing that happened this week was Saturday
and Sunday was a Canada wide stake conference broadcast which was broadcast
from Salt Lake City, Utah. We were able to listen to Elder Holland, Elder Eyring,
Linda K. Burton, and a member of the seventy it was so cool getting to here
them talk directly to the saints in Canada! Some of my favorite parts were from
Elder Holland’s talk on Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his unfailing help.
Having this great knowledge of our savior can help us help other
people! We can find the most joy when we are serving other people. Elder
Holland stated, "No matter where we are in life young or old: Come unto
him." Jesus wants us to follow him! By following him our sorrows and pains
can be lifted from us. He says "the church is not a museum to show off
perfect people, but like a hospital where you can come and get well." We
can help people that are suffering from spiritual sicknesses. We can heal those
old wounds and build their testimony's back up.
I am so thankful for this gospel and the chance I have to share
it. I have never been so happy then I am now helping other people with their
pains. Forget yourself and think of others and I promise you will find yourself
happier then ever! I hope you all have a great start to your summer!
-Sister Dick
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