Another Soul Saved

So this week we had the amazing opportunity to have a baptism.  It was super special to me because the girl was 17 and none of her family are members - just like me!  It was just such a nice baptism because she had a ton of support and was just so excited to get baptized.   

The lesson I learned with the baptism was that nothing can go perfect - the day of the baptism everything was going nice and smooth, but then we had 2 issues   #1 was that the font was not plugged up so I had to get a little wet to plug it up and then #2 was that the font almost overflowed - we got a little excited to take pictures and forgot to turn off the font. O well, it just shows that we are human doing the work of the Lord

Also during the week we did bike.  We were so excited and happy before but then after we were dead and so tired (I think part of the issue was that we had to go super fast for one part because there was no bike lane and people were getting mad at us - which stressed me out A LOT!)   But we survived and now have a plan of how to take more back roads to avoid angry cars.

We also got the kinda sad news that one of the girls in our ward who has her mission call has decided to get married instead.  It really broke our hearts.   Mostly because I know how much my mission has meant to me and I would never trade it for anything.  I am so incredibly grateful for all the things I have learned and all the ways I have grown.  I just couldn’t imagine choosing a boy over this.  It may be right for her but for me a mission is way better!

Other excitement came Saturday night around 10:00 when we had an earthquake!  I know an earthquake in Arizona!   Weird.  It was about a 5.0 in Duncan which is the AZ NM  border and so when we heard where it was from we got a bit scared since we both served out there but everyone was ok out there.   Also we were just fine out here - just a little shaken up in more than one way.

Hermana Grove

Baptism

Before biking

After Biking...

So This is Tucson

So this week was HOT!   Which yep, is Tucson.   But we had a ton of fun getting to see people.   We even got to climb on top of our Bishop's roof to see the sunset.    We had a lot of success getting to see people and help them feel loved.

It was super sad though to have our zone conference with President Killpack since it was his goodbye time.  Here are all the things he learned in his mission that he wanted us all to know:

LESSONS I’VE LEARNED AS A MISSION PRESIDENT

- Your Purpose is to bring souls unto Christ.

- Investigators, LA, RC, active members, companions, fellow missionaries = ALL

- You should always carry a Book of Mormon - It is your sickle.

- Read the Book of Mormon with those you teach

- Teach people that the way to know the truth of all things (Church, Joseph Smith, modern prophets, etc…) is to read the Book of Mormon and ask God if it is true.

- Your investigators will progress faster if they know your purpose AND their expectations

- You cannot socialize someone into the Church and have them stay.

- Build relationships with members by serving them and working with ward leadership.

- Help ward leaders with retention and activation.

- Member trust is achieved by members seeing you being a missionary, not by being their friend.

- Daily nourish your investigators and your WML.

- Have a member at every lesson possible.

- Pray often every day for yourself and for others.

- Rely on the Spirit to show you where to go, what to do, and what to say.

- If you talk with a few people – you will baptize a few people.

- If you talk with a lot of people – you will baptize a lot of people

- If you talk with everyone possible – you will baptize everyone possible

- Teach when you find. Find when you teach.

- Plan every day. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

- Focus on Key indicators. They can raise your vision.

- Help everyone you teach to make commitments that will bring about faith & repentance.

- Be obedient

- Get out of bed at 6:30. 

- The morning schedule will make or break your mission.

- Music should invite the Spirit, not memories or thoughts of home.

- If you can’t sacrifice the little things, you’ll never be asked to sacrifice the big things.

- White handbook is a book blessings, not a load of restrictions

- You have rights and privileges

- It is privilege to:

Have and use a cell phone

Drive an automobile

Play sports on P-day

Have computer usage – including email

- You will answer to the Lord one day about how you used His financial resources

- It is a right to:

expect your companion to be obedient

expect your companion to keep the apartment clean

Have members expect you are a missionary who knows and understands their purpose

-  Your manners and behavior around others are an indication of the missionary and person you are.

-  The things you say about other people and missionaries are a reflection of your upbringing, your maturity and your testimony of the Savior.

-  Lock your heart. It may save your soul.

-  Your success as a missionary is measured by your commitment to be a missionary

-  Your commitment to be a missionary is measured by your work ethic and your obedience and not by the relative success of your area.

-  The attitude of work hard / play hard is false doctrine for a missionary. It should be work hard, play within the guidelines. 

-  A mission should not just change your behavior, it should change your nature.

-  You shouldn’t just go through your mission, your mission should go through you.

-  You WILL become what you want to be, by consistently being what you want to become.

We will all miss President Killpack so much  but I know President Passy will do great things with our mission!

Hermana Grove

We climbed on top of our Bishop's roof with his daughter to see the awesome sunset

All us sisters with our little remembrance squares for the Killpacks

Our Zone at zone conference this past week

I Don’t Know...

So honestly I really don't remember much of our week....   We went on an awful hike this morning (and I like hiking).   But it was 4 miles into a would be waterfall  but cuz it’s Tucson there is no water!   So then 4 miles out as it starts pushing 100  degrees.  Ya, bad idea.....   So my brain is really fried.  Miracle of today was finding Tylenol in my bag that I didn’t know I had in there.  I found it as my head was pounding and sang  "Yes I know Heavenly Father Loves me!"  It was real great.

O ya we got bikes this week - I'll let you all know how that goes next week.        We went to a park so I could practice getting on and off of it.....   real fun!     Ummm  yep, that’s about it.  Sorry no pictures today I forgot my cable....

Hermana Grove

I Love my Mission!

So this week was just soooooo amazing!    

On Tuesday we did this fun finding idea of leaving "love notes" on people’s cars in random parking lots.  So what we would do is write a cute quote like don't worry be happy and then our number and momrmon.org on the back.  It was so fun and so cute.  Unfortunately no one called us back.....   but that's ok cuz we had fun doing it.

Then later in the week we went around trying to meet more of our members and ran into this super duper less active family that at first told us to leave, but then because I was from L.A. we got to talking about California and how they had moved from there and they ended up letting us in to teach a lesson and want to take us out to lunch next week.  Miracle!

Next up was on Saturday I got to go on an exchange with one of my favorite sisters and we had a ton of fun!   We got to help with shoveling dirt for a member and it was so fun.  Then we just worked and worked and worked and didn't stop.  It was so great!

So Sunday in the 2nd hour of church one of the Elders' recent converts informed my companion that he has a crush on me....awkward!   I don't exactly know how to handle that.

Then also on Sunday I got to have a great talk with another recent convert.  Just convert to convert and it not only helped him out but me a ton.  He was feeling that he wasn't good enough because he hadn't been raised Mormon, much like I had felt before and it hit me in the middle of testifying to him that I am good enough and that it doesn't matter when someone found the church, it matters that they are there at that time and that they are utilizing Christ's atonement and how that is there for everyone!

So yep I’m loving my life here, even if it’s 111 degrees.

Hermana Grove

110 Jail Time!

So this week has been fun, in a funny twisted Tucson sort of way.  So it hit 110 this week, ya I’m not going to miss the summers here they kinda suck a lot!      And then our investigator, the one that picked his own date last week went to jail....  So I got to have a ton of fun calling the jail and calling around to anyone that might know about the jail. It’s just been so exciting..... and I never ever ever want to do it again!  But we also got to go to girls camp for a day and teach them about the Plan of Salvation it was super duper fun!  So yep that’s the week.

For my learning this week I have the goal from our mission president to read all of Preach my Gospel by the end of the month.  And so yesterday was Christlike attributes and I noticed it all starts with faith and prayer!  It’s really like what President Uchdorf said in one talk, that we just need to start where we are.

Hermana Grove

Gotta Love Tucson - preaching the gospel in the Ghetto!

Girls Camp!!!!!!!

This week's dog washing adventures!