Friday, February 3, 2017

Week 57 - Big changes and so much happiness!

This week was so good!  Our family home evening plans were cancelled, but that's ok! We got lots done during our last P-Day (preparation day) including shopping for sweaters and dancing on an empty bus! Good times! :)  

Tuesday we went to the countryside part of our area and visited with a cute grandma and her daughter.  They are so nice!  Nice enough to load up our bread slices with 3 TBS of butter each!  And sugar!  That's how they eat their bread here!  Some use less butter, though.  We also taught our fun investigator girl!  After the lesson, we had a party singing songs and laughing and eating Indian fry bread type bread!  

Wednesday was so fun! We taught an investigator and then went to institute with her.  She then had her baptismal interview and PASSED with flying colors!  She is so ready, and I'm so excited for her!  Watching her change has been such a fun experience!  She has gained such great faith and a love of her Savior.  It shows in her face.  

Thursday was English teaching day.  Nobody came, but I wrote a lot in my journal! :)  Then we taught our grandma investigator, and she had her final lesson before her baptismal interview this Saturday!  If you ever want to talk see someone making major changes in life, it's her!  She exudes light in her eyes.  She lives the Gospel and understands how happy it can make her.  She loves the Savior!  She knows Him.  And I'm so blessed to have been able to watch her grow since I met her this summer in Hovd.  

Friday we watched a new missionary broadcast!  There are some big changes in missionary work!  We have a lot more flexibility in our schedules and longer P days!  They will start at 8am and end at 6 pm.  We are so excited to have an extra 3 hours to get stuff done and rest on our P-Day!  It got me thinking about being a more effective missionary.  Something I loved from the broadcast was that we need to make our people and the Savior the center of our work.  We can't expect to think about ourselves and be effective missionaries.  I made a goal to start fewer sentences with the words "me" and "I".  I need to stop saying things like, "I'm not good enough" or "I said so many good things in that lesson!" and instead say more sentences like "Christ, through His love, helped me so much in that lesson!" and "The Holy Ghost will help me to say the right things, despite my imperfections."  That puts the focus where it should be and leaves a lot less room for doubt.  I am so grateful I could be a part of the big changes happening in missionary work!  I love them already!

On Saturday, we participated in a district meeting, and our grandma passed her interview!  She was in the interview for an hour, but she was just so excited to talk to the district leader about all that she learned since meeting with us!  She is so amazing!  Also, our 20 year old investigator got baptized!  What a happy day!  She was glowing, and so many people came to support her.  I felt overwhelming love for her and feel like we will be good friends for the rest of our lives! :)  At least, I sure hope so! :)  She is going to do amazing things with her life, and I'm excited to see her growth.  

Sunday we met with our grandma again and watched Finding Faith in Christ.  Then she bore her testimony.  She shared that she never imagined herself believing in God and Jesus Christ, but since she has gained faith in them, her life has changed for the better.  She feels better physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.  She is so excited and ready to be baptized this week!  I am thrilled for her! :) 

Last night we shared family home evening with a sweet family.  We shared testimonies, and the 6 year old boy shared his testimony with such firm faith and power.  I love hearing the testimonies of children.  They say everything just right – from the heart.  

I feel so blessed to be a part of this great work.  This is the Savior's work.  He is in charge and I feel so overwhelmed that He has allowed me to share His message of faith, hope, and joy.  I love the people here more than I knew I could love! :) 

I love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Bottorff 



Quiet time - walking down a country road...

Yes - you can eat dirt and worms here :)

Sweet, pure, and humble children - may we all be

A common P-Day activity - laundry!


 What else is there to say?

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