Week 28: Every Kind of Bug

February 22, 2016

Hello wonderfuls!!! It is such a happy time when I get to email all of you brilliant Children of God each week. This week was pretty interesting! On Tuesday, we had P-day, and went back to that Swinging Bridge Hike that we went on a month or so ago, but this time we went on another hike, called Kootenai Falls. We took some really amazing pictures, AND!!! I SKIPPED ROCKS FOR THE FIRST TIME!! It was so exciting!! I've never actually been able to skip a rock successfully, so it was a wonderful day. It's the small victories, friends, I'll tell ya. :)

Well, Tuesday night we were having an impromptu lesson with Amie, our Recent Convert, at the church. She wanted to talk and just be in the church to feel the powerful spirit here, and our appointment cancelled (not a coincidence, I'll tell ya), and so we met up and had a lesson. Well, part way through, we hear this doorbell at the church ring.. We get up, go look outside and there are these two young men standing there. Confused, but not scared, we opened the door and they proceeded to tell us all about how their friend was in danger and they knew that they could come to the church for help because "your church helps people." We were able to get them in contact with the Bishop, he was able to help them, and all was well. It was such a tender experience that we "just so happened" to be in the right place at the right time so that we could help them out. I love how even people who are not members of the church can feel the Spirit and know that this Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is different. That we truly are a safe haven from the world and that any one, member or not, can come here and find respite and renewal from this increasingly wicked world. It was such a tender experience that even though to us, at first it seemed like our plans were interrupted, this was exactly what Heavenly Father and Christ had in store for us to do. What a blessing to be able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands - even for the little things!

Well, spring is upon us, my friends!! YES!! It's such a blessing. But, with some blessings, such as happy spring weather, come bugs... of all kinds. YAY! (that was a sarcastic yay..) :) Anyway, there have been not only real big bugs everywhere up here in Bonners Ferry, but also, other types of bugs, like the flu bug! Yours truly (that would be me, Sister Griffith) has been the wonderful recipient of this bug this week. What a joy. That's okay. I rested yesterday, reluctantly because I really just wanted to do missionary work, and am feeling somewhat better today, so that's good! :) I only got to attend Sacrament Meeting yesterday too, because of it, so that was sad, but it's okay. It's all up from here, right?

There has been some opposition this week, but it is also a blessing. I am reminded of part of one of my favorite talks, "Trust in the Lord" by Richard G. Scott (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1995/10/trust-in-the-lord?lang=eng). My favorite part of this talk, perhaps, is this line. "Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."  I love that so much!! How true it is today and forever. Sometimes we have trials in this life. When they're not a result of our disobedience, they are evidences that the Lord sees that we are prepared to grow more. How wonderful of a promise is that!? He loves us. He wants us to be happy, but this life isn't just about joy, it's about growth. The growth that we experience sometimes comes in joyful moments, but I have seen a lot in my young life so far how a lot of times, that growth comes with "growing pains." 

After our District Meeting this week, we went out to lunch as a District, and when we were paying at the end, Sister Rogers and I recognized a man that we had met earlier in the week buying some soup. He had even brought his own container, and requested some some soup. The lady at the counter, unfamiliar with his situation, told him that she didn't think that she could sell him the soup separately. He, in a desperate tone, said politely, "Please ma'am. I've done this before. I just need this soup for my wife. She has cancer, and she really enjoys this soup. Please." My heart went out to this wonderful Son of God. He was doing everything in his power to bless another, but circumstances beyond his control were keeping him from doing so. Well, to skip to the end of the story, this wonderful man got his soup for his wife, we were able to say hi to him, and we all went on our way. Why do I bring up this story? Well, one reason is that it goes along well with that quote. Sometimes, things happen that are contrary to our will, despite our own best efforts. When these things happen, it can be easy to get down, discouraged, and wonder when everything is going to change. We may have cause to cry out, "Why!? Why when I've tried so hard to be good, why has this happened to me?!?" Well, friends, maybe we don't know why, but we can put our never-ending trust in a Father in Heaven who loves us perfectly and in the enabling and strengthening power of His perfect Son's infinite Atoning sacrifice for us in the Garden and on the cross. When times come that try our faith, when we feel hopeless, when we each experience bugs of all kinds, turn to a Heavenly Father who knows and loves you perfectly. Kneel down, pour out your heart to Him, and then listen. He will tell you what you need to do. Pray that your relationship with Him will be strengthened amidst every difficulty, and then go forward, reading your scriptures, praying, attending church, and continually turn Heavenward, and everything will work out for your good - you too, like this sweet man in the restaurant, will be able to get soup (or every righteous desire of your heart) as you put your trust in Him who can see it all.

Well, it wasn't my intention to just write this this week, but I think I was supposed to for some reason. I love you all and am so grateful I am able to learn and grow on this mission in Bonners Ferry, and throughout life. I hope that you all have a glorious week and know that you are loved, by so many (myself included. :))

-My District at Kootenai Falls last P-Day.. SO PRETTY!!!

-Me at Kootenai Falls. This place is seriously SOOOO majestic. LOVE IT! :) 

-There's a street here named Cougar St!! Oh yeah! BYU!! :) It made me all giddy inside, so I had to take a picture, of course. :) 

-This Tom Turkey (I didn't even know that was a thing until this week) at this person's house that we met this week. They were awesome people, and so was this big guy - His name is Nikolai. :)

--

"God be with you 'till we meet again!"

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 27: All the Moosen (I know that's not the plural for Moose, but it sounds cool and makes me smile, so..)

February 16, 2016

SO... First of all, I hope that you all had a phenomenal Valentines Day and President's Day. Holidays as a missionary are SUPER different, but there's nothing like celebrating by going out and talking to everyone we can see about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which will ultimately help them, if they choose to accept it, feel greater love, peace, and joy than all of the boxes of chocolate, hearts decorated on their doors, and roses that they could ever get. 

Well, this week wasn't SUPER eventful, so this, in theory won't be very long, but you know how much I love to elaborate on all of the super, unimportant details, so... it's all relative. :)

We had transfers this week, and it was super weird to not be getting a new companion or going to a new area... so strange! It's my first time in 6 months (THAT'S RIGHT - 6!!!!!! I reached my 6 month mark this week, how crazy is that!? I feel like just yesterday I was saying farewell to my mom and dad at the MTC - crazy business how fast time flies) having everything (companion and area) stay the same for longer than 6 weeks. SO COOL! I am so excited to be staying in Bonners Ferry with Sister Rogers for the next 7 weeks. What an amazing blessing this life is, I'll tell ya. 

This week we went to go visit a Less-Active, Part-Member, family, and one of their kids asked if she could say the prayer before we left, and we of course thought that was an awesome idea, so we said she could. She jumps up off of the couch, goes and runs into the kitchen and comes back with one of those decorated plates with a prayer on it and proceeds to pray something to the effect of, "Dear Lord, thank you for dirty dishes that fill my sink. It means that we have food to fill our plates while many don't have anything to eat. Amen." It was a pretty interesting situation and super cute that this 9-yr-old girl wanted so much to say the prayer, but we were sad because she really doesn't know how to pray but wanted to because she knows how important it is. That experience taught me so much about the importance of teaching people about the gospel and about how each person has an inherit desire to learn and know truth, whether they know they do or not. It just fueled my fire desire to want to get out there and spread this glorious gospel knowledge to everyone that will listen!

Something else (MILESTONE!!) that happened this week was that I saw 3 (that's right, count them) 1... 2... 3...!!!!! MOOSE! They weren't even fake ones on people's welcome signs! THEY. WERE. REAL. LIFE. MOOSE!! I have attached a picture of one that was literally 20 feet from us for your viewing pleasure. Anyway, the first one that we saw was on our way home from interviews with the Mission President and his wife on Wednesday. Sister Rogers and I were almost home, just driving up the highway, and I commented, "Man, I can't believe that we haven't seen a Moose yet! I bet we'll see one sometime within the next 7 weeks. If not, I'm going to be super disappointed." Then, almost instantly, what do I see on the side of the HIGHWAY, just munching on some leaves..? A MOOSE!! WHAT!? IS THIS EVEN REAL LIFE!? Why, yes friends, it is. That Moose wasn't a figment of my imagination, AND to make it even better, we saw 2 more, just this week. I'm pretty sure they're coming out of hiding. So happy!! :) 

Another really amazing thing that happened this week was that we were going to visit one of our investigators, Kelly.  She has just blown us off for the last month and a half or so, and that has been really difficult. We went today with the intention of seeing if she even wanted to investigate anymore, and to drop her if we needed to. Well, to our utter shock and amazement and gratitude from the Lord, she was home, opened the door, DIDN'T blow us off, and we were able to teach her a more focused version of the Restoration based on what she really needed to hear. She opened up to us about some things that were going on in her life, we told her that we would keep her in our prayers, and testified to her that this is what she needs in her life. That the message that we share will improve her life so much, more than any other thing, and bring her more happiness than she has ever experienced. We testified to her that we know this message is true, and that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want her to be happy. When we were leaving, she told us that "I wasn't even going to open the door today, but I'm glad I did. Can I give you two girls a hug?" We hugged her, said a prayer with her, scheduled a return appointment for next week, and went on our way with smiles on our faces and in our hearts for the tender mercies of the Lord.

Ahh, missionary work just warms my heart!! Doesn't it warm yours? Well, friends, that's about all the update I have for you other than also, I cut my own bangs this week because they were getting SUPER long.. we're talking Rapunzel status here......... (not really. That would be intense.).. so that was an adventure. ANYWAY, to end on a more spiritual note, I had the privilege of watching a broadcast from Salt Lake City this week, and we were blessed enough to be able to hear from some really inspired and wonderful servants of the Lord. One in particular, one of the new apostles, Elder Renlund spoke about talking with people when we are asked questions about the gospel, to refer quickly to the restoration and of the fact that we don't do the things that make us "strange" in the world's eyes because they're healthier, or just as a social thing, but rather, we do them because that is what has been revealed to us by a loving Heavenly Father to His Prophet. What a glorious message the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. This life is amazing! :) 

Well, friends and family and loved ones, have a glorious week and know that you are loved! :) 

-Moosen

-Bonners Ferry. I never tire of this beautiful place! :)

--

"God be with you 'till we meet again!"

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 26: "What Are You Gals Preaching Today?"

February 8, 2016

^^^ Someone asked us that this week, which I couldn't help but laugh about.. haha, he said it like we change what we're preaching every day or something like that.. haha, nope.. we preach the same thing, the glorious news of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That's all we preach. There's not some half-priced special if we knock on your door on Friday or something like that. :) 

ANYWAY... HELLO BEAUTIFUL FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!! :) It's that time of the week again, where I get to write all of you lovelies! The biggest news I have to impart this week is about Transfers... 

Survey says????

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Sister Rogers and I are BOTH STAYING in Bonners Ferry for the next 7 weeks!!!!!! OH YEAH!! This is seriously the best option!.. I am so excited that I get to stay in Bonners Ferry to see these beautiful Children of God progress more AND it's just another tender mercy that I get to stick around to see Bonners Ferry and these beautiful people in the prettiest time to be in Bonners Ferry all year round.. the Spring! :)  Heavenly Father is so good to His children. :) ... ALSO, this will be my first experience having the same companion for more than one transfer, so that's exciting!!

So, about this week, eh? We spent a lot of time this week just trying to find more people that are interested in learning more about the church, and we fasted as a mission yesterday to be able to find the elect that are prepared. So, although we didn't find anyone this week, I have confidence that amazing miracles are just around the corner. :) Something funny that happened this week was that we were going to visit someone who had been taught the gospel in the past, and we go up to his door and he had seen us coming (in the middle of nowhere at night.. not creepy at all...), so he cracked his door open. We walk up, knock on the door, he says to come in, and there's these two life-size dolls sitting on his couch and a bunch of porcelain masks on his walls.......... haha, I literally thought I had just stepped into a horror movie.... That was fun, for sure. Oh, the adventures of being a missionary. He  was a super nice man though, and interested in learning more about the gospel, so that's awesome!!! :) 

We also met with Kymm a lot this week. We did service for her again at her house which I don't think will ever be done being remodeled.. poor lady. Every time she fixes something, another thing breaks. But, we just keep trying to help wherever we can, and trying to teach her the Gospel, because we know that will help her the most of all through everything she is experiencing right now. :) Also, this week I was studying a lot about hope in my personal study. There is this amazing scripture: Romans 4:18 that says, "Who against hope believed in hope." How profound is that? Many things we have to each experience in this life may diminish our hope, but that's when we need to have hope the most. Even when everything around is yelling in your ear, "JUST GIVE UP NOW! LOSE HOPE!".. still being able to believe in hope? How amazing is that? Just a thought. :) 

We visited a Less-Active member this week who gave us a really cool analogy about the Godhead. She was telling us that, "See that lamp over there? If I turn off all the lights, put a flame in that lamp, and sit here and watch it, I see three levels of light... one is small, central and has one color, then there's one right above that that's a little bigger, and another one that encompasses most of the flame. Those are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They are three different colors of flame (3 different beings), but one in purpose, to bring light unto all that are in the house (or the gospel)." How wonderful is that? It was a really neat experience. She also said, we shouldn't go around telling people, well... "I love you if...." we should tell them, "I love you. (period)" How awesome is that? This wonderful daughter of God is so inspired, I'll tell you. I am so lucky to be a missionary and to be able to experience so many things and the love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for everyone. What a beautiful life it is, indeed.

We had a Zone Training this week that focused a lot about having more gospel-centered homes and focusing more on sharing the gospel in our homes. One talk that we read is called "Creating a Gospel-Sharing Home" (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/creating-a-gospel-sharing-home?lang=eng). I would invite you all to read that this week. I know that if we focus more on having the gospel in our homes and letting others to feel of the peace and spirit that the gospel brings into our lives, they too will have a desire, someday, if not now, to have that same peace, happiness, and eternal joy in their lives too! Then, I was reading about the importance of family this morning and was reading a talk called "The Importance of Family" and this quote by Brigham Young just touched me so much. I thought I would share it with all of you.

“President Brigham Young explained that our families are not yet ours. The Lord has committed them to us to see how we will treat them. Only if we are faithful will they be given to us forever. What we do on earth determines whether or not we will be worthy to become heavenly parents.”

How profound is that? Only if we are faithful can we have a forever family. For those who know all that being faithful entails, that is a great motivator to try to do and be the best we can. For those who don't know, that's why missionaries and members are all throughout the world trying to create greater gospel-sharing homes and lives. Everyone deserves to have a forever family and to know the joy that the gospel brings. What a blessing it is to be a full-time missionary being able to spread this Glorious, Eternity changing news to all that will listen.

I love you all. Have a wonderful week! :) <3

-How to know that you're a missionary when.... This isn't my car, but it's wonderful, none-the-less..

-After exchanges this week.. The other sisters in our zone + Sister Rogers and me! :) 

-Beautiful Bonners Ferry

-- 

"God be with you 'till we meet again!"

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 25: The Day My Jaw Dropped

February 1, 2016

Well, only about 10 minutes to write, yet again... I promise, sometime I will be better... but, until that time, I hope you all had a wonderful week and here is what's happening in the life of Sister Griffith:

This week was definitely delicious on Monday as we had some literally authentic Honduran food from one of our members from Honduras. It was so delicious and made me feel like I was serving somewhere other than Bonners Ferry, Idaho for a second. It was so yummy!! haha, anyway....

This week proved to be interesting as a lot of people we tried in the last couple of days have either not been home, been really unpleasant to us, or have just been a bunch of uninterested, but still wonderful, Children of God. BUT, earlier this week, we went out and contacted a bunch of people in our area book and it was like a Tuesday at like 2:30 or something like that and EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. WE. CONTACTED. WAS. HOME!!  How awesome is that? What are the odds of that happening? Not very great, unless if Heavenly Father wants it to happen, then by golly, it will! :) We were blessed to be able to find a new investigator, Clark, and also to set up a lot of return appointments for this week with all of those people.. what a blessing!!! :) We also contacted this 94 yr-old lady, Maxiene. She couldn't hear.. like, at all... So she plugged in this device and put it on her table and told us to speak into it. It was quite the peculiar sight for us to yell into this box on her table and not actually be able to look at her when we talked, but she was a pleasant lady... uninterested, but pleasant. :) 

Wednesday proved to be the beginning of a miraculous chain of events. Something really spiritual that happened this week was that I finally got to meet one of our Investigators, David, after 5 weeks in Bonners Ferry. We were eating dinner with his wife and before we had gone, she had told us he wouldn't be home from work yet so we wouldn't be able to have a lesson with him. WELL, Sister Rogers and I both felt like he was going to show up, so we went to dinner, and sure enough, about 10 minutes after we get there, who should walk in but David himself!!! It. Was. Awesome! We were able to have a wonderful lesson with him and he said that he has been reading about Howard W Hunter in the manual for this year, and that he has been reading The Book of Mormon and that he believes absolutely everything he has read so far. He told us that he had a dream about Joseph Smith and that he couldn't tell us much about it because it was really sacred, but that he knows there's something special about him. He had that dream after praying about if Joseph Smith is a Prophet or not, but even after that, he said he didn't understand why he needed to be baptized again (even after we explained Priesthood authority and everything to him). He was in the ministry for 25 years, so he has a lot of knowledge and is a super spiritual guy, and feels as though he has proceeded past the covenant of baptism and should be able to do something more. Anyway... so, regardless of all of that, we felt prompted to ask him about whether it was right to be baptized again or not, and whether this is the only true church on the earth, and he said, "well, the last thing that you asked me to pray about worked so well, I will accept the invitation and pray about this too." THEN, the most amazing thing happened. He had never been to church before (that's the reason he got out of the ministry - because he believes that organized religions are all corrupt), but yesterday at church we were greeting people and someone comes up and slugs me on the arm.  Confused, I look over, and who is it? David himself, right there, in the flesh, at church! MY JAW PROBABLY LITERALLY HIT THE FLOOR I WAS SO SHOCKED! I don't think anything could have wiped the smile off of my face yesterday. Throughout the meetings, he had a smile on his face the entire time. WHAT A MIRACLE!! Missionary work is just the best! Also, our Recent Convert that went to the temple last week, Amie, gave her first talk in Sacrament meeting and was totally inspired. She spoke exactly on what both David and Kymm needed to hear and it was so amazing. She said she had planned to talk about something else, but changed last minute. The Spirit is so cool. Heavenly Father is so aware of His Children.! :) 

HOW AMAZING IS THAT STORY!? True fact my friends.. those things really did happen, and it was wonderful!!! I am so excited to see him progress more this week and in the months to come! He is seriously soooo cool, and he does art, so I feel as though we are kindred spirits, in a sense. :) 

On Thursday Sister Rogers and I traveled down to Coeur d' Alene for me to go to the Doctor.. yet again. Man, I'll tell ya, some people's Sister Missionaries getting sick so much....... Well, really it's only been like one, long, drawn out, sinus infection, but.. it's all relative. The whole experience proved to be a testimony builder. :) I have learned a lot this week about how much our Heavenly Father loves us and cares for us and how he truly stands ready at any time of the day or night to hear our prayers. I have been sick with a sinus infection for mostly my entire mission, went to the Dr and got antibiotics twice, and it finally went away, but this pressure that I have had in my throat has never gone... It has gotten pretty annoying, and the 2nd Dr that I went to was really worried about it, so he sent me to an ENT. The night before going, I asked the Elders to give me a Priesthood blessing and in the blessing, Heavenly Father said that the Dr's would be able to find out what's wrong and that I would be grateful for modern medicine that makes it possible for us to heal. Talk about a blessing of comfort right there! What an amazing gift the Priesthood is. So, I went to the Dr and she found out that I have something called Laryngopharyngeal Reflux. Basically that just means that the acids in my stomach are coming up and burning my voice box and throat and esophagus, so... that's fun. Anyway, I've got to be on medicine for a pretty long time, but I am sooooo grateful that the have finally figured it out so that I don't have to keep going to these Dr's. Also, I am go grateful for that Priesthood blessing from my Heavenly Father and the direct fulfillment I was able to have my testimony strengthened by! What a tender mercy! :)

Anyway, this week truly has been a wonderful time. I am so lucky to be serving a mission right now and for all of the amazing, once-in-a-lifetime, things I am able to experience out here serving the Lord. The church is true! Have a wonderful week, everyone. Love you all! :) 

Oh! Transfer calls are next week.... (ALREADY!? where did the time go? I have no idea). Will I stay or will I go? (Hopefully stay seeing as I just got here and this work in Bonners Ferry is the BEST). Stay tuned! :) 

-This really funny sign in a trailer park we went to this week. :) 

-The one in the back is OUR NEW TRUCK!!!! Our Jeep reached 50000 miles this week, so we got to trade it in. Now our whole district has trucks and it's soooo much better in the snow!

-Majestic Bonners Ferry.. yet again. I never get tired of this place. The weather this week has been real gloomy, but it has its moments of clearing. :) 

-This drawing one of the members in our wards' daughter drew of me... I was reenacting it in this picture. So prime. hahhahaha, I laughed forever. Kids are cute. 

-- 

"God be with you 'till we meet again!"

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 24: Warmth After a Week in the Frozen Tundra

January 25, 2016

Well darling friends and family, it's about that time again... Another week has flown by. I seriously don't know how time manages to move so quickly, and yet the days seem so long, on a mission. It still baffles my mind, to this day. Oh well, somethings we just don't need to know, right? ;)

Anyway, so.. Updates: -We still haven't been able to find Baxter... we were down in the basement this week because our hot water heater broke............... so..... but, we couldn't find him. Oh well. That sneaky frog. :) So, about that hot water heater. We're not sure what happened, and we didn't even notice it for a few days or so, but basically this whole last like 2 weeks we haven't had any hot water. Well, like 20 seconds before it turns ice cold, so that has been fun. I got a super teeny-tiny taste of what the Pioneers must have felt like out in that frozen tundra. But, alas, we were so lucky that it was only like a week and a half ish and not months upon months of trudging in the ice. We have hot water again, and I have never been so grateful. (insert rejoicing here!!!!!)

So, this week we dug a trench in the snow for our investigator Kymm... that was quite the experience. Well, it wasn't really a trench, just a square box thing that needed to be deeper so that her platform on her back deck could be where it was supposed to be, or something like that. Confusing? Definitely. All is well though. We had a fun time talking about the gospel and helping her progress more towards being baptized on February 20th like she has planned. Who knew there would be so much manual labor on missions. I'll tell you - I learn so much every day, it's so amazing. I am so grateful to be serving a mission and having the opportunity to learn so many life skills in such a controlled environment. We also went to a member's house for dinner on Monday night who lives in one of the oldest houses in Bonners Ferry - on the records since 1900. He said that the house didn't have a basement when they moved in, so he dug around the foundation and built the basement with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. How inspiring is that? It was such a testament to me that trying to secure a foundation, or make alterations after something is built is so much harder than if they would have done it when building the house in the first place. That's kind of like us. If we spend the time now making sure our Spiritual foundations are secure - with MUCH prayer, scripture study, and church and temple attendance, we will be so much better off in the long run and won't have to dig it all up later to add something else. Just a thought. :) 

Last week we went to Sandpoint and went around the shops for P-Day after emailing.. that was a lot of fun. Everything here really is right out of a Hallmark movie - it never ceases to warm my heart. On Wednesday there was a worldwide missionary broadcast. It was amazing! We watched it as a Zone in Sandpoint. It was so cool to be able to just feel the strength of so many thousands (75,000) missionaries all around the world watching and listening to the counsel of church leaders on how we can be better missionaries! Something that I gained from this Broadcast is just the importance of teaching simply and by the spirit. It is so important. As a missionary, I am not the teacher. The teacher is the Spirit. We are just the instruments that make it possible for the teacher to teach. What a blessing it is to be an instrument. 

Thursday was fun! It was my first time on my mission having a phone lesson. It was snowing and not safe to drive to Kymm's house, so we had a lesson with her over the phone. Technology is so cool!!! It's so awesome that we were able to teach the gospel over the phone, being miles away from each other, and still being able to feel the spirit in such rich abundance. Something else that was funny this week (there are a lot of less than ideal things that missionary life lets you experience, but a lot of the time I just try and laugh at those moments) was that we were going to contact our investigators and the man that owns their house answers the door and says that they aren't home right now and to come back at 5 or 6. One of the kids, Brandon, is like... "Umm... Remember, we're going to be gone then....." and this guy is like, "Shhhh!!!" Haha, like we weren't going to hear them or something. It's so funny how people are. I think sometimes they think that we are just stupid teenage girls who don't know how to use our powers of deductive reasoning. So funny. Someday we will teach them, and it will be wonderful. :) 

Something that was really amazing that happened this week was that we got to travel down to Spokane to go to the temple with one of our Recent Converts, Amie. She went for the first time and it was such a wonderful experience. Also, this week, we were struggling a lot.. not having very many lessons, not finding a lot of new investigators, just an overall hard time, but then... YESTERDAY, like 2 hours before we had to be in for the night, we found 3 new investigators (a FAMILY!!!) and were able to teach them a lesson and the spirit was SO STRONG! It was so powerful and Sister Rogers and I left there so grateful that the Spirit was present and that we were able to be the instruments in the Lord's hands to bless His children. We are so excited to keep meeting with the Stone family and to see them progress. I know that our spiritual, or maybe even sometimes physical, weeks, get tough. But, I also know that Enduring to the End is the last principle in the Doctrine of Christ for a reason. If we will continually have faith, repent, remember the covenants we made at baptism, try our best to always follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and Endure to the End (that spiritual Sunday night that we all reach at one point or another), that the Lord will bless us spiritually with those 3 new investigators (whatever those may be for you in your lives- spiritually). I know that our Father in Heaven loves us. He wants us to pray to Him and ask for the things we need and to thank Him for every good gift that He has given us, and like any good parent, will reward us openly as we continually put forth our best efforts. 

Well friends, I hope that you all have a wonderful week! The church is true. Heavenly Father is mindful of us and wants us to succeed. Love you all! :) 

-Sister Rogers and I with the "tree of life" in Sandpoint. :) 

-Our creepy basement.. it's literally super creepy down there... you can kind of see our leak from the hot water heater.. it was everywhere.

-Sister Ungricht (the Sister Training Leader) and I on exchanges. It was such a happy day! :) 

-At the Temple with Amie. Look strange? That's because someone broke into the temple this week.. What the what!? Crazy life. 

-- 

"God be with you 'till we meet again!"

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 23: Baxter Living in Our Basement

January 19, 2016

Well, I can hardly believe that it is P-day yet again! But, alas, here it is.. so, here is another update! :)

On Monday this week, we drove to MONTANA (I put that in all caps because I've never been there before last Monday, so I thought it was pretty awesome! :) ) We met up as a District (2 of the Elders in our District serve in Troy and Libby Montana) and then went on this SUPER COOL HIKE called Swinging Bridge. I've never been on a hike in the snow... it was pretty interesting.. let's just say we took it slow, but it was such a cool experience. I've attached a picture of the scenery because it is seriously so breathtaking. I am so spoiled to be able to serve here in this truly magnificent area right now! 

Tuesday proved to be a wonderful day, AND I officially hit my 5 month mark as a missionary. How is that even possible? I feel like just yesterday I was getting my tag in the MTC. It's crazy how fast time flies, and that in just a short month I will have completed a whole entire third of my mission.. Wow. Remember a couple of weeks ago when I was telling you about tracting those indoor apartments? Well, that day we had met a man named Eddy who said he wasn't interested at all in the Church, but that his wife might be. So, we went back on Tuesday to see if she was home so we could talk to her, and we saw this lady doing a puzzle outside. She was doing a puzzle with Native Americans on it, and so, we were just talking to her about the Restoration and when we got to the part where we talk about the Book of Mormon, we were testifying of how Jesus Christ visited the people in the Ancient Americas (pointing to the puzzle, "those people"), and the spirit was so strong when we told her about that and about how He taught those wonderful people His gospel so long ago and how that same gospel is here on the earth today. She was interested in learning more, and you want to know the best part? That lady just so happened to be Eddy's wife, the one we had come to see in the first place. Aren't the Tender Mercies of the Lord just amazing? He seriously loves His children so much. I am so grateful that I get to catch a small glimpse of that love here on my mission. :) Tuesday night I got to go on Splits for the first time (where my companion and I split up and go out to teach with 2 other sisters in the ward so that we can visit twice the amount of people in one time). It was such a wonderful experience, and the spirit was so strong as the sister I was teaching with was able to bare her testimony of the power of CPR (Church, Prayer, Reading (the scriptures)). This life is so amazing, no doubt about it.. I am so blessed!

Wednesday morning after studies proved to be an interesting experience. We were closing our studies with a prayer and getting ready to go out and work when I hear this loud, deep, "RIBBIT! RIBBIT! RIBBIT!" Confused, I turn to Sister Rogers and ask... what is that? (Obviously I knew it was a frog, but I didn't know where it was coming from..) She turned to me and said, "It's the frog in our basement. We have tried to find him and we can't. I just assumed he died, but apparently not." So, that was super funny. We named him Baxter. How funny is that? Who would have thought we would have a frog in our basement. Oh, the experiences of missionary life.. never a dull moment. We also took Amie (a girl in our ward who was recently baptized) to a lesson with us with a member who is less-active. We walked in and he gets on his bookshelf and dusts off his old scriptures and says, "these are yours now. they were given to me when I was baptized." that was such a tender moment. Amie was so excited and the spirit was so strong. Do we each cherish our scriptures and see them as such great worth like Amie did when she received that gift - her very first own set of scriptures? Such a wonderful moment. 

Thursday was a really neat day. We had a Zone Conference in Sandpoint, and we learned a lot about how to be better missionaries. I was asked to put together a musical number for it, so me, sister Rogers, and another sister and two elders sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" I love the power of that song. It is true. Joseph Smith really did kneel in a grove of trees and see God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ. What remarkable and eternity-changing knowledge that is. Our mission President also invited the ward missionaries, ward mission leader, and bishops and other leaders to the end of our conference so that we could all talk about missionary work and how members and missionaries can work better together to further this great work in this part of the Lord's Vineyard. What another testament to me of the power that comes when members of the church and missionaries unite to bring more children of God closer to Him and His perfect Son, Jesus Christ. 

Well, the rest of the week was good too. We had a snow day and couldn't drive except in town, so we updated some records and had a few appointments. We taught this beautiful little 9-year-old, Tamica. She knew so much about the Plan of Salvation (where we came from before this life, why we are here, and where we will go after we die) and she was so cute! She knew all of the answers, in depth, and knew all about her purpose here on this earth. She taught me so much about how this life is a test and how we need to be happy in this life and try our best to love others. At the end of our lesson, we gave her a Book of Mormon and she almost jumped out of her seat. She said, "THIS IS FOR ME!?" We said yes and she said, "How many pages does it have?" We told her it had "531" and she said, "OH GOOD! Then it will keep me reading for a while. THANK YOU!" It was the cutest thing. Yet again, do we treasure the scriptures like this? What a tender moment. :) 

The most amazing thing I learned this week was in my personal study. I was reading a talk my Kevin W. Pearson of the Seventy - "Stay by the Tree" (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/stay-by-the-tree?lang=eng). This is what I learned about the tree of life. We know that the tree of life represents the love of God, but what does that mean? I have wondered that my whole life... and this week it finally clicked while reading this talk. What is the greatest evidence of God's love for us? His son, Jesus Christ! The Tree of Life is Christ.. and the fruit? His Atonement. When we are asking people to partake of the fruit, we are asking them to partake of the Atonement, which is the sweetest taste above all other fruit. How amazing is that!? I love the teachings of the Holy Ghost. Isn't that amazing? I bet a lot of you have already figured that out, but I hadn't before a few days ago, so I thought I would share it with you. 

Well friends and family, I love you all. My time is up, but just know that you are loved by a perfect Heavenly Father and that He knows you so perfectly and loves you so much that He sent His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to live and to die for you because He wants you to have the way that you can get back to Him because He wants you back so much. Hold on to eternity when times get tough. Love you! :)

-Sister Rogers and Me at the Swinging Bridge Hike

-Swinging Bridge - it literally swings. It was crazy, but so awesome!! We walked across it and it was probably one of the top 10 prettiest places I've seen in my whole life.

-So many Elk. Literally, they just roam freely here.. so cool!

-A cross stitch of Christ (SO COOL) that a member brought home from their mission to the Philippines.

-- 

"God be with you 'till we meet again!"

Hurrah for Israel!

  

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith