Week 46: The Power of the Priesthood

June 27, 2016

I don't remember all that happened this week and only have like 8 minutes to write, but I do have a few things I want to talk about! :)

#1.) On July 5th (right in time for my birthday - woot woot!!!) We will be getting a MINI MISSIONARY!!!! AHH!! I AM SO EXCITED!! So, basically there's some laurel/priest (16-18yr-old) youth in the region that want to serve missions, and so they get to be a mini missionary for like 6 days or something like that. :)... and we have been asked to be one of the companionships to have a mini missionary! So.. on the 5th we will pick her up, and she will be a missionary - living the mission life, living with us, teaching and studying with us, until July 10th.. How cool is that!?!?!? Basically I'm super excited.. so yeah. That will be fun! Also.. P-day next week is on the 5th too, because of Independence Day on the 4th, so that will be one busy day.. not sure when I'll have time to email, but it will eventually happen. :) 

ALSO, with that said, if I wait until next week to say this, it will be too late, so HAPPY 4th of July!! :) Independence is such a thing to celebrate, but it will be interesting to see what it's like as a missionary. 

The best thing that happened this week was actually just yesterday. Starting in our 2nd ward that we attend, I began to feel really ill - hot and cold spurts, aching pains, etc. At lunch, I took a nap, but that didn't really help much, and then during studies, I just kept getting worse. I prayed, and then we went out to work. After our dinner appointment, I was really feeling lousy, so we prayed as a companionship and Sister Flores suggested that I get a blessing. So, we called the Elders and they brought a member with them, and I was able to receive a blessing of healing... It was so interesting.. in the blessings I've had with healing in the past, the counsel from Heavenly Father has always been something like, "As you rest, you will be healed and be able to continue on.." or something similar. This time, however, the counsel was, "As you continue to work hard this evening, you will be blessed to be healed and find success." So... we went out and worked some more. My sickness didn't go completely away, but He never promised that it would.. We were, however, able to find great success and a miracle as we went and visited a Part-Member Family. The husband has met with 9 sets of missionaries in the past, but upon asking him, he told us that none of them have ever challenged him to be baptized. Well, we talked to him a little about the Priesthood authority in relation to the restoration, and expressed to him where we see this going - ultimately to baptism, and then to the Temple and to eternal life. We were both impressed to be bold with him, which was super out of character, but it was amazing. He accepted a return appointment, and the Spirit was strong. What would have happened if I would have just gone in to rest? I'm so grateful for the power of the Priesthood and how Heavenly Father so amazingly provides for His children. Always, without fail.

My testimony this week in the power of prayer has grown a lot. There proved to be some trying times this week - just like every week as a missionary- but it has been so cool to see the direct correlation between time spent as a missionary and personal growth. Before really spending time in the Gospel, I didn't really understand prayer or my relationship with God.. now, I know that He hears my prayers, and I know how to pray in a way that He can answer.. that only comes from Christ - whose Gospel it is. What an amazing gift it is in mortality to grow and learn.

Well, that's about it... I love you all so much and hope you have an incredible week!

-Not sure where this giant potato came from or what the story behind it is, but.. cool enough to take a picture? I think yes. :)

-Last picture with Sister Kitchen! Love and miss that Sister! I'll send pictures of Sister Flores and I next week! :) 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 45: A Crazy, Busy Week

June 20, 2016

Well, this week has been something crazy... but wonderful at the same time. I only have 5 minutes to write this, so I'm going to try and type at ninja speed and probably won't have time to correct any mistakes I make while typing, so... I'm sorry in advance. 

My testimony was strengthened a lot this week as we have been working with some less-actives. One in particular that we have only met with once in the past, called us this week and expressed a desire for us to come over and said she really needed some "spiritual upliftment." Looking up the Teaching Record for this family, there were comments such as, "No desire to change. Not ready. Not a good use of time." It's amazing just how much the Lord is preparing people in the area to either come unto Christ or also, as I witnessed a lot this week, to come back to Christ. We were able to go over and teach them the Restoration, and they came to church on Sunday - the entire family.. Mom, Dad and 5 kids under the age of 10. It was incredible. :) Not only that, but they have been at Church now 3 weeks in a row. I know there wasn't some magic switch that all of the sudden flipped, but rather, that the Lord has been working on them all along - just as He promises He will.. What a blessing to witness.

I have been trying to work on my goals as a missionary - especially talking with everyone. We had an experience just last night where we were walking to go contact a Potential and came across several people - the first few of which were not at all interested. Well, we came across this man, Dennis, who was out watering his lawn. At first, he wasn't interested, kind of blowing us off, but then as we testified of the Restoration, He opened up and told us about his son who went out and was a missionary, and invited us to come share more with Him. It was such a testament to me that our words don't change people or give them a desire, but rather, Doctrine changes them and gives them a desire - just as PMG states - "true doctrine, understood changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the Gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior." I just quoted that from memory, so it's probably not 100% accurate, but you get the jist.

Also, for transfers... I am staying in Post Falls, still over both wards, and my new companion is Sister Lopez-Flores. I got so serve around her in Bonners Ferry, so this will be super exciting. She's a Spanish Missionary, too, so maybe I'll learn a little Spanish this transfer. :) .. that would be neat. Sorry this email was lame.. time's up. LOVE YOU ALL! 

ALSO.. the meeting with Elder Keetch of the Seventy this week was amazing. I wish I had time to tell you all about it, but know that the Leaders of this Church are so inspired.. it was truly an amazing 6 hours of inspiration in that meeting.. and the night before at the leadership meeting. So.. like 8 hours total of amazing revelation from a General Authority.. it doesn't get much better than that! :)

-Super cute pictures of my cute companion and I.

-Baby Quail we saw trying to jump over the curb.. so cute!! :) 

-At the Elder Keetch training - 5 of my former companions were there.. I gathered as many as I could and took a picture. I am so blessed to know these amazing Sisters! :) 

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 44: 10 Months and Counting

June 13, 2016

Okay, seriously.. this time needs to stop going by so fast. I'm like 98% sure that it was just yesterday that I was saying that I hit 9 months. Holy guacamole, this is crazy business. Well, this week was pretty swell, let me tell you! :) 

We were able to see many miracles once again.. I don't know what it is, but missionary work is seriously my favorite thing ever. Here are some highlights of the week in the few minutes I have left to write: 

It's such a blessing to be out preaching the Gospel and learning of the truthfulness of the fact that the Lord is preparing people each and every day.. we just have to find them, which is often the hardest part! On exchanges with Sister Parker (she just hit her 3 month mark this week), we were contacting a Potential, who is a single dad, and when we knocked on his door we were warmly received and he was like, "Oh HEY! How's it going!?" Like he knew us personally or something...haha, better than some people's reactions. Then, we started to talk to him about the Restoration and he was like, "Yeah, I go to a Christian church with my mom sometimes, but I'd love for you to come by again and talk to me about your Church." Well, we set up a return appointment with him and will be going by tomorrow for a lesson. It's nothing unique or overwhelmingly spectacular, and it's basically the same sort of scenario that happens whenever we find another person to teach, but every single time my heart is just filled with joy knowing that another of God's children is softening their heart by having a desire to come closer to Him and His perfect Son. You'd think that I'd be used to this happiness by now, but nope! Each and every time it makes me just as happy. :)

ANOTHER SUPER AWESOME THING HAPPENED JUST THIS MORNING.... I FINISHED READING THE BOOK OF MORMON!.. this is my first time completing it on my mission, and it was such a sacred experience. I was just overwhelmed as I looked back on the scriptures that I have come to love and cherish more than I ever did before, and felt so much of the same Spirit I felt while I read these past 10 months. It took me a long time to complete - longer than it ever has in the past, but as a result of that, I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would be able to. I am so grateful for The Book of Mormon and the other scriptures and am so excited to start it over again this week. I'm excited for all I will learn this time around! :) It is SUCH a blessing to know and have a testimony of modern-day revelation and of the fact that God never changes.. In the past, the Gospel was revealed through Prophets in the Bible, again in The Book of Mormon (the same Gospel - how cool is that?) and again today in our day through a living Prophet - Thomas S. Monson. :) 

I have just been overwhelmed this week for love for the members and how they show by their righteous lives that they honor their covenants. It's so wonderful to be able to see so many examples as a missionary - both of things I want to do/become and things I want to make sure to avoid. This truly is the best time!

It's crazy to think that this is my last week being companions with Sister Kitchen, and the last week of this transfer. I am so grateful for all that I've been able to learn and can't wait to see what happens next.. I'm like 98% sure I'll be staying in Post Falls again, but I suppose we'll know more next week! Well, until then, enjoy these pictures of last P-day. Love you all! :) Thanks for all of your love and support. It's appreciated and felt more than you know! :) 

-The Brazilian Grill we went to was super yummy. They have these tokens they give you (in the picture).. you put it on green if you want them to bring out meat quickly (they have a salad bar that you go get food from and then meat servers that go to the tables and offer various meats), yellow if you want them to bring it out slowly or if you're getting full, and red when you're done eating.. I felt so cultural, hahaha. :) 

-The super pretty painting at the Grill.. had to take a picture with it. :)

-10 months! :) 

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 43: The Miracle of Fasting

June 6, 2016

Well hello again! I feel like the weeks keep getting shorter and shorter and time keeps running faster and faster. In just 2 weeks the transfer will be over, and Sister Kitchen will be going home. (Insert crying face here)... I feel like the transfer just started. Time just has a way of moving on whether we want it to or not.. crazy life. 

This week, though, was spectacular! It is such a blessing to be a missionary... even when we don't find people to teach for the majority of the week. But, that's okay! Saturday and Sunday were just awesome! :) On Saturday, we were walking in a little subdivision, and noticed a garage sale happening. So, we approached the lady running it and asked her if she wanted an extra couch to sell (so we could get rid of ours-new rule.. to make our apartments less appealing to be in, haha. :) ). Well, she said that would be nice, and we started talking to her about the Church. Her kids were all outside too, and she was super nice. She said that they'd be interested in going on a Church tour, so that was really a miracle as well! She didn't become a new investigator right then, but we're expecting her to this week. Then, yesterday, after fasting for success and to be able to find the elect, we felt impressed to contact a certain potential, Mel. Well, we drove by his house and he was outside watering his lawn. We parked the car, walked over to him, and got to talking about the Restoration. He said he's interested in learning more and said we could stop by again tonight to teach him, so hopefully that means we'll get to talk to his wife as well. It was such a tender mercy. I know Heavenly Father hears our prayers. 

Another really awesome thing that happened this week was right after the Sacrament in the first ward we attend on Sundays. I was contemplating about how to be a better missionary and thinking about why we weren't finding the elect (a lot of our investigators say they want to meet, but then give 110 excuses on why they can't), and one of the members comes to our row and says, "Sisters, will you come outside for a second?" Well, we did, and there was a lady standing there who said, "I'm investigating your church. I'm going to move across the street in a few days, and for some reason I keep being led to this specific Church every time that I drive past. I know I'm supposed to learn about this." EXCUSE ME WHILE I INTERNALLY FREAK OUT! IT WAS SO EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only did Heavenly Father literally bring someone to us, but I was so humbled in that experience. If I am trying my hardest, the Lord will make up the difference, and everything will work out just fine. How cool is that? Super cool, right? Her name is Elizabeth and she is awesome. More information to come in the next few weeks, I'm sure. :) 

I know that this Church is true. I have had a lot of opportunities this week with the Scriptures. Something really amazing that stood out to me this week was in Ether 12:37, "And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And (this is the best part) ***because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong***, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father." Anyway.. I love that SO much. It is in recognizing our weaknesses that the Lord is able to make them strengths. That has helped my perspective on becoming better a lot. What a blessing. Seriously though.. isn't that a hopeful thought? "Because thou hast SEEN thy weakness thou shalt be made strong." Notice, the Lord doesn't say, "Because thou hast overcome and no longer has thy weakness thou hast been made strong." The Scriptures are so true, and so amazing! :)

Let's see... what else? Well, last week for P-day we went mini-golfing as a district... well... I've never been mini golfing before, and I was super bad at it.. let's just say, if we were playing Basketball, then my score for mini golf would have won... so... yeah... BUT.. cool thing happened. So, at the end of the course, you return your ball by putting it into one of those carnival game things that has all of the pegs where it goes back and forth and you're trying to get it to be in the hole in the middle.... hopefully you know what I'm talking about.. but, anyway.. I ended up winning that game, so I got a free game of mini golf, so that was awesome... Score! :) .. that will definitely come in handy when I go again someday with a future district or something. 

Also, there are a ton of members here that own free restaurants in Coeur d' Alene, so today in just a few minutes after we get done emailing, Sister Kitchen and I are going to go get some free food! There's a super good, expensive, Brazilian grill that a member owns and they said they'd let us have free lunch (So, with any luck I'm going to try some super cool, unusual foods today.), and another member who owns a bakery... so... this should be good. Free food is the best. 

Well, anyway.. that wasn't exactly spiritual... but, to end on a good note. You should all go watch a few of these children's Bible videos.. they are super adorable and bring the Spirit a TON... they are awesome. https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/collection/childrens-bible-videos

HAVE THE BEST WEEK!! Love you all!

OH! Also, something else cool that happened this week was that we had a lesson with Trinity and I just kept feeling prompted the entire time to invite her to be baptized. Well, eventually I got up the courage to, and she started tearing up and was like, "I really want to. That's definitely something I've been thinking about." Miracle!!! This life is great. Well, love you all! You deserve the best! :) 

-Exchanges this week.. Love these Sisters! :) 

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 42: The Necessity for Humility

May 31, 2016

Well, in case you didn't grasp by the subject line, this week wasn't SUPER successful as far as teaching goes. We planned a lot of people in, but 98% of them either weren't home or couldn't meet, so that's unfortunate... BUT, alas... no discouragement here. There's a quote in Preach My Gospel that is basically my motto for missionary work when we have these "Refiner's Fire Weeks" as I like to call them. :) 

"Some may not accept your message even when they have received a spiritual witness that it is true. You will be saddened because you love them and desire their salvation. You should not, however, become discouraged; discouragement will weaken your faith. If you lower your expectations, your effectiveness will decrease, your desire will weaken, and you will have greater difficulty following the Spirit." (PMG - Ch 1).

 So... yeah... basically that quote is way awesome and it's so true! We cannot lower our expectations.. the Lord IS preparing people to hear His Gospel, and we just need to move forward with faith in His timing and will. 

This week taught me a lot about humility as well, and its necessity in our spiritual growth.. We went about our plans each day, trying to find people to teach, and trying to follow the Spirit in doing so. Although we didn't find very much success, I believe sometimes we have these harder weeks so that we are not only grateful for the better ones, but so that we can truly learn to rely on the Lord more and "reach upward."

It is so true.. When times are tough, we have a tendency to reach upward more that when things are going well and just fine.. definitely like our own little pride cycles. It's amazing how much humility truly changes people. Sister Kitchen shared with me this morning in personal study just how much pride is the source behind everything bad that happens in the Book of Mormon, and the world. The opposite of pride, as we know, is humility. As we humble ourselves at all times, not just in times that are tough, we will be able to find greater successes, because we are relying on Him whose success it is.

Don't worry though.. there's always something amazing that happens each week - for which I am BEYOND grateful.. This week the miracle has a name - Stacy. We had planned to see a Less-Active in the morning that we would normally not see in the morning, but felt inspired to plan. We went and saw her, and instead of turning us away as is common, she said, "Come on in, sisters! I have someone I'd like you to meet." She proceeded to introduce us to her friend, Stacy, who just moved in with her. She met Stacy a few days earlier and since she was going through some hard times, our member opened her home to her. Well, they came out and sat down, and the member says, "Isn't this just amazing? Stacy and I were seriously just talking about how when I needed God most, He sent the missionaries to me. I was telling Stacy how much the missionaries helped me to feel better by bringing me the Gospel, and then you girls show up. Stacy, we didn't have a scheduled appointment.. they just came here. Isn't this wonderful?" It was such a testimony builder to me that this is truly the Lord's work and if we reach up to Him, He will guide us to the prepared. Stacy became a new investigator, and we are excited to teach her.

Well, I don't have much else to talk about this week. Yesterday, we were driving past a cemetery in the area and I just felt an overwhelming sense of love and peace and gratitude for this life. Isn't this sight beautiful?

Well, that's all for this week. I love you all and hope that you continually find joy in the journey that is this marvelous life and continually search and find peace in "The Will of God." :) https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/the-will-of-god-2

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 41: 9 Year Old Non-Member Missionaries...a.k.a. The Light of Christ

May 24, 2016

WELL... this week was a week indeed! I don't even remember half of what happened, but I know that we have been busy and working hard, so that's always a blessing! I definitely went to bed tired each night - also a blessing. :) 

We have been trying to contact a lot of Potential Investigators this week, and because of that, Heavenly Father has blessed us to be able to find 3 new investigators!! It has definitely been a blessing and a half. I'm not sure what the difference has been, but we've been seeing a lot of the Hand of the Lord in our lives this transfer as far as finding new people to teach goes, so that is definitely something that has been wonderful to witness. Heavenly Father is SOOO good to us. 

We got a call early in the week from one of the counselors in the Mission Presidency saying that his Grandson's girlfriend wants to learn about the Gospel and could we meet them on Wednesday night at their business (a funeral home in town) to teach them.. Well, let me think about that for a second.. YES! So, when Wednesday rolled around, the Grandson showed up (he doesn't go to church very often), and the Girlfriend was no where to be found.. He said that she was at work a little later than normal, so we were all assuming that we were waiting for her, but... alas.. after making small talk for like 10 minutes, the Grandson goes... "..I have some sad news... Trinity will not be meeting with us tonight.. she has to work late, but she will definitely be here next week. She's more excited about this than I am!" Well, that was awkward because all of us were under the impression that we were waiting for Trinity, but no... it turned out to be a blessing though, because we were able to learn more about her and teach the Restoration to him and help him feel the Spirit. They want to get married, and he wants to marry her in the Temple, and she really wants to learn about the Gospel, so we're REALLY excited to teach her. It should prove wonderful. SUPER HAPPY! :)

After that lesson, we went and contacted a Potential Investigator who I think I mentioned a few weeks ago - Katie who has been sober for 8 years and is interested in us coming back. Well, we went and contacted her and she totally set up an appointment with us and we're going to teach her this week! She is awesome!.. and she has 3 little girls who TOTALLY need to be baptized too. :) I love families. 

On Friday, we went to contact another Potential and in District Meeting on Friday morning we were practicing how to effectively street contact and teach Doctrine so that we are able to give people a "clear choice" on whether or not to accept the message of the Gospel. So anyway, basically what it boils down to is this. What my approach has been the last 9 months:

"Hi! We're the Missionaries in the area for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and we go around sharing a unique message about Jesus Christ and how the same Gospel that He set up when He was on the Earth has been restored for our day. Would you be interested in learning more?" WELL.... I suppose there's nothing inherently wrong in that approach, and it's been semi-successful, but.. there's a better way. PLUS.. that way they weren't learning anything or feeling the Spirit... so they pretty much were never interested in learning more. 

WELL.. we were reading in Preach My Gospel in Companion Study on Friday morning and came across this gem - (Ch 9- Teach When You Find, Find When You Teach).

"Finding and teaching are related, connected activities. When you meet people, be prepared to teach brief summaries of restored truth so that the Holy Ghost can bear witness that you are the servants of the Lord. In many situations, you will need to be able to present a message in a minute or less. People are accustomed to short, powerful statements. For example, you may testify of the message of the Restoration in just two or three sentences:

(approach number two- a.k.a. the WAY BETTER FINDING APPROACH). 'After centuries of being lost, original truths of God (the gospel of Jesus Christ) have been restored by a loving God through a living prophet. We have evidence of this that you can hold in your hands, read, ponder in your heart, and pray about to learn its truth for yourself. Will you allow us to...'" ...and then you invite them to learn more. 

Anyway, so ... the two approaches take essentially the same amount of time, in fact.. the second one has less words, and one is teaching doctrine and allowing the Spirit to testify, and the other is not. So, we've been using the 2nd approach all week and the results have been AWESOME. So many more people have been interested.. It is amazing! :)

Another fun thing that happened this week was when we were contacting another Potential Investigator and we see one of our 9-yr-old investigators (her and her grandma and aunt are learning about the Church), and she freaks out and starts biking toward us and is like, "GUYS!!! (to all of her friends) THESE ARE THE SISTER MISSIONARIES! THEY TEACH US ABOUT CHRIST AND I LOVE IT WHEN THEY COME OVER. DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES IN THAT HOUSE RIGHT THERE? TALON? OKAY.. SISTERS! TALON LIVES IN THAT HOUSE RIGHT THERE AND HIS FAMILY WANTS TO TALK TO MISSIONARIES!" (it's in all caps because she was basically screaming all of this. Then, she proceeds to bike around the neighborhood and show us where everyone lives and tells us that, they too, would be good to go by and talk to.) It was adorable. We were actually on our way to contact one of the families that she mentioned anyway, and one of them became a new investigator actually, so that was awesome. It was so beyond adorable to hear her so excited about the Gospel. Little kids are SUCH awesome missionaries, and so full of the Light of Christ - it never ceases to astound me. 

Also, a funny story before I end: So, our entire District lives in the same Apartment complex and we came home for dinner one night to see some cupcakes at our doorstep.. We're a little sketched out because we don't know where they came from... So, we're texting around and find out they're from the Elders... WELL... it just so happened that in the meantime we were examining them and saw a nice, giant thumb-hole in one of them. A funny text resulted when we asked them about it. (See pictures). 

Oh, one final thing. I was watching a Mormon Message this week and I felt impressed to share it. Often we don't feel like we do anything, but if we are serving others, we are fulfilling everything that the Lord needs us to do, regardless of how many things we get to "check off our list." (https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/you-never-know)

Well, I love you all! I hope that you have a wonderful week and know that you are cared for, loved, and prayed for always. Have a glorious one! The Church is True! :) <3

-The Text and the Sketchy Cupcake...

-Sister Kitchen and I at the TEMPLE! :) <3

-A Sugar Glider... essentially like a flying squirrel-like creature, haha. A member has 2 here..

-We decorated our house with some adorable picture quotes and it is super happy! :) 

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith