Week 60: Gratitude for the Thorns

October 3, 2016

FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!! As my dear sweet companion would say, ALOHA!!! 

Wasn't General Conference spectacular? Missed it? Conference.lds.org can solve that problem for you. Some of my favorite quotes and talks will happen later on in this email.. if I have time. :) But really, if you didn't get a chance to watch it, you should. Conference was definitely everything I needed to hear. I received answers to every question I had (FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW!- ever since I've been actually writing down questions..), and even some that I didn't think to ask. Heavenly Father loves us so much and answers our questions because He is our Loving Heavenly Father, and wants us to know of His love. I can't believe that was my last conference weekend as a full-time missionary. My how time has flown..

My testimony has grown a lot this week in the power of honesty and keeping the commandments. Sometimes it's hard to do everything that needs to be done, and to have the courage to do it, but I know that Heavenly Father brings so many blessings into our lives as we follow him. Short term consequences are far better to experience than forfeiting the reward of eternal salvation. This life really is the test! I have seen this again and again as a missionary - for myself, and for those who I have been given stewardship over to teach, serve, and communicate with in this glorious calling. Every commandment and guideline has been given to us for our benefit. There is no commandment that we are asked to keep that doesn't come without a multitude of amazing blessings from our Heavenly Father who knows us and loves us perfectly. :) I know that this is true!

Alright, I promised some thoughts from General Conference, so here they are (in order of when the talks were given in conference):

1. Robert D. Hales: "We cannot pray away another's agency."
2. Juan A. Uceda (MY FAVORITE TALK OF ALL CONFERENCE): "The very moment we say, 'Father in Heaven,' he hears."
3. W. Mark Bassett: Don't be so consumed by what has not been revealed yet (sealed portion of the scriptures, opinions of people, etc) that you don't spend time reading that which was meant to be, that which has already been given to us. Some things can only be learned by faith (study will not answer every question)
4. Dallin H. Oaks (The greatest missionary work talk-there were so many amazing ones about members and missionaries working together (m&m's as my mission President calls them)): There is no correlation between the depth of our relationship with a person and the level of their interest in learning more about the restored Gospel.
5. Brian K. Ashton: "Bring something to the sacrificial alter every time you partake of the sacrament. Seek help with being better at that thing during the week."

5 of my favorite things from Conference - the perfect number reflecting the mercy of our Savior. Love you all! Have a great week!

-Exchanges. :) We're making a frozen yogurt tradition.. I approve. :) 

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 59: Patience

September 26, 2016

Nine Mile Falls is going really well!! Our ward is just amazing. They are SO missionary minded and a lot of them are participating with us in the next Book of Mormon challenge. I walked upstairs this morning, and the Sister that we live with was reading a new copy of the Book of Mormon, marking it with references to Christ and His mercy. It was such a tender mercy to be able to see her do that! :) They are working on making individualized Family Mission Plans, and things are just going really well! :) It's such a blessing! :) 

This week, we also had a dinner appointment with a Less-Active family. The wife is pretty active, but the husband doesn't really come ever. Well, we felt inspired to teach the Restoration, and after we were done teaching, the Sister breaks down and tells us that she invited us over for dinner because she needed us there and that she was struggling with her testimony. Well, tomorrow... they were both at Church! It was such a miracle! :)

I know that Heavenly Father's hand is so in this work and that this truly is the work of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have been trying to develop more patience lately with everything. I have really come to a heightened understanding of just how much this is THEIR work, not mine. They know what I need to do to learn and grow, even when I don't. It's such a blessing to be able to pray to Heavenly Father, and to feel that peaceful assurance that He's listening, and through His Son's infinite Atonement, will help everything to work out the way THEY know it needs to. What a blessing to be able to come to that understanding. This work is the best!

I also got a lot of time this week to study because my companion has been pretty sick. Here are some of the awesome quotes from my studies:

-"If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and His restored Gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong.. if our lives are not centered on the Savior and His teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right." ~Howard W. Hunter

-"At the heart of becoming disciples is doing what we promise to do every time we partake of the sacrament - which is to 'always remember' the Lord. This means remembering Him when we choose what media we're willing to expose our spirits to. It means remembering Him in how we spend our time and when choosing between a steady diet of pop culture or the word of God. It means remembering Him in the middle of conflict or when temptation looms. It means remembering Him when critics attack His church and mock truth. It means remembering that we have taken His name upon us." ~Sheri Dew

-"Brothers and Sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt - and certainly not to feel envious - when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. the race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those." ~Jeffrey R. Holland

-"We have all experienced times when our focus is on what we lack rather that on our blessings. Said the Greek philosopher Epictetus, 'He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he was not, but rejoiced for those which he has'... Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings." ~President Monson

-"Thus, we prepare all the days of our lives, and, as we grow, death loses its sting, hell loses its power, and we look forward to that day with anticipation and joy when [Christ] will come in His glory." ~F. Enzio Busche

-"Just because God is smiling on someone else doesn't mean He is frowning on you." ~Unknown

-"On the farm, we kept a file on hand to sharpen our sickle every day. In missionary work and indeed in all areas of life, we need to keep our spiritual sickles sharp so that we can achieve our own best potential. Reading scriptures daily, praying, and keeping all other commandments help us stay sharp and useful." ~Kevin R. Duncan

-"Don't allow our sadness to be higher than our faith." ~Liliane Moleira 

Well, that's all I have for you this week! Remember to watch the best 8 hours of TV this weekend, General Conference! "Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice"!! conference.lds.org

Saturday and Sunday! :) 9am-11am, and 1pm-3pm! I'm SOOOO excited!

-On Exchanges with the Spanish Sisters this week! :) <3 them!

-Sister McFaul and I

-HILARIOUS baby masks at the Halloween Store today. So fun!

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 58: "I Speak in English!?"

September 19, 2016

Hello wonderfuls!! I hope that you all had a wonderful week and that things are going just splendid! You are in my prayers, and I know that Heavenly Father loves each one of you so much! :) 

This week was absolutely spectacular! This week we started a new Book of Mormon Challenge! It is to get a clean copy of The Book of Mormon, read 5 pages a day, mark all of the names/references of Christ, and evidences of His mercy... and THEN... to give the Book of Mormon to someone when the challenge ends, which if we read 5 pages a day, will be on CHRISTMAS!! It will be our present to an Investigator/someone who needs it, and our present to the Lord on the day we celebrate His birth! If you want to join us, today we are on page 30! You can read and catch up, so just read an extra page for the next month, or speed read until page 30... or just start and read extra pages here and there whenever you need to. Regardless, I know that as we do what Moroni suggests and remember "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men" (Moroni 10:3), that we will see miracles that never cease.. in our lives and the lives of those that we love. I invite you all to join us.. if you would like! :) 

An amazing experience that happened this week was with Hannah, our Chinese speaking Investigator. So, we were really worried with how we were going to teach her in Chinese because she doesn't speak English super well. Well, we felt impressed to teach her about the Gift of Tongues and that if she read The Book of Mormon in English, she would be able to learn much better. Well, during the lesson, we had her read a scripture that we were using in Chinese and then the same one in English. We also taught her about Atonement and Repentance by using the Chinese and English pamphlets. The Spirit was so strong! At the end of the lesson, we asked her to say the prayer. She said, "Chinese? Yes. English? No." We assured her that she could say the prayer in Chinese, and then when we kneel down she says, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you...." ... and then she gasps and says, "Me speak in English!?" .. then she finished the prayer in English. It was so powerful and such an evidence of the power of the Lord and His love for Hannah! Later, she explained to me that she was going to drop us because she didn't think she'd be able to learn in English, but that she learned a lot and was excited to learn more.

I also was studying this morning about Patience, and it was such an awesome experience! I definitely need to develop more of this attribute! Here were some awesome quotes that really touched my heart! :) 

“Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance. Put another way, too much anxious opening of the oven door and the cake falls instead of rising. So it is with us. If we are always selfishly taking our temperature to see if we are happy, we will not be."

I realized that the Lord wanted me to develop patience because it’s a vital characteristic. Patience refines us. Patience helps us become more like the Savior. I did have important responsibilities as a full-time missionary, but I realized that when it comes to serving the Lord, He cares just as much about the instrument as He does the task at hand. The Lord was teaching me patience so that I could be a better and more effective missionary in those final months of my mission.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/08/young-adults/patience-more-than-waiting?lang=eng

Happy, right!? :) Well, I love you all so much and hope that you have the best week! My time is up, but I hope that you remember how much you are loved and always stay strong in Faith and Patience! :)  

-Dropping off Sister Hsiao to go to Pullman! Love her! Sister McFaul is awesome too! This transfer is going to be wonderful! :) <3

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 57: A Grape Day - Weaknesses Becoming Strengths

September 12, 2016

THIS WEEK WAS THE BEST WEEK EVER!!! I would write this entire email in caps lock, because that would be the most exciting, but I don't want you all to think that I'm yelling at you, but this is the best week!! :)

Anyway.. this week was really great because we got to do service for a lot of wonderful people.. one of which is our new investigator, Connie. We helped her harvest grapes (hence the grape day!), and it was a wonderful adventure. 

Katrina's baptism was full of the Spirit. It was the best thing in the world. The whole thing was such a blessing to see her enter into the waters of baptism! I love her and am so proud of her for making this amazing step in her eternal progression. 

We also finished our Book of Mormon challenge this week. In the last 6 weeks, I have read the entire Book of Mormon. This Book is so true! What a blessing it is! I love this work. In our weekly email, President Dymock wrote this, "Baptisms for the week plus the 29 from the rest of the transfer equals 40!!! You did it! With faith and the Lords help and blessing we have witnessed this great miracle. If we counted right, it is exactly 40 baptisms this transfer. Thanks for all your hard work, effort, diligence and obedience to help make this goal happen. You are the greatest missionaries ever. Our heart is full of love and gratitude to each of you for reading faithfully each day and helping the Lord do His work with His tool of Gathering. That book is amazing."

I am so grateful and humbled to see that we reached our goal that we set in faith of reaching 40 baptisms this transfer.. we did it!! Wow. What an amazing blessing! It was the best feeling in the world to witness Katrina get baptized this last Saturday... there were a lot of concerns from the ward about if she could do it or not because of the smoking, but she DID! She is such an amazing example to me. I am so grateful to the Lord that He provided the way that I could be here to see her enter into those waters, and be confirmed yesterday.

Well, transfers are here.. Sister Hsiao is leaving to Pullman.. she's amazing and I will miss her. My new companion is Sister McFaul. She's from Hawaii and Sister Rogers trained her the transfer that I left Bonners Ferry, so we'll have a lot to talk about! She's AMAZING! :) 

Well, I love you all so much! I hope that you have a wonderful week! The Church is true!

-So many people have given us so much fresh produce! So happy!

-The Fields are White!

-KATRINA'S BAPTISM!!

-Me and Sister Taylor - the adorable member we live with ! :) <3

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 56: The Lord Always Delivers and The Christ-like Teaching Appointment

September 6, 2016

Well, I have exactly 6 minutes and 39 seconds before this computer kicks me out.. let's see how fast I can type... 

This week was one blessing after another. I was able to go on exchanges with a sister in my zone, and she is just absolutely wonderful. I had the worst headache ever for the 3 days before exchanges, and after coming back from exchanges, I didn't have the headache anymore! So that was a blessing.! 

The area is doing really well!! Katrina is still on-date for September 10th and has officially made it 10 days without smoking at all!! How amazing is that? There are so many miracles that are happening in our ward as a direct response to The Book of Mormon challenge. Everyone in the ward is so excited for her to be baptized as well. They are planning on having to have the baptismal program in the Chapel, with the exception of the actual ordinance of course, because they anticipate so many people to come. We had a lesson with Katrina last night and it was the first time that she's said that she's excited! Before last night, she always said she was nervous, so it's definitely been a blessing to see her faith grow this last week!

We had another few miracles happen this week. We went to go contact a former investigator, and she wasn't home, so we decided to knock on the neighbor's door. Well, she wasn't interested either, but we asked her who she knows that we should introduce ourselves to and who needed help with anything, and she gave us referrals to two of her neighbors - one who is elderly and might need service work, and one who just moved in to the neighborhood. Well, the elderly lady wasn't home, and the one who just moved in had their gate locked. Well, as we were about to leave, we saw that there was a walk-in gate, so we went in, knocked on the door, and told Helen, the lady who answered, who we were. Well, she was beyond excited when we offered her service, and told us to come back in 10 minutes with working clothes on. So, we did, and we helped her for a few hours with 3 years of pine needles. So, the reason I tell you this story is because no one ever lets us help them, so it was a miracle that she did. Also, she told us we could come back and talk about the Gospel any time. It was awesome!

I have grown such a greater testimony this week of the hand of the Lord in this work and how if we just open our mouths, He will fill them with the words that He needs each of His children to know. Beforehand, I would worry so much about, "Did I say the right thing? What if I said something different.. .would that have given them the desire to learn about the Gospel? Have I really given them a clear choice?" Well, ever since I had interviews with my Mission President, and he told me to not worry so much about that and just trust that if I open my mouth, it will be filled with the things Heavenly Father wants me to say, I have tried to keep that in the front of my mind. There have been other experiences where I know that we have been inspired to say something, a lot of times different than what we had planned. This is His work, and I'm so grateful He trusts us enough to let us take part. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful week and continue to see the hand of the Lord in your life. My favorite chapter from The Book of Mormon this week is 3 Nephi 17... Christ tells the people that He has another appointment that He needs to go to and that He'll be back tomorrow.. then, as they plead for Him to stay, He proceeds to minister to them one-by-one.. something that likely took hours upon hours to complete. He didn't worry so much about His obligation, but rather, about serving and blessing others.. What a blessing to see this week. We can learn a lot from His encounter. Love you all! Have a great week!

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 55: One in 52 - In the Strength of the Lord

August 29, 2016

Well hello there wonderful friends and family!!! This week was seriously the best week of my entire mission, and I mean that with all of the sincerity of my heart. It was truly one in 52 (like one in a million, except I've only been a missionary for like a little over 52 weeks, not a million, so I couldn't put that).

Anyway, I only have like 10 minutes left and still have to send an email to my Mission President, so I'll only have time to tell you about the miracle of this week... you might want to grab some tissues, though.. because I totally cried when this happened. I'll try and tell it like a story.. hopefully there's time for this..

ANYWAY... so, it was Saturday night (two days ago) and we were going over to Katrina's house (the investigator that we have (eternigator) who has been investigating the Church for over a year and wants to be baptized, she just has to quit smoking)... So, are you with me? Saturday night. Eternigator. Nervous for this lesson. 

We have been struggling a lot this transfer on what we should teach her and what she needs that will help her to be able to take this next step of baptism, because she has seriously been taught EVERYTHING like 5 times plus a bunch of other random topics. So, Sister Hsiao and I have been praying for her specifically by name every single prayer that we say each day.. Well, just recently we were asking some other missionaries about what we should do, and their advice was to maybe stop teaching her for a while and just hope that motivates her to have a desire to quit smoking. Well, we prayed a lot about that advice and both felt strongly that we weren't supposed to do that, but rather, that we were supposed to challenge her to be baptized on a specific date. Well, she has been put "On-Date" 3 times in the last year, and all of those attempts haven't worked, so we were a little hesitant, and prayed for faith and went forward trusting that Heavenly Father would provide a way for this all to work out since it's what He wants us to do.

Now, back to Saturday night. We walk in and Katrina tells us about how she's been working so hard on her talk that she was giving in Sacrament Meeting on how to connect with her ancestors (in case you were wondering, that's how cool Katrina is.. she is a non-member and she gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and it was so amazing), and she asked us a question about The Spirit World. Well, that ended up going perfectly into us testifying to her of Heavenly Father's love and just how much we've been praying for her and how the inspiration that we received was that Heavenly Father knows she's ready to be baptized.. "not in a year from now (that's what she would always tell us), not in a couple months from now, but like.. soon." So, we told her that to prepare for her being baptized soon, we were going to ask her the Baptismal Interview Questions. So, we did and the Spirit was just SOOOO strong. We told her, "Katrina, we want you to take out your phone, look at your calendar for September or any month after that, and we know that Heavenly Father will let you know, through the Holy Ghost, what day He feels that you're ready to be baptized on." So, she did.. she looks down at her phone for a couple of seconds and says, "the 10th is really sticking out to me.." I say, "You want to know what, Katrina?" She says, "Is that the day that you guys got too?" We had been praying about what day she's supposed to be baptized on, and that date was very evident that it was the one Heavenly Father wanted. SO COOL! So, we tell her it was and she just starts crying, and says, "This morning I woke up and I just had "September 10th" keep running through my mind and it wouldn't go away... I was like... "What's significant about September 10th? There's something significant about the 11th, and the 5th is Seth's (that's her husband) birthday, but there's absolutely nothing significant about the 10th."... and now you guys tell me this.." The Spirit filled the room and we were all in tears. We committed her to be baptized on September 10th and she accepted. Katrina's last cigarette as at 4pm that day, so she can get baptized on the evening of the 10th. Her baptismal program has already been made, she is so excited, and it's posted on her back door so she sees it every time she thinks about smoking.

That lesson was the best one of my mission. It was all a miracle, and I KNOW that it was all the workings of The Lord. He provided the way, and I am so humbled and grateful that He helped me to take part. I know that these miracles are coming from reading The Book of Mormon so fervently this transfer. The Church is true. Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration, and Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet living today. Our Savior loves us, and wants to help us. As we pray to His Father and our Father, help will come. 

愛你們 祝你們有美好的一週 (Love you all! Have a great week!), and remember to invite a miracle!

-Temple Trip 

-Some pretty lake pictures where we had lunch in Nine Mile this week

-1st time seeing bats

-I decided to be adventurous and try eating beef/pork heart.. it actually wasn't bad.

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 54: Gary Griffin and The Spirit of True Conversion

August 22, 2016

Some miracles happened this week, friends. What a life it is, indeed. Also, in case you were wondering, once again, this state is on fire. There is a deep smell of smoke in the air, and it is not a good time. ...but Heavenly Father will continue to provide miracles, I have no doubt about it! :)

We are really trying to find some new people to teach and working a lot with the ones that we currently have. It's the worst to be in the down-slope of the wave of finding vs. baptizing, so we're working hard to try and ensure that we don't get to the down-slope of the wave. I love the quote by President Monson, though.. "Sometimes we are in the period of planting, not harvesting." 

My testimony continues to be strengthened each day from The Book of Mormon. It is such a blessing to be able to read and feel the Spirit each day, and read about the wonderful people in The Book of Mormon who are such incredible examples of the Spirit of True Conversion. I am confident that miracles are happening, and will continue to come as we sacrifice our time to read the word of the Lord so quickly. I have 2 "Invite a Miracle" moments for you from this week!! :) Are you ready Brothers and Sisters, hold onto your hats.. these are some good ones. :) Do you want to hear the sad one first? Probably that's a good idea, so we can end on a happy note, yes? Yes. 

1.) Well.. in case you were wondering who Gary Griffin is.... he's not my dear sweet Papa, although their names are scary similar... but he was a very nice man that we got referred to twice by 2 individual people, so Heavenly Father definitely wanted us to meet him this week. We were contacting someone who used to meet with missionaries and he told us that this man down the road had lost his wife this past weekend, and it was really sad. He told us, "the house is 4 or 5 down on the right.. I'm not sure what his name is, but I'm sure you can probably find him." Well, we tried to knock some doors, but no one answered... it was 15 minutes before we were headed home for dinner, and Sister Hsiao said, "I think we should go visit this member.." So, we went to the member's house and talked to them for a few minutes. Then they said, "Sisters, you should go visit our friend. He lives down the street, and he just lost his wife. His name is Gary Griffin, and he lives in the house with the ...." and proceeded to tell us EXACTLY where he lived. Isn't that AMAZING!? We were able to go talk to him about The Plan of Salvation and know we were supposed to go there. I am so grateful for inspired companions who follow the promptings that they receive.

2.) We were leaving a dinner appointment that we had, and asked the member about her neighbors that were standing outside and informed her that we were going to go talk to them. She told us about them, said that they wouldn't be interested, but welcomed us to try. Well, they weren't interested (at least not right now), but we asked them if there was anyone in the area that they think could use some help, and they directed us to a house down the way and commented, "that family could definitely use some help with their yard." It felt like they were just trying to get rid of us, but we thanked them and confidently started walking in the direction of the home they had suggested. We knocked on the door, and a man named Darrel answered. We offered help, and he declined, but then he looked at our nametags.. We told him who we were, and mentioned that, "Our Church is very family oriented." He said, "Well, we don't have a Church that we go to in the area. We asked him if he had attended any of our services, to which he took a card and said he'd have to come because he hadn't. It was such a miracle!! We left, grateful for those neighbors who had jokingly sent us to someone with a "less-than perfect yard," that ended up being someone who wants to know more. The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. What an amazing week!

Well, that's all I have for you. Have a wonderful week and continue to "Invite a Miracle!" 

-Our District Hike last P-day.. so fun!

-Some Taiwanese funnies.. "Whitemen toothpaste.... Guardian of Tooth.. not teeth.." I laughed for a while at this one.

-Something we made for Katrina to quit smoking.. :) A fake cigarette box with paper cigarette scriptures. :) 

-ExeRICE!! hahha, more Chinese funnies.

-The fire smoke

--

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 53: Invite a Miracle - Young and Tender Branches - ONE YEAR!

August 15, 2016

Our Bishop said this week, that instead of "creating miracles" through Book of Mormon reading, prayer and fasting, we are "inviting a miracle." I really liked that a lot. It has become a new inspired one-liner for my work. "Invite a miracle."

In other amazing news this week, I got to go on exchanges with a sister I served near in Post Falls... and those sisters just so happen to live with one of my best missionary friends ever who I served with since day one, Sister Lott..... AND... this so happened to be on Friday which was our ONE YEAR MARK, so we got to celebrate together!! How awesome is that? Coincidences? I think not. :) Blessings? Definitely.

     Then, Sister Parker and I (the one to the left of me), had an AMAZING exchange. It was seriously so    full of amazing blessings and we saw so many amazing miracles in those 24 hours.. it was such an incredible gift. We prayed for miracles, and they came. Many people told us we could come back and teach them, and were touched by Gospel truths. We scheduled many return appointments with several who seem "golden." It is such a blessing to be a missionary! :)

I have been able to learn SO much from reading The Book of Mormon this week. One of the most amazing things that I learned from my study this week was in Jacob 5. Reading this chapter in the past, I have gotten something completely different than I did this time. I was taught so much this time about how this chapter is a missionary chapter and how it relates to those I am teaching now! :) In Jacob 5:5-6, it says,

 

"5 And it came to pass that he pruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it according to his word.

 6 And it came to pass that after many days it began to put forth somewhat a little, young and tender branches..."

I just love that so much. Reading it as a missionary is incredible. We put forth all of this effort, according to the word of the Lord, and then, after MANY days (you might not even be in that area anymore), that person begins to bring forth young and tender branches (a small testimony or knowledge of a truth, a feeling to continue learning, whatever it is). I have seen this in my missionary service. I know that people are changing - they are being compelled to by the word of God which is powerful and helps them feel purpose. This work is amazing. I know it is true!

Well, I hope that you all have a wonderful week and continually see the hand of the Lord in your lives. Work hard and "invite a miracle."

-Sister Hsiao and I accidentally matched yesterday.. it was happy! :) 

-Saw some baby turkeys... they were adorable!

-Wheat Fields we saw on exchanges!!! "For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle (I got to use a real life sickle doing service this week, so I know how this feels now) with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;"(D&C 4:5) 

-- 

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith

Week 52: Yard Work Extraordinaire - Quick and Powerful

August 8, 2016

Well, in case you didn't get by the subject line, we have helped a lot of people in their yards this week.. I'm getting pretty proficient at pulling weeds, so I suppose that's a good life skill for my future, haha. The quick and powerful part will come later on in the email.. keep reading. :)

In other news, Nine Mile Falls is seriously the BEST! I just love it here.. We are seriously out in the middle of nowhere, though. It's gorgeous.. we also spend a lot of our day in the car driving... :) It's quite the time. Some of the people in our area live an hour away by CAR... so... that gives you a little taste of what I'm talking about. It's such a blessing to be here in Nine Mile Falls. We have some amazing investigators, too.. what an amazing blessing! There's one, Katrina, who is super awesome and super close to getting baptized. She has been taught for a long time, and she literally is so amazing. She's basically already a member.. the only thing holding her back is that she's having a hard time quitting smoking, but Sister Hsiao and I fasted for her yesterday. I have faith that Heavenly Father will give her faith to quit smoking. She's amazing. 

I have been reading The Book of Mormon a ton this week for our mission-wide challenge. I got to 2 Nephi 19 this morning.. The Book of Mormon is so powerful. I have just been able to feel the Spirit so much more this week and really feel like I am finishing my purpose as a missionary! I have felt the Spirit so much this week as I have been reading The Book of Mormon so much. I never knew what "the power that flows into your life" is until I began this serious study. I have just felt different this week. I have felt the Spirit more, I have felt more motivation to do missionary work, I have felt more inspiration on what to do to help my investigators. The blessings from reading and feasting on the word of God truly are "quick and powerful."... in every sense of the words. I felt the Spirit so strongly this week as I testified to a family we had dinner with about the power of The Book of Mormon.. and this is only the first week. What an incredible blessing this week has been!.. I can't wait for the next 5 weeks of this wonderful challenge. Something we've been able to share with a lot of families and people this week is this incredible video. The Spirit testifies so much as you watch it of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. Here's the link.. Watch it.. You'll be glad that you did!! :) https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-03-08-testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng

The member that we live with is so adorable. Her name is Sister Taylor and the house always smells like delicious baked goods - homemade bread smells delicious.. just in case you were wondering, haha. :) Well, I have to go.. my time is up. Know that I love you all and that I pray for you always. This week I will hit my year mark as a missionary.. how does this even happen? Time goes by so quick! These last 6 months are going to be the best ones yet, though.. I just know it! :) 

-How gorgeous this area is!! <3

-With our mini missionaries during transfers! :)

-How dirty our car gets on all of these dirt roads... haha.

-Sister Hsiao and Me (She's seriously adorable! Her name is pronounced Sh-OW! (like OW! I hurt myself!). :))

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

Hurrah for Israel!

Much Love,

Sister Jennifer Griffith