Dear Family, Friends and all other acquaintances,
This week has been one of utter chaos. In the best way possible? Okay so no, there hasn't been utter chaos but it seems very busy. It started out with some of our investigators moving off the street! Yay! but now it's harder to see them because they are working for one of our recent converts who's son isn't too happy with us coming over... But no worries, we're still plugging away. Another one of our investigator's husband decided he didn't want us coming by.... and a family we're working with, the mother's a member and the ex husband is not, well we saw them yesterday and the dad showed up really unhappy with us because we were teaching his children to pray and ask God for answers... Okay so he was probably mad for other reasons. But it made me so sad that the dad was so angry in front of his kids. He was trying to argue with us and put down our faith in every way possible. Fortunately, Heavenly Father blessed us with clear minds and we were able to answer his questions in the nicest way possible. I feel so bad for children who's parents are of different faiths and who basically fight about it constantly in front of their kids. It made me so sad to see this little 8 year old who is trying to please both parents be so confused because there is so much contention. We invited the dad to just listen to the missionaries to see what we really believe but he refused to and stormed out. It was a very sad meeting indeed. So we decided to play a cup game with the kids to lighten the mood. It helped a lot and we're actually going over today to just make flowers and bows with them for pday.
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As for our other investigators they are doing well, but none are progressing. :( We're currently praying for miracles and trying to find more people to teach. We meet with a lot of less active members who are coming back to church, including the one who was in the car accident, her name is Lacey. She is so neat. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and so desperately wants to come to church to take the Sacrament. She reads everything we give her! And she loves when we come over. In fact she told us that all her life she has been stand-offish to the "mormon church" but now that she's received this answer to prayers she feels as though she's just barely learning her culture and wants to know everything there is to know about it! It kinda reminded me of how we don't remember what our life was like with Heavenly Father before this but every now and then the spirit touches our spirit and helps us remember things that have sounded "familiar." We desire greatly to have that appetite filled and my job is to help people satisfy that quenching thirst with the "Living Water" or Gospel of Jesus Christ. :) It's the coolest job ever. And I'm not even getting paid! I'm paying to be out here. BUT getting so many blessings from it.
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Which reminds me, so this whole week has been a bit of a downer with people taking steps backword, both investigators and less actives. So it's been hard. But Heavenly Father had me learn a lesson from it this week. Starting on Sunday when we had stake conference with Elder Perry. It was a great conference and he and the Temple president and our stake president all spoke about ways we can become more converted and strengthan our testimonies. It was really good! Of course Elder Perry called the missionaries out for not teaching as many lessons as we should and he reminded us to teach the doctrines. Will do. Well that night I was discouraged thinking I was doing a terrible job and that I frankly wasn't perfect. The next morning sister Turner told me about satan's tools. He uses doubt, discouragement, and pride to keep us from coming nearer to the Savior. We started thinking about what ways we can combat those tools and found something really cool. Doubt is really the opposite of having faith, so to overcome it we must have Faith. Discouragement comes when we forget where our Hope comes from, the Savior, so we must have Hope. And pride comes when we lose love for our fellowman, so to overcome it we must have Charity. Faith, Hope and Charity.... Sound familiar anyone? I think Mormon already figured it out so I'm going to study Moroni chapter 7 more. And then on top of that Sister Turner said that we should always look to see how far we've come in our journey. One time her family was crossing the plains. no not by handcart, by car. There are no landmarks there, no windy roads, just a flat plain. Which means after a while you don't feel like you've gone far at all. Well her dad drove for 2 hours towards this one cloud that was in the sky and he thought he was going crazy because he just Never got closer to that cloud. Sister Turner compared it to our lives. We have to look at the odometer once in a while to realize that we have actually made some progress. So we made a list of all the things we've learned and accomplished on our missions. It was really good and we have a greater excitement to go out and do the work!
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Well I love you all and I'll try to keep you as updated as possible! :)
Love Sister Maureen Davis
PS mom- give all the girls a hug and a kiss from me! I love them All so much!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Week 58 & 59 - Thursday, May 24th, 2012
So, I'm not sure what happened last week, but I didn't get Maureen's email off. So you get two in one week! Sis. Russell is the mission health staff. Maureen's been having headaches for the past two weeks. Hopefully they'll figure out how to get her all better. We appreciate so much the prayers that you offer in her behalf. We can't believe how close she is to being home, and how slow time is going!
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Dear Family,
For starters, the best time for me to call will probably be 6pm, I know the girls go to bed soon after but I think that will be the best time that works for me. We're going to try talking to people during the day and then we'll just come back to make calls in the evening so we don't have to worry about driving elsewhere at night. Anywho... I'll talk to you on Sunday around 6. And Happy Birthday EMMY!
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As for Everything else going on.... Sometimes we go through hard weeks so we can appreciate the good ones. The past week was a hard week. This last week was really good! I had a lot of meetings this week. Between a zone meeting, zone leader council, zone conference, and the mission president's fireside, it's been a SUPER AWESOME week. The highlights were honestly the spirit felt in all those meetings. From our zone meeting when we talked about having the Lord walk hand in hand with us as we did his work to hearing our President's testimonyat the fireside, it was just a fabulous week. It's hard to really put emotion in through these emails but you can trust me, it was a Fantastic week. And after our zone conference, where all the missionaries in a zone meet together with President, I was just so excited to go out and work and talk to every single person that crossed my path that I literally Did talk to everyone, regardless of what situation we were in. It was really cool. And there are a lot more people that are open than I thought there were. :) "The field is white, already to harvest."
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At our mission president's fireside, President Clayton stood up and spoke to the members present. He encouraged them to share the gospel with their friends and not to be nervous when people ask about it. There are people who are sincerely curious about what we believe and they have questions. In our zone conference President talked about Mormon.org and how useful it is. There is an entire page devoted to answering questions that most people have about the church, so you don't have to scramble around for an answer when people ask you what the restoration means, or what is our stance on dancing (yes, people have asked me that). You can look up the answers yourself or direct them to the website. It's the coolest thing ever and we're actually asked, as missionaries, to go on the website for one hour outside of preparation day to learn more about it so we can help others know more about it. It's that cooL! :)
.
Well other than those fabulous meetings we are having the exciting experience of having Elder Perry come to our stake for stake conference. :) And I happen to have stayed these 6 months in El Cajon JUST so I could see him. Haha okay not really, but it's so exciting to be here for that.
.
So... I don't exactly know what else to say... this has been a Fabulous week, we've had our laughs and some tears, some really tough investigators and some really neat experiences... the same as usual. I'll let you know when anything out of the ordinary happens. :) As for your invitation this week: check out mormon.org and tell someone else (non-member) about it!
I love you all and thank you for your prayers. Stay humble. It's what I'm constantly working on anyway. AND be Excellent to each other. :D
Love Sister Maureen Davis
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.
.Thanks Mom,
I'm so glad we were able to talk on Sunday. I feel like I talked about everything I would have shared today already... But as for the new investigators, Melissa and Gina, they are both wives to less active members. One of the members has been trying to come back to church lately and so he's bringing his family around and Melissa's sister-in-law actually recently got back into the church and was sealed a few months ago! So the work is going well. :) They both have little kids that are super cute. So we enjoy meeting with them.
.
Well as for the rest of this week... We've been super busy! In fact yesterday we met with a less active woman who recently was in a severe car accident. She should have died but she came out with only a broken arm and a few cuts and bruises. She said that God must have saved her life for a reason so she wanted to get back into church and have the missionary lessons again. So we met with her yesterday and she really wants to change her life around. She wants to read the book of mormon and learn everything over again. It was so neat speaking with her and seeing how Heavenly Father gives us so many opportunities to follow Him. She knew that too. And if it hadn't been for her visiting teacher who visited her every month even though she wasn't interested in changing then, she may not have known where to turn after the accident.
.
Visiting and Home teaching Is SO important. I hope you are all doing it and following up even with those that don't seem interested bc you never know when their lives will change. There is another man who started coming back to church after 40 years of not coming, after his wife passed away. And it was because of his daughter and the home teacher who wrote faithfully each month that he came back. It is so neat to see those experiences and realize that there are people that are ready to come back, who hear His voice calling them and Follow Him. It's so cool to be a part of that.
.
Thank you for the call and all that you said on the phone, it really was what I needed. And I love that each of you are trying so hard to choose the right, to give your best effort and to follow the Savior's example. I'm so grateful for the example you have been and for your diligent efforts back home. :) I love you so much and am so grateful to have a fabulous family like you! I have been blessed immensely in my life and I thank my Heavenly Father for always leading me in the right way. I've gone through struggles like every one else but I have been blessed by the examples of those around me so much. I know Heavenly Father watches over His children where ever they are, whatever they may be doing, whoever they are, He loves them immensely. I know that.
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Mom- I called Sister Russell but she hasn't returned my call yet, so I'll try again soon. I think what I really want to focus on right now is having more charity for others. I feel like I've been getting more easily frustrated lately. I don't know why but I know it needs to change so I'm going to work on it. Afterall the Savior loved everyone even when they are frustrating so I need to work on doing the same. :)
.
Well I love you all. You are in my prayers! Thank you for your examples I really appreciate them and I know they have led me to who I am today.
Love Sister Maureen Davis
.
Dear Family,
For starters, the best time for me to call will probably be 6pm, I know the girls go to bed soon after but I think that will be the best time that works for me. We're going to try talking to people during the day and then we'll just come back to make calls in the evening so we don't have to worry about driving elsewhere at night. Anywho... I'll talk to you on Sunday around 6. And Happy Birthday EMMY!
.
As for Everything else going on.... Sometimes we go through hard weeks so we can appreciate the good ones. The past week was a hard week. This last week was really good! I had a lot of meetings this week. Between a zone meeting, zone leader council, zone conference, and the mission president's fireside, it's been a SUPER AWESOME week. The highlights were honestly the spirit felt in all those meetings. From our zone meeting when we talked about having the Lord walk hand in hand with us as we did his work to hearing our President's testimonyat the fireside, it was just a fabulous week. It's hard to really put emotion in through these emails but you can trust me, it was a Fantastic week. And after our zone conference, where all the missionaries in a zone meet together with President, I was just so excited to go out and work and talk to every single person that crossed my path that I literally Did talk to everyone, regardless of what situation we were in. It was really cool. And there are a lot more people that are open than I thought there were. :) "The field is white, already to harvest."
.
At our mission president's fireside, President Clayton stood up and spoke to the members present. He encouraged them to share the gospel with their friends and not to be nervous when people ask about it. There are people who are sincerely curious about what we believe and they have questions. In our zone conference President talked about Mormon.org and how useful it is. There is an entire page devoted to answering questions that most people have about the church, so you don't have to scramble around for an answer when people ask you what the restoration means, or what is our stance on dancing (yes, people have asked me that). You can look up the answers yourself or direct them to the website. It's the coolest thing ever and we're actually asked, as missionaries, to go on the website for one hour outside of preparation day to learn more about it so we can help others know more about it. It's that cooL! :)
.
Well other than those fabulous meetings we are having the exciting experience of having Elder Perry come to our stake for stake conference. :) And I happen to have stayed these 6 months in El Cajon JUST so I could see him. Haha okay not really, but it's so exciting to be here for that.
.
So... I don't exactly know what else to say... this has been a Fabulous week, we've had our laughs and some tears, some really tough investigators and some really neat experiences... the same as usual. I'll let you know when anything out of the ordinary happens. :) As for your invitation this week: check out mormon.org and tell someone else (non-member) about it!
I love you all and thank you for your prayers. Stay humble. It's what I'm constantly working on anyway. AND be Excellent to each other. :D
Love Sister Maureen Davis
.
.
.Thanks Mom,
I'm so glad we were able to talk on Sunday. I feel like I talked about everything I would have shared today already... But as for the new investigators, Melissa and Gina, they are both wives to less active members. One of the members has been trying to come back to church lately and so he's bringing his family around and Melissa's sister-in-law actually recently got back into the church and was sealed a few months ago! So the work is going well. :) They both have little kids that are super cute. So we enjoy meeting with them.
.
Well as for the rest of this week... We've been super busy! In fact yesterday we met with a less active woman who recently was in a severe car accident. She should have died but she came out with only a broken arm and a few cuts and bruises. She said that God must have saved her life for a reason so she wanted to get back into church and have the missionary lessons again. So we met with her yesterday and she really wants to change her life around. She wants to read the book of mormon and learn everything over again. It was so neat speaking with her and seeing how Heavenly Father gives us so many opportunities to follow Him. She knew that too. And if it hadn't been for her visiting teacher who visited her every month even though she wasn't interested in changing then, she may not have known where to turn after the accident.
.
Visiting and Home teaching Is SO important. I hope you are all doing it and following up even with those that don't seem interested bc you never know when their lives will change. There is another man who started coming back to church after 40 years of not coming, after his wife passed away. And it was because of his daughter and the home teacher who wrote faithfully each month that he came back. It is so neat to see those experiences and realize that there are people that are ready to come back, who hear His voice calling them and Follow Him. It's so cool to be a part of that.
.
Thank you for the call and all that you said on the phone, it really was what I needed. And I love that each of you are trying so hard to choose the right, to give your best effort and to follow the Savior's example. I'm so grateful for the example you have been and for your diligent efforts back home. :) I love you so much and am so grateful to have a fabulous family like you! I have been blessed immensely in my life and I thank my Heavenly Father for always leading me in the right way. I've gone through struggles like every one else but I have been blessed by the examples of those around me so much. I know Heavenly Father watches over His children where ever they are, whatever they may be doing, whoever they are, He loves them immensely. I know that.
.
Mom- I called Sister Russell but she hasn't returned my call yet, so I'll try again soon. I think what I really want to focus on right now is having more charity for others. I feel like I've been getting more easily frustrated lately. I don't know why but I know it needs to change so I'm going to work on it. Afterall the Savior loved everyone even when they are frustrating so I need to work on doing the same. :)
.
Well I love you all. You are in my prayers! Thank you for your examples I really appreciate them and I know they have led me to who I am today.
Love Sister Maureen Davis
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Week 57 - Thursday, May 10th, 2012
I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the emails you wrote this week. I'm just filled with this joy that won't go away. Recently I've been reading about the Savior's visit to the America's in 3rd Nephi and how because of the faith of the people His joy was Full. That is exactly how I feel. So content because others are experiencing the joy, not only of the gospel but of having a Loving Heavenly Father. It just makes me smile. So thank you for the wonderful emails and Mom thanks for the wonderful report you give each week. I'm so glad to hear that everyone is doing well back home. :)
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And HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY OLIVIA! I love you! And Happy early birthday Emmy - you've got till the 11th. :) Which reminds me, mom - when it's mother's day i'll be calling... what time works best for you? We have church at 10am and so we could do it 2pm or later if that works for you guys. I think we're on the same time again.... maybe. :) Will Maddy be home for that or in Peru?
.
As for the work in El Cajon, California... it's going really well. We've had a few interesting things happen this week. 1. Our tire was getting flat and mom, although you taught me how to fill a tire I figured I'd probably mess it up, so we asked a lady to help us who gave us a few pointers... I officially can fill up a tire. Ha! took me long enough. 2. We helped at Mormon Helping hands. ( I don't remember that when I lived in AZ do they do it there?) Sister Turner and I were so excited to work, we were making gardens for a half-way house so that they could support themselves food wise. So we leveled the ground make planter boxes. Moved the planter boxes which were heavy. It took four men to carry one and sister turner and I and two beehives manned up and carried one all by ourselves. Then we shoveled in dirt and compost and finally planted lots of plants. It was so much fun. I'm excited for my own garden someday. Maddy says we can put one in the backyard of our housing in Provo. I'm excited. :) 3. These past few weeks have been a bit discouraging. I know it's satan who tries to get us to be discouraged and we should remember the Lord is on our side. Well we had a zone meeting just yesterday and I cannot explain to you all that happened but it was Exactly what I needed. We were talking about the goal we had for the upcoming month as far as baptisms go and when we said the prayer I was feeling discouraged and thought the 6 of our wards could do 6, one each. But I realized after we all talked about our thoughts that I had the lowest goal of the group. And on top of that we had missionaries who thought we could reach 12! The highest we've ever done in a month is 6. I was astounded at the faith of these missionaries. And yet it was so inspiring. One of the new elders asked if he could share a few words. He said he'd served in France for a little while and had to come home for health reasons but he was in CA for the remainder of his mission. He said that the first week of his mission in France, all 7 of his investigators dropped them. If anyone could be discouraged it would be him, but he said that he and his trainer just prayed and worked harder and because of it God placed 7 others in their path who were ready for the gospel. Each of them have now been baptized and 6 brought their whole families to the church and they are each working on a temple sealing. He said that God has a plan and He has His hand in everything and that if we would just let ourselves follow Him and accept His help and work like there is no tomorrow we would see miracles.
.
The spirit was there so strong and we all Knew that we could reach that goal of 12 for the month of May. So I'm telling you all this so you can hold us accountable. We are praying for miracles daily and we're going to give it our all. I know that God's hand Is in this work and that He is with us all every step. I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and a very loving and supportive familiy. :)
I love you All!
Love Sister Maureen Davis
.
And HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY OLIVIA! I love you! And Happy early birthday Emmy - you've got till the 11th. :) Which reminds me, mom - when it's mother's day i'll be calling... what time works best for you? We have church at 10am and so we could do it 2pm or later if that works for you guys. I think we're on the same time again.... maybe. :) Will Maddy be home for that or in Peru?
.
As for the work in El Cajon, California... it's going really well. We've had a few interesting things happen this week. 1. Our tire was getting flat and mom, although you taught me how to fill a tire I figured I'd probably mess it up, so we asked a lady to help us who gave us a few pointers... I officially can fill up a tire. Ha! took me long enough. 2. We helped at Mormon Helping hands. ( I don't remember that when I lived in AZ do they do it there?) Sister Turner and I were so excited to work, we were making gardens for a half-way house so that they could support themselves food wise. So we leveled the ground make planter boxes. Moved the planter boxes which were heavy. It took four men to carry one and sister turner and I and two beehives manned up and carried one all by ourselves. Then we shoveled in dirt and compost and finally planted lots of plants. It was so much fun. I'm excited for my own garden someday. Maddy says we can put one in the backyard of our housing in Provo. I'm excited. :) 3. These past few weeks have been a bit discouraging. I know it's satan who tries to get us to be discouraged and we should remember the Lord is on our side. Well we had a zone meeting just yesterday and I cannot explain to you all that happened but it was Exactly what I needed. We were talking about the goal we had for the upcoming month as far as baptisms go and when we said the prayer I was feeling discouraged and thought the 6 of our wards could do 6, one each. But I realized after we all talked about our thoughts that I had the lowest goal of the group. And on top of that we had missionaries who thought we could reach 12! The highest we've ever done in a month is 6. I was astounded at the faith of these missionaries. And yet it was so inspiring. One of the new elders asked if he could share a few words. He said he'd served in France for a little while and had to come home for health reasons but he was in CA for the remainder of his mission. He said that the first week of his mission in France, all 7 of his investigators dropped them. If anyone could be discouraged it would be him, but he said that he and his trainer just prayed and worked harder and because of it God placed 7 others in their path who were ready for the gospel. Each of them have now been baptized and 6 brought their whole families to the church and they are each working on a temple sealing. He said that God has a plan and He has His hand in everything and that if we would just let ourselves follow Him and accept His help and work like there is no tomorrow we would see miracles.
.
The spirit was there so strong and we all Knew that we could reach that goal of 12 for the month of May. So I'm telling you all this so you can hold us accountable. We are praying for miracles daily and we're going to give it our all. I know that God's hand Is in this work and that He is with us all every step. I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and a very loving and supportive familiy. :)
I love you All!
Love Sister Maureen Davis
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