Dear Family and Friends,
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Thank you for all the warm Christmas wishes! I hope I may be able to send thank you notes to everyone but in case I can't know that I felt very loved this Christmas and I couldn't have asked for anything more! It was a wonderful Christmas as it was on a Sunday and we really got to Celebrate Christ's birth. I think it was my absolute Favorite Christmas! :) I'm so glad we have the opportunity to celebrate the life of our Savior! And I hope I can remember to celebrate it Every day of my life. :)
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Okay okay, you're probably wondering about transfers... so I am now in El Cajon specifically in the Granite Hills ward. I live 5 minutes away from the Mission Home (so President can keep an eye on me) and my new companion is Sis. Park. We actually served in the same ward when I first came to San Diego (in Clairemont) so I already know her fairly well. She's Awesome! She is a hard worker and a dedicated servent and the first day she told me that she is so happy that I am her companion and that she wants to be exactly obedient. So that's what we're doing, being exactly obedient and working really hard. We are going to get a lot of things done in El Cajon! And the most important thing is that it won't be us, it will be the Lord working through us because we're giving our all to follow Him. I am soooo excited for this transfer! It's going to be good. And I love my area already, it's a bit more humble than Green Valley and there are so many members who want to help and so many people who are looking for the truth. We caroled with our district every night this past week and got so many potentials from it. We're excited to work with these people.
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Well Life is good. I'm not feeling sick at all mom so I think I'll be quite alright. Thank you for worrying about me. It's nice to be worried about. :) And President hopefully will get over His pnuemonia shortly. :) Other than that I have not much else to share this week... I kinda told you everything on Christmas. But girls, know that I love you sooooo much! And I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you more, but I promise I'll spend Tons of time with you after my mission. Promise!!! :)
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Two quick stories from this week:
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1. My third day in the area I invited a woman to be baptized and after a little bit she said she would. As I didn't know her very well it didn't shock me as much as it did Sis. Park. She was so happy, she couldn't contain her excitement. Apparently she has been trying to work with this woman for a while and she barely opened up to the missionaries a week before. They had one strong lesson with her and then we up and invite her to be baptized her second real lesson. Needless to say, she was exstatic.
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2. Last night we were trying to catch a lady that we've been trying to teach for a while. She meets with us once a week and usually never more than that. Well we really think she could be baptized this weekend so we wanted to meet with her. We ended up driving by her place and found one of our strong investigators outside her house working on her car. So we talked to him for a little bit and then she came out and we talked to them both. We bore testimony of the wonder of this gospel and out investigator Ron, who has a very strong testimony of the Book of Mormon, bore his testimony to her! She was listening so intently! It was a really neat experience. And to think, all our plans that night had fallen through, and had we not followed the Spirit we wouldn't have witnessed this miracle. Her heart was softened and she's praying to know if she should get baptized It was such a neat experience!
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I also had an epiphany last night as we visited this humble member. I know why we are here on earth. I've always known but now I Know! We are here to become like our Heavenly Father. Our Savior is the perfect example so we must follow Him. But that's why we have church, the Temple, the scriptures, the Prophets, Everything... to become like our Savior and Heavenly Father. I know there is no other way to come nearer to our Savior then through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. :)
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I love His gospel and I love the peace I feel as I bear testimony to others.I love you all and I hope you had a very merry Christmas, and that you have a Happy New Year! I'll talk to you again on mi cumpleanos hahaha.
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Love Sister Maureen Davis
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Week 40, 41, 42,& 43 - Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
Dear Family and Friends, Here are Maureen's last four letters. I'm sorry it has taken so long to get them out. Overall she is doing very well. Hearing that she is being transferred 5 days before Christmas came as a shock. I'm sure she will do well in her new area though. She has been in Poway for a long time, so I'm sure a change is overdue. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers on her behalf. I know she feels them, and needs them. Merry Christmas to all of you. What a wonderful time of year to have the added blessing of a missionary and the spirit that it brings to our home. Our hearts are soft as we think of our Savior and His sacrifice for us. We hope your holidays are filled with peace, and love.
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Merry Christmas to all of you. What a wonderful time of year to have the added blessing of a missionary and the spirit that it brings to our home. Our hearts are soft as we think of our Savior and His sacrifice for us. We hope your holidays are filled with peace, and love.
.
Love Nile and Candi
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All that read this, Family and All!
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So my mind is so out of sorts, I apologize for that lack of sanity and I will try my best to write a reasonable letter this week.
.
This week has been an interesting one. I must admit it's had it's challenges, such as wealthier people would rather be doing other things during the Christmas season then meet with us. So we've had about 4 of our investigators Half drop us yesterday, yep all in the same day. AND it was one of the best planned days Ever, so it was a bit disheartening. But nevertheless we kept going and we met a potential named Dave who is 91 and has worked with the Major baseball leages forEver. I can't remember who he coached for but I'll tell you when I find out. He was a tender mercy yesterday as we were all in a saddened mood. We dropped by his house and he told us all about his wife and how amazing she was, how she was the most beautiful girl and how he could never love anyone the same. We started to tell him about how he can see her again and be with her forever but he said he already believed that. He is open to us coming back though so that was good. We went over to the Todd's yesterday to watch the Testaments with him and his family to more or less stress the importance of the Book of Mormon and we invited them to read the Book of Mormon every day as a family. They said they would. While we were watching the Testaments however, it seemed to click in my mind that Christ was left alone, despised and rejected by everyone, even for a few minutes by Peter. If He went through all of that rejection, then is it not necessary for me to suffer some rejection to bring me into a better awareness of what my Savior did for me? When we go through hardships we have the opportunity to feel what our Savior felt and be more aware of what He has done for us. It was a really wonderful realization and I realized I am never alone. I have Heavenly Parents, a Savior, a family and friends who all love me and support me. What more could I possibly need?
.
Well we had another cool experience last night. We were at wit's end on what to do last night so as we were sitting in the car we decided to pray and ask God what we should do. As we were praying I heard a trash can being rolled out onto the street. Now I know it may Seem like I am good at talking to people now, I am still as intimidated as ever. So when the prayer was finished and I thought maybe we should go talk with this guy out front (in the dark) I immediately thought "no." The thought kept coming to mind and I decided that maybe we should try it. So without sharing my thoughts to the others I asked if we could go outside and take a walk. We jumped out of the car and I'm sure Sis. Hudson and Sis. Nichols were wondering what on earth I was doing as I circled around the caul de sac to talk to this man who I scared in his garage. We talked with him for a while and he explained that we needed more than the bible and we said that we had more, we have Prophets who speak to us today since our times are different and the bible can't answer our every question. He had to go inside but said we could talk with him again sometime. Yay! I followed a prompting! Well after that we all felt better about the day.
.
I know Heavenly Father is very aware of not only his missionaries but also everyone else in this world. He knows who is ready and who is not and He puts those people in our path so that we can bless their lives. Isn't He wonderful?
.
I'm sorry I can't write more but know that I love you all! If you could send me the Jensens and Denlers address I'll write them as soon as I can. I went to the Temple today so I haven't had much time to do anything.
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Love you all!
Love Sister Maureen Davis
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Thank you for the warm wishes and the prayers. They have been felt and noticed here. :) I have a lot to share this week so we'll see how fast I can type.
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For starters mom- are you doing secret santa this year? And if so who am I getting a present for? And I'm sorry I didn't respond last week about what I wanted for Christmas. It's really hard to say, but whatever you give me will be great I am sure. Can't be books. :) So I've been thinking what a missionary needs and I had two thoughts. 1. an i-pod plug in for the car so I can listen to my music while we drive and 2. teeth whitener. I don't think I've ever needed it more than now! I smile too often and no wonder some people don't want to talk to me when my teeth are so yellow! Yuk! But you should let dad know that everyone who finds out my dad is an orthodontist says "of course! no wonder you have such beautifully straight teeth." haha I am proud of him.
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Okay so Sis. Bickley called you. She is obviously Sis. Bickley's mother who I got to know on the mission. She was a Spanish speaking sister so I didn't work with her but she and I got to know each other a bit as she went english and served in Green Valley right before me. And the man she's talking about is an elderly gentleman who is very very sick. He thinks he's dying and it's so hard to visit him because he can be very dramatic in his thoughts of dying. But we love him, he is one of our investigators and he Loves music. So we invited him to listen to me sing in church this week! I'm singing a beautiful arrangement of silent night and my companions are using that as an excuse to get more people to come to church. So it should be good. :) We've had the members get more involved in our missionary work and it's worked wonders! It was so nice to see them get excited about the work and start caring for these people that we care for.
.
I loved the Christmas devotional and I loved everything that was brought up there. Especially that movie. It was so neat to see, and yet a different perspective than I had always imagined.
.
Okay - So I should tell you of the Miracle on Pinebrook st. So monday we talked to that man on the street, Edwin, and left him with a card with our number on it hoping we'd be able to meet with him again. Well Wednesday was a day of miracles. It started with our district meeting. The week before had been hard as it was Thanksgiving weekend and people were busy, so we were all a bit out of sorts. So I shared the thought about working with unyeildingness (Helaman 10:3-5) and after that we talked about how we must work without ceasing. One way we can do that is talk to everyone we see. Now I will be very honest with you, though I can know go up to people and talk to them it doesn't make it any less frightening to do so. So we haven't been as good at that. Well our district leader made a challenge. Whoever talked to the most people through the week would win. (he's still working on the prize) Well while that's not so much motivation to me, it motivated the elders a LOT and as sisters we decided to make it more exciting by talking to the most people so the elders had to continue to work harder, no guy wants to be beat by a girl. haha So we've been talking to so many people this work and it's paying off! Heavenly Father needed to see we were serious and then He blessed us with miracles. So we got to work and did the best we could that day. Well while we were in an appointment we missed 2 phone calls. One from a man we talked to the other night, Edwin! He said he wanted to meet up to learn more of what we believe! Then the other was from one of our members who got a letter from one of our investigators who is currently in the "slammer" (as said by Sis. Hudson). He wanted to apologize for shoving us off and he really wanted to get back on the right track so he asked for a book of mormon! It was so neat! And then this less active we've been working with and trying so hard to get to church will be coming in January because a member in our ward is going to pick her up each sunday! We are so excited for all the miracles that have been happening and we know they are from our Heavenly Father. And while they may mean little to you all, I want you to know that these miracles have only strenthened my testimony in my Heavenly Father! He lives and He loves us and He is ever mindfull of us, always. :) I love this gospel so much. I know there is nothing else on earth that can provide me with as much happiness as this gospel can and it's amazing the love I have felt on my mission as I've served the Lord, no matter how hard and difficult the days have been. :)
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Well I can't write much more. My time is up. But mom let me know what you all want for Christmas, I can't gaurentee I'll get you what you want but I'll get you all something that you will love, I'm sure. ;)The Christmas lights are going up around here. It's making me a teaspoonfull homesick as I remember going around with family and friends to look at those lovely Christmas lights. But I'm excited to hear you on Christmas day and I'm excited to celebrate the Lord's birth and give Him gifts for all he's done for me. I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk. It is so true. :)
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Well I love you all! I hope you are staying in good health and in happy spirits. Don't forget the real meaning of celebrating Christmas. I love your ideas of serving more this Christmas. I will also try to serve as much as I can this Christmas. I know that this will be the best Christmas ever as we all unite in bringing others closer to Christ in whatever way we can. :)
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Love you!
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Love Sister Maureen Davis
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Oh the Weather outside is Frightful!So, we don't have a lot of snow obviously (none), but man the weather has been cold out lately. It's been raining for the past few days and let me tell you, walking in the rain with a skirt on, no matter how short the time outside may be, is just no fun. I recently went to Ross with my companions and bought a coat! Yesm, a coat. All the sandiegans may laugh at me, but I am an arizona girl and cannot stand the cold. :)
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Other than that, life out here has been great! I'vve been staying healthy while all the people around me have been getting sick. I'm sure my turn is coming soon, but I try to stay as healthy as possible. The work is just dandy and we've been meeting lots of fun people lately. Edwin, our miracle story, has been spread to the ward now and the Nielsen girls are calling it the Missionary Christmas Miracle. It's so cute. They pray for edwin every night and occasionally at dinner (without ever being asked to - reminded me of Olivia and Emmy) and Chloe, their 8 yr old, decided to talk to all her friends about the gospel and then prayed to help them be baptized, in front of them... oh the faith of a child haha.
.
Other than that nothing much has happened this week. We had MTE (mission training experience) that was based on planning and being better planners. It was interesting that President Clayton compared it to Heavenly Father and how His great work and plan for us was to become immortal and life with Him forever. So He had to create a world, and then He had to make it day and night, provide us a Savior, etc. He had a lot of planning that went into it I'm sure. And because of all that planning it is succesful in bringing others back home. So we're now working on that planning skill. You'd think I have it down now after all the birthday party plans I made when I was 7, but alas this planning is a little different and involves more then my good friends. So it's a work in progress. :)
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Well lately we've decided that we need a Christmas message to share with others this holiday season, and I wanted to share that message with you. We've been showing a Christmas mormon message lately called Kids and Christmas. In there it asks kids what they would give Jesus Christ for Christmas, so we in turn asked the families what they would give the Savior. A lot of kids said they'd give Him hugs or love or the the most important thing they owned, etc. So as misisonaries we thought about what we could give the Savior and we thought the best gift to Him would be helping Him with the great plan of bringing others back home. Well we thought about how in order to do that we must first be converted to His gospel and that we must follow Him. And Then we had the thought, We can't follow Him completely without becomming Like Him. So we invite everyone to spend this Christmas season trying to become more like Him by working on a Christlike attribute found in the 6th chapter of Preach My Gospel. As we work on those attributes, we will Become more like Him and when He comes "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as He is pure." (Moroni 7:48)
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I know that as we spend this Christmas season focusing on the Savior, we will become more like Him, we will feel of His joy and will want to help others more than ever before. We will have a charity for others that we never imagined possible. And oh what "peace on earth" would be found if we really had "good will to men." I love you all! I hope you enjoy this Christmas time and spend it focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. Love you!
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Love Sister Maureen Davis
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Merry Christmas Everyone!
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For starters, I had Breyers Chocolate Ice cream this week I think for the first time in almost a year! It tasted sooooo good. Thank you dad for bringing us up well. :) I also had the perfect cookies - they were perfectly moist and dry and filled with deliciousness, I'll have to get the recipe soon. :)
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So here's the rather sad ordeal. For the past week, Sis. Hudson and I have been sick. We've been coughing like crazy and our throats have been aching and we've still tried to work hard. I just felt bad when we went to the Brown's last night. I had felt good all day and then at night it got really bad so I couldn't stop coughing there. Sis. Brown tried so hard to help, she gave me lots of cough drops which unfortunately didn't cure me. But I'm feeling better today. However, I must admit I'm not as chipper as always. Today we got a call about transfers. I felt very sure I was staying so it was surprising when they called and told me to pack my bags. 5 days before Christmas and I have no clue where I'll be. I'm leaving behind the people I've come to know and love and respect the past 6 months but in the words of Sis. Nichols I'm getting "5 more cookies," I may not like them at first but Heavenly Father knows how good they are for me. So I'm off to my new adventure tomorrow. Sis. Hudson is also leaving and Sis. Nichols will remain here. I know I will miss them dearly but I'll still see them around!
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So enough about me. :) This time of year is a time to focus on the Savior. Scratch that, the Whole year is the time to think of the Savior. I hope and pray that we can all think more of Him and the joy that comes from the Gospel and the Atonement. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1st Cor. 15:22) How glorious is that!? We all will live again! And if we work really hard all our lives we will be able to live with our Heavenly Father and Savior again. :) I'm so happy for the blessing to know these things are true. I feel my relationship with my Heavenly Father getting better as I pray and study the scriptures and I couldn't be happier. :) I love you all. I'll talk to you on Sunday and inform you as to where I reside and my new companion, etc.
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Love you LOTS! Thank you for the package! I won't open it till Christmas.
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Love Sister Maureen Davis
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ps. I don't know when I can call due to I have no idea where I'll be or the schedule! I know that doesn't help you any.... keep the phone near? :) But I think between 1-4pm is a safe bet, my time. And I will only have about 30-40 mins to talk, just so you know. I love you all so much! I'm excited to talk to you on Christmas. :)
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Merry Christmas to all of you. What a wonderful time of year to have the added blessing of a missionary and the spirit that it brings to our home. Our hearts are soft as we think of our Savior and His sacrifice for us. We hope your holidays are filled with peace, and love.
.
Love Nile and Candi
.
.
All that read this, Family and All!
.
So my mind is so out of sorts, I apologize for that lack of sanity and I will try my best to write a reasonable letter this week.
.
This week has been an interesting one. I must admit it's had it's challenges, such as wealthier people would rather be doing other things during the Christmas season then meet with us. So we've had about 4 of our investigators Half drop us yesterday, yep all in the same day. AND it was one of the best planned days Ever, so it was a bit disheartening. But nevertheless we kept going and we met a potential named Dave who is 91 and has worked with the Major baseball leages forEver. I can't remember who he coached for but I'll tell you when I find out. He was a tender mercy yesterday as we were all in a saddened mood. We dropped by his house and he told us all about his wife and how amazing she was, how she was the most beautiful girl and how he could never love anyone the same. We started to tell him about how he can see her again and be with her forever but he said he already believed that. He is open to us coming back though so that was good. We went over to the Todd's yesterday to watch the Testaments with him and his family to more or less stress the importance of the Book of Mormon and we invited them to read the Book of Mormon every day as a family. They said they would. While we were watching the Testaments however, it seemed to click in my mind that Christ was left alone, despised and rejected by everyone, even for a few minutes by Peter. If He went through all of that rejection, then is it not necessary for me to suffer some rejection to bring me into a better awareness of what my Savior did for me? When we go through hardships we have the opportunity to feel what our Savior felt and be more aware of what He has done for us. It was a really wonderful realization and I realized I am never alone. I have Heavenly Parents, a Savior, a family and friends who all love me and support me. What more could I possibly need?
.
Well we had another cool experience last night. We were at wit's end on what to do last night so as we were sitting in the car we decided to pray and ask God what we should do. As we were praying I heard a trash can being rolled out onto the street. Now I know it may Seem like I am good at talking to people now, I am still as intimidated as ever. So when the prayer was finished and I thought maybe we should go talk with this guy out front (in the dark) I immediately thought "no." The thought kept coming to mind and I decided that maybe we should try it. So without sharing my thoughts to the others I asked if we could go outside and take a walk. We jumped out of the car and I'm sure Sis. Hudson and Sis. Nichols were wondering what on earth I was doing as I circled around the caul de sac to talk to this man who I scared in his garage. We talked with him for a while and he explained that we needed more than the bible and we said that we had more, we have Prophets who speak to us today since our times are different and the bible can't answer our every question. He had to go inside but said we could talk with him again sometime. Yay! I followed a prompting! Well after that we all felt better about the day.
.
I know Heavenly Father is very aware of not only his missionaries but also everyone else in this world. He knows who is ready and who is not and He puts those people in our path so that we can bless their lives. Isn't He wonderful?
.
I'm sorry I can't write more but know that I love you all! If you could send me the Jensens and Denlers address I'll write them as soon as I can. I went to the Temple today so I haven't had much time to do anything.
.
Love you all!
Love Sister Maureen Davis
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.
Thank you for the warm wishes and the prayers. They have been felt and noticed here. :) I have a lot to share this week so we'll see how fast I can type.
.
For starters mom- are you doing secret santa this year? And if so who am I getting a present for? And I'm sorry I didn't respond last week about what I wanted for Christmas. It's really hard to say, but whatever you give me will be great I am sure. Can't be books. :) So I've been thinking what a missionary needs and I had two thoughts. 1. an i-pod plug in for the car so I can listen to my music while we drive and 2. teeth whitener. I don't think I've ever needed it more than now! I smile too often and no wonder some people don't want to talk to me when my teeth are so yellow! Yuk! But you should let dad know that everyone who finds out my dad is an orthodontist says "of course! no wonder you have such beautifully straight teeth." haha I am proud of him.
.
Okay so Sis. Bickley called you. She is obviously Sis. Bickley's mother who I got to know on the mission. She was a Spanish speaking sister so I didn't work with her but she and I got to know each other a bit as she went english and served in Green Valley right before me. And the man she's talking about is an elderly gentleman who is very very sick. He thinks he's dying and it's so hard to visit him because he can be very dramatic in his thoughts of dying. But we love him, he is one of our investigators and he Loves music. So we invited him to listen to me sing in church this week! I'm singing a beautiful arrangement of silent night and my companions are using that as an excuse to get more people to come to church. So it should be good. :) We've had the members get more involved in our missionary work and it's worked wonders! It was so nice to see them get excited about the work and start caring for these people that we care for.
.
I loved the Christmas devotional and I loved everything that was brought up there. Especially that movie. It was so neat to see, and yet a different perspective than I had always imagined.
.
Okay - So I should tell you of the Miracle on Pinebrook st. So monday we talked to that man on the street, Edwin, and left him with a card with our number on it hoping we'd be able to meet with him again. Well Wednesday was a day of miracles. It started with our district meeting. The week before had been hard as it was Thanksgiving weekend and people were busy, so we were all a bit out of sorts. So I shared the thought about working with unyeildingness (Helaman 10:3-5) and after that we talked about how we must work without ceasing. One way we can do that is talk to everyone we see. Now I will be very honest with you, though I can know go up to people and talk to them it doesn't make it any less frightening to do so. So we haven't been as good at that. Well our district leader made a challenge. Whoever talked to the most people through the week would win. (he's still working on the prize) Well while that's not so much motivation to me, it motivated the elders a LOT and as sisters we decided to make it more exciting by talking to the most people so the elders had to continue to work harder, no guy wants to be beat by a girl. haha So we've been talking to so many people this work and it's paying off! Heavenly Father needed to see we were serious and then He blessed us with miracles. So we got to work and did the best we could that day. Well while we were in an appointment we missed 2 phone calls. One from a man we talked to the other night, Edwin! He said he wanted to meet up to learn more of what we believe! Then the other was from one of our members who got a letter from one of our investigators who is currently in the "slammer" (as said by Sis. Hudson). He wanted to apologize for shoving us off and he really wanted to get back on the right track so he asked for a book of mormon! It was so neat! And then this less active we've been working with and trying so hard to get to church will be coming in January because a member in our ward is going to pick her up each sunday! We are so excited for all the miracles that have been happening and we know they are from our Heavenly Father. And while they may mean little to you all, I want you to know that these miracles have only strenthened my testimony in my Heavenly Father! He lives and He loves us and He is ever mindfull of us, always. :) I love this gospel so much. I know there is nothing else on earth that can provide me with as much happiness as this gospel can and it's amazing the love I have felt on my mission as I've served the Lord, no matter how hard and difficult the days have been. :)
.
Well I can't write much more. My time is up. But mom let me know what you all want for Christmas, I can't gaurentee I'll get you what you want but I'll get you all something that you will love, I'm sure. ;)The Christmas lights are going up around here. It's making me a teaspoonfull homesick as I remember going around with family and friends to look at those lovely Christmas lights. But I'm excited to hear you on Christmas day and I'm excited to celebrate the Lord's birth and give Him gifts for all he's done for me. I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk. It is so true. :)
.
Well I love you all! I hope you are staying in good health and in happy spirits. Don't forget the real meaning of celebrating Christmas. I love your ideas of serving more this Christmas. I will also try to serve as much as I can this Christmas. I know that this will be the best Christmas ever as we all unite in bringing others closer to Christ in whatever way we can. :)
.
Love you!
.
Love Sister Maureen Davis
.
.
Oh the Weather outside is Frightful!So, we don't have a lot of snow obviously (none), but man the weather has been cold out lately. It's been raining for the past few days and let me tell you, walking in the rain with a skirt on, no matter how short the time outside may be, is just no fun. I recently went to Ross with my companions and bought a coat! Yesm, a coat. All the sandiegans may laugh at me, but I am an arizona girl and cannot stand the cold. :)
.
Other than that, life out here has been great! I'vve been staying healthy while all the people around me have been getting sick. I'm sure my turn is coming soon, but I try to stay as healthy as possible. The work is just dandy and we've been meeting lots of fun people lately. Edwin, our miracle story, has been spread to the ward now and the Nielsen girls are calling it the Missionary Christmas Miracle. It's so cute. They pray for edwin every night and occasionally at dinner (without ever being asked to - reminded me of Olivia and Emmy) and Chloe, their 8 yr old, decided to talk to all her friends about the gospel and then prayed to help them be baptized, in front of them... oh the faith of a child haha.
.
Other than that nothing much has happened this week. We had MTE (mission training experience) that was based on planning and being better planners. It was interesting that President Clayton compared it to Heavenly Father and how His great work and plan for us was to become immortal and life with Him forever. So He had to create a world, and then He had to make it day and night, provide us a Savior, etc. He had a lot of planning that went into it I'm sure. And because of all that planning it is succesful in bringing others back home. So we're now working on that planning skill. You'd think I have it down now after all the birthday party plans I made when I was 7, but alas this planning is a little different and involves more then my good friends. So it's a work in progress. :)
.
Well lately we've decided that we need a Christmas message to share with others this holiday season, and I wanted to share that message with you. We've been showing a Christmas mormon message lately called Kids and Christmas. In there it asks kids what they would give Jesus Christ for Christmas, so we in turn asked the families what they would give the Savior. A lot of kids said they'd give Him hugs or love or the the most important thing they owned, etc. So as misisonaries we thought about what we could give the Savior and we thought the best gift to Him would be helping Him with the great plan of bringing others back home. Well we thought about how in order to do that we must first be converted to His gospel and that we must follow Him. And Then we had the thought, We can't follow Him completely without becomming Like Him. So we invite everyone to spend this Christmas season trying to become more like Him by working on a Christlike attribute found in the 6th chapter of Preach My Gospel. As we work on those attributes, we will Become more like Him and when He comes "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as He is pure." (Moroni 7:48)
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I know that as we spend this Christmas season focusing on the Savior, we will become more like Him, we will feel of His joy and will want to help others more than ever before. We will have a charity for others that we never imagined possible. And oh what "peace on earth" would be found if we really had "good will to men." I love you all! I hope you enjoy this Christmas time and spend it focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. Love you!
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Love Sister Maureen Davis
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Merry Christmas Everyone!
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For starters, I had Breyers Chocolate Ice cream this week I think for the first time in almost a year! It tasted sooooo good. Thank you dad for bringing us up well. :) I also had the perfect cookies - they were perfectly moist and dry and filled with deliciousness, I'll have to get the recipe soon. :)
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So here's the rather sad ordeal. For the past week, Sis. Hudson and I have been sick. We've been coughing like crazy and our throats have been aching and we've still tried to work hard. I just felt bad when we went to the Brown's last night. I had felt good all day and then at night it got really bad so I couldn't stop coughing there. Sis. Brown tried so hard to help, she gave me lots of cough drops which unfortunately didn't cure me. But I'm feeling better today. However, I must admit I'm not as chipper as always. Today we got a call about transfers. I felt very sure I was staying so it was surprising when they called and told me to pack my bags. 5 days before Christmas and I have no clue where I'll be. I'm leaving behind the people I've come to know and love and respect the past 6 months but in the words of Sis. Nichols I'm getting "5 more cookies," I may not like them at first but Heavenly Father knows how good they are for me. So I'm off to my new adventure tomorrow. Sis. Hudson is also leaving and Sis. Nichols will remain here. I know I will miss them dearly but I'll still see them around!
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So enough about me. :) This time of year is a time to focus on the Savior. Scratch that, the Whole year is the time to think of the Savior. I hope and pray that we can all think more of Him and the joy that comes from the Gospel and the Atonement. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1st Cor. 15:22) How glorious is that!? We all will live again! And if we work really hard all our lives we will be able to live with our Heavenly Father and Savior again. :) I'm so happy for the blessing to know these things are true. I feel my relationship with my Heavenly Father getting better as I pray and study the scriptures and I couldn't be happier. :) I love you all. I'll talk to you on Sunday and inform you as to where I reside and my new companion, etc.
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Love you LOTS! Thank you for the package! I won't open it till Christmas.
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Love Sister Maureen Davis
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ps. I don't know when I can call due to I have no idea where I'll be or the schedule! I know that doesn't help you any.... keep the phone near? :) But I think between 1-4pm is a safe bet, my time. And I will only have about 30-40 mins to talk, just so you know. I love you all so much! I'm excited to talk to you on Christmas. :)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Week 39 - Thursday, November 17th, 2011
Haha other than the fact that Honey has glowing green eyes I love your thanksgiving lesson! I'm so glad that my absence hasn't kept it from going strong. :)
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Thank you for your letter! I have to be fast as our time is limited but know that I love you all and I'm thinking about you and praying for you daily! And thanks Mom for the "mushy stuff," it was much needed. :)
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So to answer some of your questions and share some wonderful miracles lately...Sister Nichols is fabulous! She's teaching us a lot, like how to talk to people. :) She's very good at getting to the point, which I need. She's been on her mission for a year now and she'll be in San Diego till February. We have been busy with her here and we are constantly teaching Todd, a father in a part member family, who is getting Baptized on Saturday! We are over the wall excited, he's changed so much! We've also worked with him a lot! He started off not even believing in God and now he believes President Monson is a Prophet called of God (for the "sandiegoites" it's really hard to believe a living day prophet).
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President's interview was good, there's not much to say about it as it lasts all of 2 minutes. He asks us how we're doing, and maybe one other question and then it's over. So it was really good. We actually just had Zone conference yesterday, it was fabulous! Our stake president of the Poway stake came to talk to us and he is such a great man. We love him so much, he really has the spirit with him whenever he talks, and he's typically a quiet man, so when he talks it's amazing to feel the authority in his voice. Well we learned a lot more ways to find people and we learned this fun game called Busc (aka Buscar - to search). Someone starts reading out loud in the Book of Mormon and then everyone else has to find the passage and start reading along, the first to find it is the next to read first. It's really fun but almost stressful in front of President. Haha, however, surprisingly, I know the scriptures better then I thought, or I got lucky. :)
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Are the Larsen's coming for thanksgiving? Oh and we are going to a member's house for dinner on Thanksgiving. And all of their 4 boys will be there. Sister Davis ( a member in our ward whom I love :) ) mentioned that it was more like a triple date with us three sisters. Good thing I'm focused on missionary work.
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Okay as for the miracles! Last Tuesday night we had invited a lady, Karen, we had met with several times to a relief society exercise activity, she came to the activity Tuesday and all the sisters in the ward introduced themselves and were very friendly. So a few days later we went to follow up and ended up teaching her about how we can have the spirit with us always; she can have God's presence with her always which is her huge desire. She also mentioned that she many times asked for answers but never recognized them so we invited her to pray to see if we had what she needed. She said she would and after having several meetings with her that led to no-where, we finally got somewhere and she is a new investigator! Well we set up a time to meet with her again but it was far away so Sis. Nichols said we should drop by with something and invite her to church. So we dropped by with Sis. Hudson's home-made muffins and left them with Karen's son with the message that we'd love it if they could come to church on Sunday at nine. We didn't think he would forward the message but we hoped he might.
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Saturday night we had 30 min left before going back home and we didn't know what to do. It was pouring outside and we really just wanted to go home. We decided to pray about it and I felt like we needed to go to this potentials house. I realized that I could dismiss the thought but as soon as I thought that I realized that I needed to give up on all my anxieties and just do God's will. So we went to this woman's house and she came to the door very uninterested and would have shut the door in our face if the dog hadn't come outside. She told us we couldn't come back, so I was a bit disappointed but I realized that even when Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac and the angel stopped him, it wasn't pointless, Abraham realized that he would always do the Lord's will no matter what. I felt like I learned that lesson so I was satisfied.
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Well Sunday we were running a little late to church. We made it there 5 minutes early and noticed someone who looked a lot like Karen sitting next to Bro. Burt. So we walked up to them and realized it was Karen, and she had brought her husband! HUGE Shock! We were smiling for hours on end. Heavenly Father truly does bless us when we do His will.
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Well I don't have much else to say. Keep up the good work. Thank you for all your prayers! And I love you all! Good luck in all your endeavors and may the Lord bless you for them.
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Love Sister Maureen Davis
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Thank you for your letter! I have to be fast as our time is limited but know that I love you all and I'm thinking about you and praying for you daily! And thanks Mom for the "mushy stuff," it was much needed. :)
.
So to answer some of your questions and share some wonderful miracles lately...Sister Nichols is fabulous! She's teaching us a lot, like how to talk to people. :) She's very good at getting to the point, which I need. She's been on her mission for a year now and she'll be in San Diego till February. We have been busy with her here and we are constantly teaching Todd, a father in a part member family, who is getting Baptized on Saturday! We are over the wall excited, he's changed so much! We've also worked with him a lot! He started off not even believing in God and now he believes President Monson is a Prophet called of God (for the "sandiegoites" it's really hard to believe a living day prophet).
.
President's interview was good, there's not much to say about it as it lasts all of 2 minutes. He asks us how we're doing, and maybe one other question and then it's over. So it was really good. We actually just had Zone conference yesterday, it was fabulous! Our stake president of the Poway stake came to talk to us and he is such a great man. We love him so much, he really has the spirit with him whenever he talks, and he's typically a quiet man, so when he talks it's amazing to feel the authority in his voice. Well we learned a lot more ways to find people and we learned this fun game called Busc (aka Buscar - to search). Someone starts reading out loud in the Book of Mormon and then everyone else has to find the passage and start reading along, the first to find it is the next to read first. It's really fun but almost stressful in front of President. Haha, however, surprisingly, I know the scriptures better then I thought, or I got lucky. :)
.
Are the Larsen's coming for thanksgiving? Oh and we are going to a member's house for dinner on Thanksgiving. And all of their 4 boys will be there. Sister Davis ( a member in our ward whom I love :) ) mentioned that it was more like a triple date with us three sisters. Good thing I'm focused on missionary work.
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Okay as for the miracles! Last Tuesday night we had invited a lady, Karen, we had met with several times to a relief society exercise activity, she came to the activity Tuesday and all the sisters in the ward introduced themselves and were very friendly. So a few days later we went to follow up and ended up teaching her about how we can have the spirit with us always; she can have God's presence with her always which is her huge desire. She also mentioned that she many times asked for answers but never recognized them so we invited her to pray to see if we had what she needed. She said she would and after having several meetings with her that led to no-where, we finally got somewhere and she is a new investigator! Well we set up a time to meet with her again but it was far away so Sis. Nichols said we should drop by with something and invite her to church. So we dropped by with Sis. Hudson's home-made muffins and left them with Karen's son with the message that we'd love it if they could come to church on Sunday at nine. We didn't think he would forward the message but we hoped he might.
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Saturday night we had 30 min left before going back home and we didn't know what to do. It was pouring outside and we really just wanted to go home. We decided to pray about it and I felt like we needed to go to this potentials house. I realized that I could dismiss the thought but as soon as I thought that I realized that I needed to give up on all my anxieties and just do God's will. So we went to this woman's house and she came to the door very uninterested and would have shut the door in our face if the dog hadn't come outside. She told us we couldn't come back, so I was a bit disappointed but I realized that even when Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac and the angel stopped him, it wasn't pointless, Abraham realized that he would always do the Lord's will no matter what. I felt like I learned that lesson so I was satisfied.
.
Well Sunday we were running a little late to church. We made it there 5 minutes early and noticed someone who looked a lot like Karen sitting next to Bro. Burt. So we walked up to them and realized it was Karen, and she had brought her husband! HUGE Shock! We were smiling for hours on end. Heavenly Father truly does bless us when we do His will.
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Well I don't have much else to say. Keep up the good work. Thank you for all your prayers! And I love you all! Good luck in all your endeavors and may the Lord bless you for them.
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Love Sister Maureen Davis
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Week 38 - Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Here's the latest from Maureen, it sounds like transfers went well. She's still in the same area but has a third sister in her companionship again. She'll be used to that this time. Thank you for all of your prayers on Maureen's behalf. I know she feels and appreciates them.
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Dear Mom and others... :)
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Thank you for your letter. One comment you gave made me think of Heavenly Father talking to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. He gave them commandments and told them what they needed to do to live in His presence, however He told them that they had the freedom to choose for themselves. So when they chose to eat of the fruit it was their own choosing, they couldn't blame God for Making them eat the fruit which wound them up in this desert wasteland where they had to work, sweat, be mortal, etc. Instead they freely chose to come amidst the trials in order to allow man to be. God doesn't make us do anything. He gives us commandments to help us be happy and because He has to have law and punishment to be a God (Alma 42 is a wonderful chapter explaining this). I chose to come on a mission on my own. I was told by many people that this would make me happy and that if I did this I would be blessed but in the end it was my choosing that led me to be here. I did receive guidance and I am so grateful for it. Without that guidance, from grandparents, parents, family and friends I probably wouldn't be out here in the first place. Just think about that, without people to guide us who know better then us we'd all be fine and dandy but we wouldn't be joyous, we wouldn't find ultimate satisfaction in life without those people to guide us, like Prophets, apostles, etc. We can do well enough on our own but in the end, it is listening to the wise counsel of those who know better than me, then asking God myself if it is right and true that leads me eventually to the place that will give me greatest satisfaction. I love that. And I know I am in that place. :) Christ taught in parables so that those who were ready would understand, so I'm sorry if my "parables" are confusing, I'm not perfect. :)
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I love you all and I don't have much to share other then the transfer story this week. We went to transfers and found out that our New companion is actually a sister from Temple square who gets 3 months out in the mission field. She's been on her mission for a year now so she has more experience in the field but she's now learning how to proselyte. It's slightly complicated as we are trying to work in everything we've learned and fit it all together. It isn't the easiest of processes but she's a great example. We love her already. Her name is Sis. Nichols and apparently Granddad, her dad works for CES. He is currently the Institute director in North Carolina. I don't know if you know him though. She is very funny and full of energy and she's going to be teaching us a lot about contacting people which will be good. Sometimes I wonder if we're having too much fun as a companionship... ;) haha I love it. Today we're going to Julian, to try out some of their pies. We'll have to take pictures and send them soon. :)
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Know that I love you all and that I'm praying for you and hope you all have a great week! I'm sorry I can't write more, we're limited to an hour. Last note - I love what Erin learned this week and it's something we have to constantly remember and do, we need to pray to have those experiences so that we "retain in our remembrance" the greatness of God, that He loves us, He hears our prayers and answers them. It's something that I'm constantly trying to get better at and it's something that each and every one of us need to do repeatedly. Afterall that is what our Prophet told us we need to be doing right now. So thanks Erin. :)
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I love you all and hope you are doing well!
Love Sister Maureen Davis
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ps good job mom at making those comments on Mormon.org! Everyone should be making profiles, tis true. They are great resources for those who don't know anything about our religion. :) Love ya!
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Dear Mom and others... :)
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Thank you for your letter. One comment you gave made me think of Heavenly Father talking to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. He gave them commandments and told them what they needed to do to live in His presence, however He told them that they had the freedom to choose for themselves. So when they chose to eat of the fruit it was their own choosing, they couldn't blame God for Making them eat the fruit which wound them up in this desert wasteland where they had to work, sweat, be mortal, etc. Instead they freely chose to come amidst the trials in order to allow man to be. God doesn't make us do anything. He gives us commandments to help us be happy and because He has to have law and punishment to be a God (Alma 42 is a wonderful chapter explaining this). I chose to come on a mission on my own. I was told by many people that this would make me happy and that if I did this I would be blessed but in the end it was my choosing that led me to be here. I did receive guidance and I am so grateful for it. Without that guidance, from grandparents, parents, family and friends I probably wouldn't be out here in the first place. Just think about that, without people to guide us who know better then us we'd all be fine and dandy but we wouldn't be joyous, we wouldn't find ultimate satisfaction in life without those people to guide us, like Prophets, apostles, etc. We can do well enough on our own but in the end, it is listening to the wise counsel of those who know better than me, then asking God myself if it is right and true that leads me eventually to the place that will give me greatest satisfaction. I love that. And I know I am in that place. :) Christ taught in parables so that those who were ready would understand, so I'm sorry if my "parables" are confusing, I'm not perfect. :)
.
I love you all and I don't have much to share other then the transfer story this week. We went to transfers and found out that our New companion is actually a sister from Temple square who gets 3 months out in the mission field. She's been on her mission for a year now so she has more experience in the field but she's now learning how to proselyte. It's slightly complicated as we are trying to work in everything we've learned and fit it all together. It isn't the easiest of processes but she's a great example. We love her already. Her name is Sis. Nichols and apparently Granddad, her dad works for CES. He is currently the Institute director in North Carolina. I don't know if you know him though. She is very funny and full of energy and she's going to be teaching us a lot about contacting people which will be good. Sometimes I wonder if we're having too much fun as a companionship... ;) haha I love it. Today we're going to Julian, to try out some of their pies. We'll have to take pictures and send them soon. :)
.
Know that I love you all and that I'm praying for you and hope you all have a great week! I'm sorry I can't write more, we're limited to an hour. Last note - I love what Erin learned this week and it's something we have to constantly remember and do, we need to pray to have those experiences so that we "retain in our remembrance" the greatness of God, that He loves us, He hears our prayers and answers them. It's something that I'm constantly trying to get better at and it's something that each and every one of us need to do repeatedly. Afterall that is what our Prophet told us we need to be doing right now. So thanks Erin. :)
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I love you all and hope you are doing well!
Love Sister Maureen Davis
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ps good job mom at making those comments on Mormon.org! Everyone should be making profiles, tis true. They are great resources for those who don't know anything about our religion. :) Love ya!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Week 37 - November 3rd, 2011
Hello Everyone. This is Maureen's letter from last week. For some reason, (oh, it's because I forgot) it didn't get sent last week. Here it is now. She's doing really well, and is enjoying being a trainer. She sent pictures last week, and her area is just gorgeous. There are beautiful mountains and fantastic sunsets. Everything is green and tropical. I'm not sure she's going to want to come back to the desert! Thank you all for your love and support and prayers. Have a great week. (I went back to the correct week and posted it for that date, so it doesn't look like it's out of place. EM)
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Dear Family and Friends,
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For starters, Thanks mom for the package! It was so fun to get it. Funny story, so someone in our zone picks up the mail for the whole zone and I don't know who got it last Tuesday but the elders from Ramona (up north of us) grabbed my package on accident. So when I went for mail and didn't have anything I was a bit sad as I expected the package should be there. But I figured I'd get it next tuesday. So thursday rolls around and we got a strange text from some Ramona elders asking if I was there. I asked them what they needed and they said Once upon a time we stole your package and now we probably should get it to you. So Friday, I got the package at interviews with President and some Ramona elders were waiting for me to open it in front of them. they told me the only reason they stole it was so that they could see me open my package. I thought they were joking... elder England wasn't, so I opened it and I really should have played it up with my clothes but I just brought out the jelly beans and they went crazy. It was a hayday at the stake center as the elders were tossing around jelly beans. So thanks mom, you made the elders day. ;) And the outfits and candy I Love! Thanks! I sent a package last week with the recorder and my memory card from my camera FULL of pictures. So I hope you got it and enjoyed it.
.
So this past sunday, Sis. Hudson and I were asked to give a talk in church. Yes talk as in singular, solomente uno para dos personas. haha We got up together and gave a talk on sharing the gospel with others. It was a great talk with wonderful quotes and we spent a bit preparing for it But I felt like the delivery was awkward, hopefully the Spirit was able to inspire people. :) At least one person came up to us after and told us she got the message and was going to work harder. We talked about how to use Preach my Gospel, how the Spirit will speak through us as we provide the opportunities to share and open our mouths, etc. It was lots of fun preparing for the talk using so many materials Without the internet haha. We did Lots of reading. And of course we learned the most from our talk... maybe the Bishopric was trying to tell us something about our teaching skills.... :) It was good.Well yesterday morning we tried to see a former investigator that we've been trying for a while now. We decided the night before that we really need to go at 11am so we left a few minutes early from study and arrived at her house right at 11am. Well we didn't expect to get in but she was feeling really good and let us in. We talked to her for a little while about her experiences in the past and then we asked Do you know it is true? She seemed hesitant to answer so she told us a story about her experience with promptings and then about the time she was almost baptized when her husband vehemently said she could Not be baptized. She knows it is true but because of her husband she doesn't want to ruin that relationship so she hasn't been baptized. Sis. Hudson then talked about how baptism is a covenant of willingness and that God knows our struggles and won't make us do things we are physically unable to do. She said that He loves all of His children and won't make it impossible for any of us to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. She said that no missionary had told her that before; her countenance changed. She wants to Do what's right but the one problem now is her husband. She can't do anything until her husband consents, we told her we understood and that we'd still like to visit with her and help her continue on this path as much as possible. So she's meeting with us again next week. Her outlook is changed and she definitely felt the spirit while we were there. It was a really neat experience to start off our halloween. :)
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We had a good halloween as we talked to people who were out and about and then we went to dinner at the Carpenters. Sis. Carpenter told us what she had done that day. She was so excited to share. She's talking a class online and the teacher lives in utah. Every now and then the teacher will share something about her life. Well about 6 weeks ago her daughter passed away at age 24 because of a brain tumor. She had tried to make it to Halloween as it was her favorite holdiay. As it hadn't worked out, the mother was devestated. So Sis. Carpenter scoutted out this lady's address, sent some girls from our ward up at BYU over to her house yesterday morning to pumpkin attack her house (cut out pumpkins on sticks in the lawn). And she had a company send 8 dozen balloons over to her house with a note that said Shine Bright and Fly free (which was the same message this family wrote on floating lanterns when their daughter passed away). So Sis. Carpenter tried everything she could to make this lady's day brighter And she was just floating on a cloud. She was sooo happy. It is always so neat to see someone do service and find so much joy in it. Sis. carpenter said that was the happiest she had been all week! And that it was more neat than halloween. Service really is a fuel for loving our brothers and sisters and bringing comfort to a world of so much sorrow. I love service and I hope I never lose that desire to serve others.
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Well we had to be in by 5:30 that night so we came home and studied a book by Elder Ballard, Our search for Happiness?
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I love you all! Keep up the good work and the missionary spirit!
Love Sister Maureen Davis
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Dear Family and Friends,
.
For starters, Thanks mom for the package! It was so fun to get it. Funny story, so someone in our zone picks up the mail for the whole zone and I don't know who got it last Tuesday but the elders from Ramona (up north of us) grabbed my package on accident. So when I went for mail and didn't have anything I was a bit sad as I expected the package should be there. But I figured I'd get it next tuesday. So thursday rolls around and we got a strange text from some Ramona elders asking if I was there. I asked them what they needed and they said Once upon a time we stole your package and now we probably should get it to you. So Friday, I got the package at interviews with President and some Ramona elders were waiting for me to open it in front of them. they told me the only reason they stole it was so that they could see me open my package. I thought they were joking... elder England wasn't, so I opened it and I really should have played it up with my clothes but I just brought out the jelly beans and they went crazy. It was a hayday at the stake center as the elders were tossing around jelly beans. So thanks mom, you made the elders day. ;) And the outfits and candy I Love! Thanks! I sent a package last week with the recorder and my memory card from my camera FULL of pictures. So I hope you got it and enjoyed it.
.
So this past sunday, Sis. Hudson and I were asked to give a talk in church. Yes talk as in singular, solomente uno para dos personas. haha We got up together and gave a talk on sharing the gospel with others. It was a great talk with wonderful quotes and we spent a bit preparing for it But I felt like the delivery was awkward, hopefully the Spirit was able to inspire people. :) At least one person came up to us after and told us she got the message and was going to work harder. We talked about how to use Preach my Gospel, how the Spirit will speak through us as we provide the opportunities to share and open our mouths, etc. It was lots of fun preparing for the talk using so many materials Without the internet haha. We did Lots of reading. And of course we learned the most from our talk... maybe the Bishopric was trying to tell us something about our teaching skills.... :) It was good.Well yesterday morning we tried to see a former investigator that we've been trying for a while now. We decided the night before that we really need to go at 11am so we left a few minutes early from study and arrived at her house right at 11am. Well we didn't expect to get in but she was feeling really good and let us in. We talked to her for a little while about her experiences in the past and then we asked Do you know it is true? She seemed hesitant to answer so she told us a story about her experience with promptings and then about the time she was almost baptized when her husband vehemently said she could Not be baptized. She knows it is true but because of her husband she doesn't want to ruin that relationship so she hasn't been baptized. Sis. Hudson then talked about how baptism is a covenant of willingness and that God knows our struggles and won't make us do things we are physically unable to do. She said that He loves all of His children and won't make it impossible for any of us to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. She said that no missionary had told her that before; her countenance changed. She wants to Do what's right but the one problem now is her husband. She can't do anything until her husband consents, we told her we understood and that we'd still like to visit with her and help her continue on this path as much as possible. So she's meeting with us again next week. Her outlook is changed and she definitely felt the spirit while we were there. It was a really neat experience to start off our halloween. :)
.
We had a good halloween as we talked to people who were out and about and then we went to dinner at the Carpenters. Sis. Carpenter told us what she had done that day. She was so excited to share. She's talking a class online and the teacher lives in utah. Every now and then the teacher will share something about her life. Well about 6 weeks ago her daughter passed away at age 24 because of a brain tumor. She had tried to make it to Halloween as it was her favorite holdiay. As it hadn't worked out, the mother was devestated. So Sis. Carpenter scoutted out this lady's address, sent some girls from our ward up at BYU over to her house yesterday morning to pumpkin attack her house (cut out pumpkins on sticks in the lawn). And she had a company send 8 dozen balloons over to her house with a note that said Shine Bright and Fly free (which was the same message this family wrote on floating lanterns when their daughter passed away). So Sis. Carpenter tried everything she could to make this lady's day brighter And she was just floating on a cloud. She was sooo happy. It is always so neat to see someone do service and find so much joy in it. Sis. carpenter said that was the happiest she had been all week! And that it was more neat than halloween. Service really is a fuel for loving our brothers and sisters and bringing comfort to a world of so much sorrow. I love service and I hope I never lose that desire to serve others.
.
Well we had to be in by 5:30 that night so we came home and studied a book by Elder Ballard, Our search for Happiness?
.
I love you all! Keep up the good work and the missionary spirit!
Love Sister Maureen Davis
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Week 36 - Thursday, October 27th, 2011
Dearest Family and Friends... Yeah! (Maddy knows where that's from)
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I have so much news to tell you!!!!
.
For starters Todd is getting Baptized!!! He is the last member in a part member family to get baptized and I can't tell you what a change we've seen in him! He's so different then when we started teaching him. He's much more peaceful and happy, psh if that was all this church did for people I'd be happy! It's been so neat to see his growth. He started from not even knowing if God existed to now knowing that this is true and that he needs to be apart of it. He's getting baptized November 26th, and He's telling people about it! It's so neat!
.
Okay, so tomorrow is transfer meeting and Sis. Hudson and I were So sure we weren't getting moved and then we got a call this morning. I felt my heart drop to the floor. I wasn't ready to leave Green Valley! Well Elder Belt, our zone leader told us, "Sis. Davis..... (longest pause of my life).... you're staying and Sis. Hudson......... you're staying too!" So why in the world did we need the call? Because both of us are training! I barely end the training program for Sis. Hudson on Sunday and I'm back on it. Which is actually really nice bc now I'll get these things ingrained in my head, being the third time I've been through this training program with my own during the pilot program. Ha! We're still in shock and don't know exactly what to think! It's crazy. Hopefully I'll be able to help this new sister and be able to work with Sis. Hudson to help her too! It's so neat that Sis. Hudson, who I trained is now helping me train right after her training. I know she'll be great. :)
.
Okay another late development, a week ago we had something called Santana winds. They are super fast Dry winds that if there is any fire at all, it can spread rapidly! So we got nervous on wednesday but no big deal because the next day was POURing rain. And in australia apparently it's called "bucketing." so I'll let you imagine that. :) It's not always fun to go out in the rain but Some people will take pity on us and let us in. So we talked with lots of people that day.
.
I've been summoned to sing in church on Thanksgiving sunday. Sis. Davis, the choir director found out I liked singing and invited me to use my talents, haha I don't know if I can promise anything good in a ward with so much talent. I am constantly humbled for sure. :)
.
Speaking of humbling, I have been so humbled this week. This Sunday I realized that I needed to learn the things I'm learning this way. I could not be the person I am today if I hadn't come on a mission, I would not be the Missionary I am today if I wasn't constantly challenged by change, I couldn't learn the way I learn if I had been one of those Preach My Gospel missionaries on the DVDs, I couldn't teach the way I teach without the training program that I'm Constantly on, and I couldn't keep improving without things that take me continuously out of my comfort zone. It was a really neat realization that God does have a plan for me, He does care what happens to me and that every situation I'm in is for my benefit, my learning and growth. I was able to share that yesterday with a woman we're teaching. Her name is Kathy and she has had so many health issues that sometimes she wonders why God gives her these things. I was able to share my experience and how I'm always wondering if I'm going to be able to help those around me. She told us, "you don't have to worry. having you sit in my living room at all has changed my life and lifted my spirits like you can't imagine." She told us that we are affecting those around us and that I don't need to worry about it. It was so sweet to hear her feel that way and to have a reconfirmation that I Am doing the right thing right now. :) I know this church is true. I love it and I love being a part of this missionary service to God. There is no better place that I can be right now.
.
I love you all and hope you are all doing well and being strong. I pray for you all daily!
.
Love Sister Maureen Davis
.
I have so much news to tell you!!!!
.
For starters Todd is getting Baptized!!! He is the last member in a part member family to get baptized and I can't tell you what a change we've seen in him! He's so different then when we started teaching him. He's much more peaceful and happy, psh if that was all this church did for people I'd be happy! It's been so neat to see his growth. He started from not even knowing if God existed to now knowing that this is true and that he needs to be apart of it. He's getting baptized November 26th, and He's telling people about it! It's so neat!
.
Okay, so tomorrow is transfer meeting and Sis. Hudson and I were So sure we weren't getting moved and then we got a call this morning. I felt my heart drop to the floor. I wasn't ready to leave Green Valley! Well Elder Belt, our zone leader told us, "Sis. Davis..... (longest pause of my life).... you're staying and Sis. Hudson......... you're staying too!" So why in the world did we need the call? Because both of us are training! I barely end the training program for Sis. Hudson on Sunday and I'm back on it. Which is actually really nice bc now I'll get these things ingrained in my head, being the third time I've been through this training program with my own during the pilot program. Ha! We're still in shock and don't know exactly what to think! It's crazy. Hopefully I'll be able to help this new sister and be able to work with Sis. Hudson to help her too! It's so neat that Sis. Hudson, who I trained is now helping me train right after her training. I know she'll be great. :)
.
Okay another late development, a week ago we had something called Santana winds. They are super fast Dry winds that if there is any fire at all, it can spread rapidly! So we got nervous on wednesday but no big deal because the next day was POURing rain. And in australia apparently it's called "bucketing." so I'll let you imagine that. :) It's not always fun to go out in the rain but Some people will take pity on us and let us in. So we talked with lots of people that day.
.
I've been summoned to sing in church on Thanksgiving sunday. Sis. Davis, the choir director found out I liked singing and invited me to use my talents, haha I don't know if I can promise anything good in a ward with so much talent. I am constantly humbled for sure. :)
.
Speaking of humbling, I have been so humbled this week. This Sunday I realized that I needed to learn the things I'm learning this way. I could not be the person I am today if I hadn't come on a mission, I would not be the Missionary I am today if I wasn't constantly challenged by change, I couldn't learn the way I learn if I had been one of those Preach My Gospel missionaries on the DVDs, I couldn't teach the way I teach without the training program that I'm Constantly on, and I couldn't keep improving without things that take me continuously out of my comfort zone. It was a really neat realization that God does have a plan for me, He does care what happens to me and that every situation I'm in is for my benefit, my learning and growth. I was able to share that yesterday with a woman we're teaching. Her name is Kathy and she has had so many health issues that sometimes she wonders why God gives her these things. I was able to share my experience and how I'm always wondering if I'm going to be able to help those around me. She told us, "you don't have to worry. having you sit in my living room at all has changed my life and lifted my spirits like you can't imagine." She told us that we are affecting those around us and that I don't need to worry about it. It was so sweet to hear her feel that way and to have a reconfirmation that I Am doing the right thing right now. :) I know this church is true. I love it and I love being a part of this missionary service to God. There is no better place that I can be right now.
.
I love you all and hope you are all doing well and being strong. I pray for you all daily!
.
Love Sister Maureen Davis
Thursday, October 20, 2011
??? Missing a week?
Hey, don't know what happened this week, as there was no letter to post. Sorry, I'll have the next ones up as soon as I get them from Maureen's Mom.
Em
Em
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