 |
| Birthday Celebrations with the Members |
 |
| Make a wish! |
 |
| Then your face gets the cake!! |
 |
| Gifts |
 |
| Sister Orton's beautiful Cake!! |
 |
| It was beautiful!!! |
 |
 |
| Make another wish!! |
 |
| Hope it comes true! |
 |
| All the Roomies |
 |
| Can't forget.... |
 |
| An egg on the head for good luck! |
Happy Birthday Meghan!!! More Birthday Photos!!
Week #63 Feliz Cumplianos!!
 |
| Happy Birthday from Papa and Gigi |
 |
| Someone is a big fan!! |
 |
| Happy Birthday from Travis and Dusty |
 |
| Ahhh Wheelz!! |
 |
| Happy Birthday from Hawaii |
 |
| Happy Birthday from Gma and Gpa Goodie |
Week #63 I'm a Sister Training Leader!!!!
so just so you all know.... dan dan dan.... que? i did not have changes!!! im still here in lo cañas... can you believe that? i thought for sure i was going to get changes but i guess im going to finish my mision here! its all good, i´ve got mixed feelings about it but it will be good. im excited. 3 comps my whole mission and 2 sectors wow... hahah! ALSO guess what?? I am a sister training leader!! ya it will be crazy with lots of meetings. but i´ve going to start my divisions with my hermanas tomorrow actually so should be fun!! wish me luck. ya about kyn it was crazy Saturday we got on the computer to do this thing we do to find less actives and i had to get on my email to get my password... and i saw the email and being a little chueca, and i think the spirit was there too... i looked at kyns message curious tooo... and so i started my fast for her right after in the street haha but I'm glad I was able to fast with you guys! so hopefully it helps her a bit...
ok so lets see... this week was a lot of walking not many people wanted to talk to us this week but we all have those weeks right... but we had some miracles too... so we were walking and all of a sudden Monica's name came into my head and i said ya we need to go visit her... so we went and she wasn't doing too good, still struggling with the whole thing with her son and all the things that have happened... but we were able to help lift her up for a bit... you could feel the spirit really strong and i just felt good that we were able to help lift her up when she was down!! then we have this new investigator named adrian. he is from Ecuador and is living here in Chile so we can't go to his house and teach him so we had to teach him in the park on wed. and we were all freezing our butts off... it was so cold... and like 9:30 at night tooo. but the lesson went really good and we taught the whole thing in english because he wants to practice his english. it was so weird!! my first lesson in english and i was forgetting all the words in english. it would have been so much easier in spanish. blessing tho right? i remember when i couldn't even give a lesson in spanish when i first got here so it made me realize how blessed i have been to have learned a new language. i thought it was going to be impossible! heavenly father is a miracle worker "im speaking spanish"!! thanks to him!
we also had a cool experience with a contact. we were walking and all of a sudden my body stopped. i turned and the next thing i knew i was handing the kid a tarjeta and talking to him and then when i realized what i was doing, i had gotten his address and set up an appointment to visit him!! it was soooo weird and it definitely was not me talking... kinda cool tho. but he lives in the other hermana's sector but i have a feeling he is going to be a good investigators for them!! well that's about it for now, lots more happened but i don't have time hahaha.!! but i love you all so much and i feel so blessed to have every single one of you guys in my life...thanks for everything and for the birthday wishings - you guys all made me cry!!! LES AMO!!!
con amor,
hermana godfrey
ok so lets see... this week was a lot of walking not many people wanted to talk to us this week but we all have those weeks right... but we had some miracles too... so we were walking and all of a sudden Monica's name came into my head and i said ya we need to go visit her... so we went and she wasn't doing too good, still struggling with the whole thing with her son and all the things that have happened... but we were able to help lift her up for a bit... you could feel the spirit really strong and i just felt good that we were able to help lift her up when she was down!! then we have this new investigator named adrian. he is from Ecuador and is living here in Chile so we can't go to his house and teach him so we had to teach him in the park on wed. and we were all freezing our butts off... it was so cold... and like 9:30 at night tooo. but the lesson went really good and we taught the whole thing in english because he wants to practice his english. it was so weird!! my first lesson in english and i was forgetting all the words in english. it would have been so much easier in spanish. blessing tho right? i remember when i couldn't even give a lesson in spanish when i first got here so it made me realize how blessed i have been to have learned a new language. i thought it was going to be impossible! heavenly father is a miracle worker "im speaking spanish"!! thanks to him!
we also had a cool experience with a contact. we were walking and all of a sudden my body stopped. i turned and the next thing i knew i was handing the kid a tarjeta and talking to him and then when i realized what i was doing, i had gotten his address and set up an appointment to visit him!! it was soooo weird and it definitely was not me talking... kinda cool tho. but he lives in the other hermana's sector but i have a feeling he is going to be a good investigators for them!! well that's about it for now, lots more happened but i don't have time hahaha.!! but i love you all so much and i feel so blessed to have every single one of you guys in my life...thanks for everything and for the birthday wishings - you guys all made me cry!!! LES AMO!!!
con amor,
hermana godfrey
Week #62 P-Day in the Andes
 |
| HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!! |
 |
| I finally got to see the Andes!! |
 |
| Winter Weather in Chile |
Week #62 My Testimony
so first off, to start off we have cambios this next week so we will see next monday where i end up spending my last transfer. that's cool you guys met hna chamberlin.. she was my comp from the CCM´s trainer-- she's really sweet and a way good missionary.
so this week was a bit crazy!! i was raining super hard on wed. i was on divisiones and i wasn't too prepared for the rain... and i got soaking wet hahah. thankfully we got into two houses.. wahoo but the rest of the night we were walking around in the cold, raining night... you have got to love the mission. my comp that day, hna sharp was worried because my feet were soaked but i told her that i was fine and we continued. plus i was loving the rain...haha. it was a fun night!!!
so the other day i was sitting there listening too a talk by Eyring, the one he gave this last conference about his grandfather and everything he has and the fact that he has the gospel in his life is all thanks to his grandfather. i thought that was neat because i know the gospel came into our life thanks to one of our ancestors... but then he started to talk about the conversion of his grandfather and how he was converted and how he gained his testimony... so i started to think, where did my testimony come from? when was I truly, truly converted??... well i don't know if it was day and noche for me... i think it was little things testifying to me throughout my whole life... and experiences i have had throughout my life. but i would have to say my mission has definitely sealed my testimony, and it tries your testimony too but i think after its been tried its that much more stronger. I'm so grateful that from my mission i have learned and grown so much, all thanks to the mission. I have gained my testimony out here. i know God is our Heavenly Father, i know Christ lives... and i know he has a plan for each and every one of us. i love this gospel with all my heart.!! and i have the best family in the whole world and thanks to my parents and their faithfulness, i was able to grow up in the gospel.
i would love you hear your guys conversion stories. when was the moment that you were truly converted???? so feel free to write me!! hehehe ill be waiting next monday!!
haha well time is going fast trying my hardest to just finish running. hope you all have a great week and know im always praying for you all. love you all so much!!
con amor,
hermana godfrey
so this week was a bit crazy!! i was raining super hard on wed. i was on divisiones and i wasn't too prepared for the rain... and i got soaking wet hahah. thankfully we got into two houses.. wahoo but the rest of the night we were walking around in the cold, raining night... you have got to love the mission. my comp that day, hna sharp was worried because my feet were soaked but i told her that i was fine and we continued. plus i was loving the rain...haha. it was a fun night!!!
so the other day i was sitting there listening too a talk by Eyring, the one he gave this last conference about his grandfather and everything he has and the fact that he has the gospel in his life is all thanks to his grandfather. i thought that was neat because i know the gospel came into our life thanks to one of our ancestors... but then he started to talk about the conversion of his grandfather and how he was converted and how he gained his testimony... so i started to think, where did my testimony come from? when was I truly, truly converted??... well i don't know if it was day and noche for me... i think it was little things testifying to me throughout my whole life... and experiences i have had throughout my life. but i would have to say my mission has definitely sealed my testimony, and it tries your testimony too but i think after its been tried its that much more stronger. I'm so grateful that from my mission i have learned and grown so much, all thanks to the mission. I have gained my testimony out here. i know God is our Heavenly Father, i know Christ lives... and i know he has a plan for each and every one of us. i love this gospel with all my heart.!! and i have the best family in the whole world and thanks to my parents and their faithfulness, i was able to grow up in the gospel.
i would love you hear your guys conversion stories. when was the moment that you were truly converted???? so feel free to write me!! hehehe ill be waiting next monday!!
haha well time is going fast trying my hardest to just finish running. hope you all have a great week and know im always praying for you all. love you all so much!!
con amor,
hermana godfrey
Week #61 Only 8 Weeks to Go!!
hola familia y amigos,
things here in chile are going really good! this week was crazy and i am absolutely exhausted... lets see where do i start.. well i had to run down to el centro and wake up early to go get my carnet... and we were there all day... then we came back and went straight to help with the noche de hogar or the activity we have been planning. it was crazy then we got everything set up and wilberdani and paul came!!!! wahooo!! they stuck out like sore thumbs and so everyone was just talking to them like crazy and everyone was supporting them a lot. it was really neat to see and then, sunday came around and they both came to church. i think they really like it. it was really cool to finally see them in church and all the guys, just man, really good friends with paul. during the noche de hogar us missionaries, we did a skit and it seriously was the funnest thing!! we got the whole ward laughing so hard. ill try and see if i can send it on dropbox. it was a good night.
then on sunday we had a pretty crazy experience. fransica was supposed to get baptized and everything was ready to go. they showed up to church on time and at the end of church we started the baptism service. everything started out good, but when we got to the font, the water was freezing cold freezing freezing cold!! but they still got in... but poor fran got scared and didn't want to go under the water. the hno pushed her under the first time but she didn't go down all the way and then the second time she was bawling .... i felt so so bad!! i promised her that the water would be warm and that it would be a beautiful experience and here we traumatized the poor girl... so we ended the service and they went home. i was a wreck.. i felt so so bad... one of the counselors of the ward was really sweet and just told me that it was normal and things like this happen and its just another story i can tell people haha. but ya we got home and i made her a banana cake and i cute little card and we took it to them, and when we got there i really didn't know if they were going to let us in. but they did and fran was super excited to see us. she told us that she was super cold and scared and she asked if we could show her video of baptism and we did and she started to get excited again. i dunno the conclusion that i came to is that heavenly father knows what he is doing and me and my comp really think that maybe it was to help the mum and give her time to follow the example her daughter is giving or something like that, but everything happens for a reason... i think and it was just a challenge she has to overcome and her fear of water too. and if she really has a strong testimony she will do it!!! so ya that was pretty much my week lots more happened but too much to write. that is kinda the key points!! i love you all so much and am always praying for you all have a great week!
besitos y abrasos!!
con mucho amor,
hermana godfrey
things here in chile are going really good! this week was crazy and i am absolutely exhausted... lets see where do i start.. well i had to run down to el centro and wake up early to go get my carnet... and we were there all day... then we came back and went straight to help with the noche de hogar or the activity we have been planning. it was crazy then we got everything set up and wilberdani and paul came!!!! wahooo!! they stuck out like sore thumbs and so everyone was just talking to them like crazy and everyone was supporting them a lot. it was really neat to see and then, sunday came around and they both came to church. i think they really like it. it was really cool to finally see them in church and all the guys, just man, really good friends with paul. during the noche de hogar us missionaries, we did a skit and it seriously was the funnest thing!! we got the whole ward laughing so hard. ill try and see if i can send it on dropbox. it was a good night.
then on sunday we had a pretty crazy experience. fransica was supposed to get baptized and everything was ready to go. they showed up to church on time and at the end of church we started the baptism service. everything started out good, but when we got to the font, the water was freezing cold freezing freezing cold!! but they still got in... but poor fran got scared and didn't want to go under the water. the hno pushed her under the first time but she didn't go down all the way and then the second time she was bawling .... i felt so so bad!! i promised her that the water would be warm and that it would be a beautiful experience and here we traumatized the poor girl... so we ended the service and they went home. i was a wreck.. i felt so so bad... one of the counselors of the ward was really sweet and just told me that it was normal and things like this happen and its just another story i can tell people haha. but ya we got home and i made her a banana cake and i cute little card and we took it to them, and when we got there i really didn't know if they were going to let us in. but they did and fran was super excited to see us. she told us that she was super cold and scared and she asked if we could show her video of baptism and we did and she started to get excited again. i dunno the conclusion that i came to is that heavenly father knows what he is doing and me and my comp really think that maybe it was to help the mum and give her time to follow the example her daughter is giving or something like that, but everything happens for a reason... i think and it was just a challenge she has to overcome and her fear of water too. and if she really has a strong testimony she will do it!!! so ya that was pretty much my week lots more happened but too much to write. that is kinda the key points!! i love you all so much and am always praying for you all have a great week!
besitos y abrasos!!
con mucho amor,
hermana godfrey
Week #60, A Mother's Day Chat
Familia it was so good to talk you all on sunday!! it seriously is this best thing in the world to talk too the fam out here in the mission. and it just made me realize that i have the best family in the world my comps even said you guys are all awesome. i just told them, "ya i know" haha. but you guys are the best!! thanks so much for just being the best all of you.
i can't believe we were talking about when i get home! only 8 weeks left that is nothing.. I'm freaking out but excited and sad and just lots of things going through my head. but ya. as i told you this week was a bit ruff walking a lot and stuff and not getting into many houses, but that isn't going to hold us back and I know we have a great week ahead of us. it already started out really well. so today for pday we went to this little china store, like china town kinda and when we got on the micro(bus) wilberdani was sitting there (paul y giovannas) and we invited her to come with us to an actividad we have on friday... and she said she wanted to come and was super excited to come!! wahoo!! I'm so stoked! she is such a sweet heart. so I'm excited... this week is going to be chuck full with things to do so im excited...
con amor,
hermana godfrey
Week #59 Martha and Fran
buen día a todos!! everything here in chile is going really well. we had a pretty good week... kinda slow because as you all know these crazy chileans have a vacation for the littlest things, so this weekend was día de los trabajadores... so everyone went out of town for the weekend, but we were still able to kick some butt and contacted a ton of new people which was awesome.
this week, we really focused a lot on martha and fran... o fransica... martha is the mum of fran and they both have been listening to the lessons. they are so cute! fran said she wants to be a missionary one day... awwww! so cute - she's only ten but she acts as if she is 20! it was awesome because they both came to church on Sunday!! AHH it was a miracle for me! at first i didn't see them and i was crushed, and then i looked back and there they were!! fran had her book of mormon and everything!! it was wonderful to see them in church! cool story, so we were walking around contacting and i was over it because no body was listening, and i told hna orozco... let's say a prayer really quick. i prayed specifically... i asked that we could find a young man that could someday hold the priesthood and serve a mission. we were walking... first one we contacted, nothing... the second man we contacted was so cool and totally interesting and had tons of questions for us. his name is maxamiliano.... he is incredible!! heavenly father answers prayer, people!!
i also got the chance finally to go to the temple on friday. we went me, hna adams, hna guevara and fanny!! it was so nice to go to the temple again!! i missed the temple so much and to be honest, i did not want to leave. i watched the new video finally, and it was awesome!! so much better then the old one and i felt like i understood so much, so much!! it was incredible how many things i actually understood this time!! i dunno if it was because my spanish was better then the last time, or i´ve studied so much the scriptures that everything makes sense. i dunno, but it was a special experience and fun to go with fanny. she was so excited!! well, a lot more happened this week but that is the basics!! have such a great week!! always praying for you all! Les Amo un monton!!
> Con mucho amor,
> hermana godfrey
this week, we really focused a lot on martha and fran... o fransica... martha is the mum of fran and they both have been listening to the lessons. they are so cute! fran said she wants to be a missionary one day... awwww! so cute - she's only ten but she acts as if she is 20! it was awesome because they both came to church on Sunday!! AHH it was a miracle for me! at first i didn't see them and i was crushed, and then i looked back and there they were!! fran had her book of mormon and everything!! it was wonderful to see them in church! cool story, so we were walking around contacting and i was over it because no body was listening, and i told hna orozco... let's say a prayer really quick. i prayed specifically... i asked that we could find a young man that could someday hold the priesthood and serve a mission. we were walking... first one we contacted, nothing... the second man we contacted was so cool and totally interesting and had tons of questions for us. his name is maxamiliano.... he is incredible!! heavenly father answers prayer, people!!
i also got the chance finally to go to the temple on friday. we went me, hna adams, hna guevara and fanny!! it was so nice to go to the temple again!! i missed the temple so much and to be honest, i did not want to leave. i watched the new video finally, and it was awesome!! so much better then the old one and i felt like i understood so much, so much!! it was incredible how many things i actually understood this time!! i dunno if it was because my spanish was better then the last time, or i´ve studied so much the scriptures that everything makes sense. i dunno, but it was a special experience and fun to go with fanny. she was so excited!! well, a lot more happened this week but that is the basics!! have such a great week!! always praying for you all! Les Amo un monton!!
> Con mucho amor,
> hermana godfrey
Week #58 FELIZ Cumplianos!!
Hola a todos!!
first off FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS mum and chan! wow i cant believe another year has passed i remember last year making posters to send you guys for your birthdays! seems like that was yesterday. but mum i hope you had a great birthday sound like dad and chan were awesome... or tried haha. and chan i hope you have a fun birthday!! FELIZ FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS A TI!!
mum I'm so glad you got that little package close to your birthday... a girl i know here in chile was going to utah to visit a missionary who got home a few months ago and i put that together really quick to give you a bit of Chile! haha. the juice packs are way good and what we drink like every day here. haha. I'm glad you got the package.
this week was a good week we had a lot of good lessons and actually got into a lot of houses this week which was really nice. we are working a with a few people that are progressing quite a bit which is awesome. lorena was finally confirmed this week after being sick for 3 weeks she finally felt good enough to come to church. she said she missed it. which made me happy.
hna wright went out with us this week and it was fun to go out with her and get to know her a bit better. she was able to help us a ton in our sector. sorry... so much happened but its all kinda a blurr just working hard and trying to make the best of these next weeks. sorry it was a boring letter but everything is so crazy that i cant even think straight and my brain is just going like crazy. keep monica and josé in your prayers. love you all so much thanks always for the support! have such a great week. always praying for you all!!!
con mucho amor,
hermana godfrey
mum, dad y chan and who ever else whats so read it.....
read this talk its for missionaries but its sooooo good just you can apply it to you guys too!
i loved this talk so much especially the part where it talks about with out the trials we would never know joy!!! the greats joys we have are after our challenges!! heaven father knows what he is doing we just need to put our trust in him. and have true joy.
Enoch saw in vision the wickedness of our day and was brought to tears.Then the Lord told him He would cause truth and righteousness “to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth” (Moses 7:62). My husband, Dan, serves as a counselor in the mission presidency at the Provo Missionary Training Center, and every Wednesday we see a wave of that flood as 300 to 500 missionaries begin their service. They are clean, happy, and strong, eager to get to those four quarters, to one of 337 missions in 165 countries. When Enoch saw the end result of this flood—the redemption of the righteous—he received a fulness of joy (see Moses 7:67). At the MTC it is impossible not to feel joy in the presence of these elders and sisters. Lehi said, “Men are, that they might have joy” (2 Ne. 2:25). Missionaries are, that they might share joy.
Choosing Joy and Sorrow
The quest for joy in mortality began with Adam and Eve. They chose sorrow and death so they could also choose joy and exaltation. Eve said to Adam, “Were it not for our transgression we … never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient” (Moses 5:11). Our Savior’s Atonement was a choice for joy. Not long after Gethsemane He gathered the little children on the American continent around Him, blessed them, prayed for them, and invited angels to encircle them. Observing the faith of the people, He said, “My joy is full” (3 Ne. 17:20). He had come from the ultimate agony in Jerusalem to a fullness of joy in the Americas. We will never know His agony, but He chose to accomplish the Atonement so we could eventually experience a fullness of joy.
Joy is an emotion of the spirit. It comes through righteous living. It is not a casual or shallow feeling, ever. If we equate fun and pleasure with happiness, we may think pain must always be equated with unhappiness. But that is not true. Joy is not a stranger to pain. We may not feel deeply enough to know joy unless our hearts have been hollowed out by sorrow.A heart may not be big enough to know real joy until it has been stretched and pulled by trials and hard things. In 2 Nephi 2:23 [2 Ne. 2:23] we find this phrase: “having no joy, for they knew no misery.” Our capacity to feel joy actually increases as we righteously endure our pain.
As missionaries go out to serve, they taste the same mixture of emotions almost every day. The deeper their joy in the message and the more intense their desire to share it, the greater their sorrow when it is rejected.Often when the scriptures talk about joy and sorrow, they are referring to missionary work. In Alma 28:8 we read, “And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy.” These four terms often describe a mission:sufferings, sorrows, afflictions, and incomprehensible joy.
If a missionary has had a largely pain-free existence to this point, perhaps the experience of deep joy still lies ahead. One missionary who described premission life as being pretty easy told about teaching a discussion in which the whole family, especially the father, was very responsive.Afterward, as he and his companion pedaled their bicycles toward their apartment, he thought: “So this is what joy feels like. I guess I’ve never known until now.”
What Joy Is and What It Is Not
Joy is learning to “make friends with mortality.” That’s a phrase my sister taught me long ago to help me endure when cars break down and bills pile up. She was trying to help me make the best of a telestial world, much as an aunt of President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) did many years ago in Whitney, Idaho. Seeds were scarce, and she had just finished planting her peas when she looked out the kitchen window to see a rooster going down the row, scratching out her peas, and eating them.She ran outside, grabbed him, chopped off his head, opened him up, took out her peas, replanted them, and cooked him for supper.
Making friends with mission mortality means accepting slammed door sand canceled appointments, the blazing sun or freezing cold. You just smile and say, “This is a mission.” Your heart won’t let you quit or even slow down. You think of President Hinckley, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and try to stay as positive as he is.
Missionaries may not wake up each morning bursting with joy, but they are out the door on time anyway. “Hard” isn’t negative when you are a missionary. Why? Because when your feet hurt and you’re really hungry and the dogs are especially vicious and you are surprised to discover that you are happy anyway, you accept that gift of joy as a blessing from your Heavenly Father, thanking you for doing His work.
Missionaries choose effort over ease. They choose the sorrow of rejection without losing the hope of bringing people to Christ. Serving a mission is a choice, and every elder and sister can choose to make that mission glorious.
Joy is not about having things. Not focusing on money, earning it or spending it, is one of the blessings of a mission. The things of God replace the things of the world. Discovering that having “things” has little to do with having happiness can be a lifelong mission blessing. Some have more worldly possessions, some have fewer, and it doesn’t matter. Missionaries who ask their parents not to send extra money, who want to live on what their leaders say is adequate, have the best missions.
Joy is not about being in the limelight. It is about changing lives, one at a time. When my husband was president of the New Jersey Morristown Mission, a struggling elder confided in me. He wanted so much to be a good missionary—some of the time. The rest of the time he was just homesick and discouraged. He was up and down, up and down. Reading was a challenge; he could not seem to learn the discussions. Solid Elder Brown, * with only two months left to serve, was made his companion. I was concerned that this might mean a difficult and disappointing conclusion to Elder Brown’s mission. But on his last night as a missionary, he wept in gratitude for those two months. We soon learned, not from him, that a miracle had occurred. The two missionaries had read the entire Book of Mormon together. Our struggling elder could now teach the first two discussions, and he never talked about going home again. When they came to see us after our mission was over, they came together. Missionaries can strengthen and be strengthened by every companion.
The great thieves of joy are envy (why can’t I be like you?) and pride (whycan’t you be like me?). A measuring tape is not on the list of missionary supplies. Comparing is measuring, and it destroys joy. And to mockanother’s weaknesses cannot be acceptable to the Lord.
Joy is not about looks or personality or a fluent tongue. It is about having the image of God in your countenance and the power of God in your testimony. It is about loving to be on the Lord’s errand. King Lamoni asked Ammon if he was the Great Spirit. Ammon said just what our elders say today: “I am a man; and … I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people” (Alma 18:34). Great missionaries are too focused on the work to dwell on their own imperfections; thus their strengths come to the fore. They discover that testimony, preparation, and love bring conversion, not looks or personality or the gift of fluency.
New Jersey is the home of Princeton University. We were told that an English professor there had invited two of our missionaries in to visit him.One of them used such poor grammar that it was painful for the professor even to listen. But he could not turn them away because the power of that elder’s testimony encircled this brilliant man. He had to learn more.
Joy is not about leadership positions. If it is a missionary’s companion who is called to be the zone leader instead of himself, and he can rejoice for his companion, then he is a commendable missionary. And if a missionary is called to be a leader and is a humble servant-leader, he is also a commendable missionary. Either way, the missionary doubles his joy.
Joy is about faith in the cause of Christ. Our missionary daughter in Taiwan was having a very bad day. None of her investigators had come to church. There was contention in the branch. Her Chinese companion,full of faith, would not join in her discouragement but said to her, “Everydispensation for 6,000 years has ended in apostasy. Not this one. We are preparing for the Second Coming, and we’re not going to fail.” So much for Sister Workman’s very bad day.
Joy comes from being trusted. Trying to cut corners and get around rules makes any missionary miserable. When you “make yourself mind yourself,” when you know you are going to do what you say you will do,you will know joy. President Workman had only two rules, and if missionaries would keep them he promised a successful mission: “Work really hard and obey.” The praise of the president, as sweet as it is, is not the driving force behind a great missionary. Just doing the work, far from the scrutiny of the mission office, is its own exhilarating reward.
Joy comes from seeing the fruits of your labor. One day we we reworking with our Spanish zone. President Workman was tracting with elders and I with sisters. The plan was for several companionships to meet at a little pizza shop for lunch. I can still see one of our sisters as she burst through the door of the shop. Absolutely brimming with joy, she put her hands to her cheeks and said over and over, “She prayed, she prayed.”We saw pure joy over one investigator’s prayer.
Joy is about overcoming. The Spirit moves missionaries to struggle against laziness, anger, and disobedience. The smallest improvement brings courage, and missionaries keep trying. They learn to forgive each other and work through problems because they learn early that hard feelings drive the Spirit away.
Joy comes from teaching the plan. A sister from Jamaica was being taught at the mission home. The elders would begin to read a scripture,and almost before they could finish she would take the book from them so she could read it herself, exclaiming, “Oh my!” The promise “how great will be your joy” (D&C 18:16) filled the room as we watched her learn.President Workman asked a tall, strongly built elder what he had learned in his few months as a missionary. He said: “Before I came on a mission I knew that there was no greater thrill in life than football. Now I know that is nothing compared to seeing someone taught by the Spirit.”
Joy comes from building the kingdom. As an Apostle, President Wilford Woodruff (1807–98) established the Spring Garden Branch in Newark, New Jersey, on October 11, 1848. It was closed, reopened, and closed again. Newark was not a family town. Crime was rampant.President Workman shared with me his misgivings about sending Elder Smith * as a district leader there. Could he take it? But he went willingly,and the work progressed. On Easter morning, 1990, the Spring Garden Branch was to be organized again. The Brethren wanted it to carry the same name. We met in the YMCA building in the center of Newark. The large room was packed and infused with joy. We sustained leaders who were Latino, Asian, African-American, and Caucasian. Several African brethren came in the colorful dress of their tribes. Young girls wore bright Easter dresses. A gray-haired man in a gray suit and a gray felt hat came in, somberly putting his hat above the coat rack. Following him was a young man, maybe 12, dressed just the same and doing the same thing. I thought to myself, “Newark is going to be OK.” Indeed, they now have a lovely building and missionaries teaching in several languages. But that Easter Sunday Elder Smith was beaming and crying harder than anyone. He said, “This is the happiest day of my life.”
Ultimately, joy is in Jesus Christ. Unbearable pain turned Alma to the Savior and thus to joy. Perhaps that experience prompted him to say,“May God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son” (Alma 33:23). The “joy of his Son” is found in every corner of every mission, indeed within every valiant elder and sister. Since the day on the Mount of Olives when the Savior gave charge to take His message to the world, He has loved His messengers. His promise for their times of trial is very tender: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). His gift to those who testify of Him is not freedom from hard work or sorrow or stretching but the surety that every ounce of effort in His name is an investment in joy.
first off FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS mum and chan! wow i cant believe another year has passed i remember last year making posters to send you guys for your birthdays! seems like that was yesterday. but mum i hope you had a great birthday sound like dad and chan were awesome... or tried haha. and chan i hope you have a fun birthday!! FELIZ FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS A TI!!
mum I'm so glad you got that little package close to your birthday... a girl i know here in chile was going to utah to visit a missionary who got home a few months ago and i put that together really quick to give you a bit of Chile! haha. the juice packs are way good and what we drink like every day here. haha. I'm glad you got the package.
this week was a good week we had a lot of good lessons and actually got into a lot of houses this week which was really nice. we are working a with a few people that are progressing quite a bit which is awesome. lorena was finally confirmed this week after being sick for 3 weeks she finally felt good enough to come to church. she said she missed it. which made me happy.
hna wright went out with us this week and it was fun to go out with her and get to know her a bit better. she was able to help us a ton in our sector. sorry... so much happened but its all kinda a blurr just working hard and trying to make the best of these next weeks. sorry it was a boring letter but everything is so crazy that i cant even think straight and my brain is just going like crazy. keep monica and josé in your prayers. love you all so much thanks always for the support! have such a great week. always praying for you all!!!
con mucho amor,
hermana godfrey
mum, dad y chan and who ever else whats so read it.....
read this talk its for missionaries but its sooooo good just you can apply it to you guys too!
i loved this talk so much especially the part where it talks about with out the trials we would never know joy!!! the greats joys we have are after our challenges!! heaven father knows what he is doing we just need to put our trust in him. and have true joy.
Enoch saw in vision the wickedness of our day and was brought to tears.Then the Lord told him He would cause truth and righteousness “to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth” (Moses 7:62). My husband, Dan, serves as a counselor in the mission presidency at the Provo Missionary Training Center, and every Wednesday we see a wave of that flood as 300 to 500 missionaries begin their service. They are clean, happy, and strong, eager to get to those four quarters, to one of 337 missions in 165 countries. When Enoch saw the end result of this flood—the redemption of the righteous—he received a fulness of joy (see Moses 7:67). At the MTC it is impossible not to feel joy in the presence of these elders and sisters. Lehi said, “Men are, that they might have joy” (2 Ne. 2:25). Missionaries are, that they might share joy.
Choosing Joy and Sorrow
The quest for joy in mortality began with Adam and Eve. They chose sorrow and death so they could also choose joy and exaltation. Eve said to Adam, “Were it not for our transgression we … never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient” (Moses 5:11). Our Savior’s Atonement was a choice for joy. Not long after Gethsemane He gathered the little children on the American continent around Him, blessed them, prayed for them, and invited angels to encircle them. Observing the faith of the people, He said, “My joy is full” (3 Ne. 17:20). He had come from the ultimate agony in Jerusalem to a fullness of joy in the Americas. We will never know His agony, but He chose to accomplish the Atonement so we could eventually experience a fullness of joy.
Joy is an emotion of the spirit. It comes through righteous living. It is not a casual or shallow feeling, ever. If we equate fun and pleasure with happiness, we may think pain must always be equated with unhappiness. But that is not true. Joy is not a stranger to pain. We may not feel deeply enough to know joy unless our hearts have been hollowed out by sorrow.A heart may not be big enough to know real joy until it has been stretched and pulled by trials and hard things. In 2 Nephi 2:23 [2 Ne. 2:23] we find this phrase: “having no joy, for they knew no misery.” Our capacity to feel joy actually increases as we righteously endure our pain.
As missionaries go out to serve, they taste the same mixture of emotions almost every day. The deeper their joy in the message and the more intense their desire to share it, the greater their sorrow when it is rejected.Often when the scriptures talk about joy and sorrow, they are referring to missionary work. In Alma 28:8 we read, “And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy.” These four terms often describe a mission:sufferings, sorrows, afflictions, and incomprehensible joy.
If a missionary has had a largely pain-free existence to this point, perhaps the experience of deep joy still lies ahead. One missionary who described premission life as being pretty easy told about teaching a discussion in which the whole family, especially the father, was very responsive.Afterward, as he and his companion pedaled their bicycles toward their apartment, he thought: “So this is what joy feels like. I guess I’ve never known until now.”
What Joy Is and What It Is Not
Joy is learning to “make friends with mortality.” That’s a phrase my sister taught me long ago to help me endure when cars break down and bills pile up. She was trying to help me make the best of a telestial world, much as an aunt of President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) did many years ago in Whitney, Idaho. Seeds were scarce, and she had just finished planting her peas when she looked out the kitchen window to see a rooster going down the row, scratching out her peas, and eating them.She ran outside, grabbed him, chopped off his head, opened him up, took out her peas, replanted them, and cooked him for supper.
Making friends with mission mortality means accepting slammed door sand canceled appointments, the blazing sun or freezing cold. You just smile and say, “This is a mission.” Your heart won’t let you quit or even slow down. You think of President Hinckley, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and try to stay as positive as he is.
Missionaries may not wake up each morning bursting with joy, but they are out the door on time anyway. “Hard” isn’t negative when you are a missionary. Why? Because when your feet hurt and you’re really hungry and the dogs are especially vicious and you are surprised to discover that you are happy anyway, you accept that gift of joy as a blessing from your Heavenly Father, thanking you for doing His work.
Missionaries choose effort over ease. They choose the sorrow of rejection without losing the hope of bringing people to Christ. Serving a mission is a choice, and every elder and sister can choose to make that mission glorious.
Joy is not about having things. Not focusing on money, earning it or spending it, is one of the blessings of a mission. The things of God replace the things of the world. Discovering that having “things” has little to do with having happiness can be a lifelong mission blessing. Some have more worldly possessions, some have fewer, and it doesn’t matter. Missionaries who ask their parents not to send extra money, who want to live on what their leaders say is adequate, have the best missions.
Joy is not about being in the limelight. It is about changing lives, one at a time. When my husband was president of the New Jersey Morristown Mission, a struggling elder confided in me. He wanted so much to be a good missionary—some of the time. The rest of the time he was just homesick and discouraged. He was up and down, up and down. Reading was a challenge; he could not seem to learn the discussions. Solid Elder Brown, * with only two months left to serve, was made his companion. I was concerned that this might mean a difficult and disappointing conclusion to Elder Brown’s mission. But on his last night as a missionary, he wept in gratitude for those two months. We soon learned, not from him, that a miracle had occurred. The two missionaries had read the entire Book of Mormon together. Our struggling elder could now teach the first two discussions, and he never talked about going home again. When they came to see us after our mission was over, they came together. Missionaries can strengthen and be strengthened by every companion.
The great thieves of joy are envy (why can’t I be like you?) and pride (whycan’t you be like me?). A measuring tape is not on the list of missionary supplies. Comparing is measuring, and it destroys joy. And to mockanother’s weaknesses cannot be acceptable to the Lord.
Joy is not about looks or personality or a fluent tongue. It is about having the image of God in your countenance and the power of God in your testimony. It is about loving to be on the Lord’s errand. King Lamoni asked Ammon if he was the Great Spirit. Ammon said just what our elders say today: “I am a man; and … I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people” (Alma 18:34). Great missionaries are too focused on the work to dwell on their own imperfections; thus their strengths come to the fore. They discover that testimony, preparation, and love bring conversion, not looks or personality or the gift of fluency.
New Jersey is the home of Princeton University. We were told that an English professor there had invited two of our missionaries in to visit him.One of them used such poor grammar that it was painful for the professor even to listen. But he could not turn them away because the power of that elder’s testimony encircled this brilliant man. He had to learn more.
Joy is not about leadership positions. If it is a missionary’s companion who is called to be the zone leader instead of himself, and he can rejoice for his companion, then he is a commendable missionary. And if a missionary is called to be a leader and is a humble servant-leader, he is also a commendable missionary. Either way, the missionary doubles his joy.
Joy is about faith in the cause of Christ. Our missionary daughter in Taiwan was having a very bad day. None of her investigators had come to church. There was contention in the branch. Her Chinese companion,full of faith, would not join in her discouragement but said to her, “Everydispensation for 6,000 years has ended in apostasy. Not this one. We are preparing for the Second Coming, and we’re not going to fail.” So much for Sister Workman’s very bad day.
Joy comes from being trusted. Trying to cut corners and get around rules makes any missionary miserable. When you “make yourself mind yourself,” when you know you are going to do what you say you will do,you will know joy. President Workman had only two rules, and if missionaries would keep them he promised a successful mission: “Work really hard and obey.” The praise of the president, as sweet as it is, is not the driving force behind a great missionary. Just doing the work, far from the scrutiny of the mission office, is its own exhilarating reward.
Joy comes from seeing the fruits of your labor. One day we we reworking with our Spanish zone. President Workman was tracting with elders and I with sisters. The plan was for several companionships to meet at a little pizza shop for lunch. I can still see one of our sisters as she burst through the door of the shop. Absolutely brimming with joy, she put her hands to her cheeks and said over and over, “She prayed, she prayed.”We saw pure joy over one investigator’s prayer.
Joy is about overcoming. The Spirit moves missionaries to struggle against laziness, anger, and disobedience. The smallest improvement brings courage, and missionaries keep trying. They learn to forgive each other and work through problems because they learn early that hard feelings drive the Spirit away.
Joy comes from teaching the plan. A sister from Jamaica was being taught at the mission home. The elders would begin to read a scripture,and almost before they could finish she would take the book from them so she could read it herself, exclaiming, “Oh my!” The promise “how great will be your joy” (D&C 18:16) filled the room as we watched her learn.President Workman asked a tall, strongly built elder what he had learned in his few months as a missionary. He said: “Before I came on a mission I knew that there was no greater thrill in life than football. Now I know that is nothing compared to seeing someone taught by the Spirit.”
Joy comes from building the kingdom. As an Apostle, President Wilford Woodruff (1807–98) established the Spring Garden Branch in Newark, New Jersey, on October 11, 1848. It was closed, reopened, and closed again. Newark was not a family town. Crime was rampant.President Workman shared with me his misgivings about sending Elder Smith * as a district leader there. Could he take it? But he went willingly,and the work progressed. On Easter morning, 1990, the Spring Garden Branch was to be organized again. The Brethren wanted it to carry the same name. We met in the YMCA building in the center of Newark. The large room was packed and infused with joy. We sustained leaders who were Latino, Asian, African-American, and Caucasian. Several African brethren came in the colorful dress of their tribes. Young girls wore bright Easter dresses. A gray-haired man in a gray suit and a gray felt hat came in, somberly putting his hat above the coat rack. Following him was a young man, maybe 12, dressed just the same and doing the same thing. I thought to myself, “Newark is going to be OK.” Indeed, they now have a lovely building and missionaries teaching in several languages. But that Easter Sunday Elder Smith was beaming and crying harder than anyone. He said, “This is the happiest day of my life.”
Ultimately, joy is in Jesus Christ. Unbearable pain turned Alma to the Savior and thus to joy. Perhaps that experience prompted him to say,“May God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son” (Alma 33:23). The “joy of his Son” is found in every corner of every mission, indeed within every valiant elder and sister. Since the day on the Mount of Olives when the Savior gave charge to take His message to the world, He has loved His messengers. His promise for their times of trial is very tender: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). His gift to those who testify of Him is not freedom from hard work or sorrow or stretching but the surety that every ounce of effort in His name is an investment in joy.
Week #57 EASTER!
I'm sure your all are just dying to hear where i am right now!! what new sector i have, who IS my new comp.... ?¿? if you know my presidente... well everything is the same hahah im still with hna orozco and still en lo cañas. im pretty sure ill probably end my mission here - 2 sectors 3 comps, life is good!! haha my mission is defiantly really different then other missions... but its all good! everything really is going good and i cant believe how fast time is going by.. i need to enjoy every second and I'm trying too!! Lets see, this week was crazy... same old same old... but let's see, we had two less active families come to church. one, the dad was a missionary.. ap actually and they are super inactive like years... i don't understand. he should understand of all people, but they came to church which was awesome. then we had a another less active family come and the dad hasn't come for 15 years....and he came. it was really cool to see him in church! i think he wants his kids to be part of the church so that's good!! so that was a mini miracle!
so i dunno if you guys know about the burning of valparaiso.. its a town and hour from Santiago. like the whole city burned to the ground, more the 1000 homes were destroyed... and people here are freaking out... i wanna go help them out so bad. everyone from the ward is telling us how they went and helped bring food and cleaned everything up. so i was thinking about it and i started to think what would i do in the situation... it is worse then a earthquake because everything you own is in coals.. i think i would be ok, just as long as my family was ok! but makes you think what if we were to lose everything thing or leave everything behind like lehi...could we do it or are the material things too important for us? no sé! be grateful for what you have tho! the people in valparaiso have nothing and have lost everything and are happy just to have food! so that was a my week basically, nothing to exciting. but hope you're all doing well and know i miss you all tons!! have such a great week!
besitos, y abrasitos,
con amor
hermana godfrey
so i dunno if you guys know about the burning of valparaiso.. its a town and hour from Santiago. like the whole city burned to the ground, more the 1000 homes were destroyed... and people here are freaking out... i wanna go help them out so bad. everyone from the ward is telling us how they went and helped bring food and cleaned everything up. so i was thinking about it and i started to think what would i do in the situation... it is worse then a earthquake because everything you own is in coals.. i think i would be ok, just as long as my family was ok! but makes you think what if we were to lose everything thing or leave everything behind like lehi...could we do it or are the material things too important for us? no sé! be grateful for what you have tho! the people in valparaiso have nothing and have lost everything and are happy just to have food! so that was a my week basically, nothing to exciting. but hope you're all doing well and know i miss you all tons!! have such a great week!
besitos, y abrasitos,
con amor
hermana godfrey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)