Happy Times

I hope you all had a great week! Sister Nez and I have been enjoying the snow AND the Chanukahs!! This past week it got super warm, like high 30's and 40's and all the snow (well, most of the snow) melted!  It was crazy and so awesome. That only lasted a few days though, haha because on Saturday we had a snow storm, so everything is all snow covered and beautiful again.

Let me tell you about one of the super cute elderly ladies in our ward. Her name is Sister J and we go over to her home about once a week to share a message and visit with her and her husband. Due to their health they are unable to attend church so they really appreciate us coming over. They have even given us referrals and shared stories from when they served their mission a few years back! Sister J is so kind and used to make all these quilts for her children and grandchildren, but because of her health she doesn't make them anymore. Around Christmas time she told us that she had decided to make us each a quilt because she loves us and wants us to have one. So sweet! So she finished them this past week and gave them to us! They are so nice and were definitely made with A LOT of love. We love them! That was a highlight of the week!

Another highlight was eating lunch with Sister T! She got into an accident around Christmas time and has been recovering in the hospital since then. We try to visit her often and we bring her items from her house that she requests (it is hilarious and so fun trying to figure out the specific things she wants from her house).  She invited us to eat lunch with her at the hospital. It kind of reminded me of Kahala Nui! It was a nice little eating area (because she is in an extended care facility, not the regular hospital) and it was a treat. She wanted to show us the big event room in the building so we went and there was a grand piano!She requested that I play a few songs so luckily I have learned a few hymns in the past few months haha. It was fun being able to share my talent to bless others. Not saying I am a very talented pianist, but I know by being willing to try I was able to better fulfill my purpose as a missionary!

On Friday we had a zone training which was AWESOME! We focused on repentance, becoming a consecrated missionary, and using technology. We had an activity where the zone leaders said "there is money in the church" and they asked if we believed them. They kept saying the same thing over and over again and they told us to go find it. It lead to us looking all around the church building for probably a good 15 minutes till we found it! Once we were all gathered back together they had us each look up a different scripture, there were about 7 scriptures and each of them said the same thing. Each scripture contained the line "the field is white already to harvest." It was so profound! We talked about how the Lord has specifically told us MANY times that the field is white, already to harvest and we need to have faith and believe in His words! I know that I definitely need to have more faith that there are people prepared. It was an awesome training I really learned a ton!!

We have been praying and praying for this one investigator we have to come back to town. She leaves a lot and goes to a different city in Montana. We decided to stop by one day to visit her daughters and SHE ANSWERED THE DOOR!! I was so excited because I hadn't seen her in over a week. We were able to teach her a lesson and she is still progressing towards her baptismal date. It was such a tender mercy to see her and I know the Lord heard our prayers!

Highlights of the week:
1. SERVICE: by the time I come home from my mission I will most likely be able to build and remodel my own home (that is a joke haha) but we did some remodel service this week and it was awesome! Brother and Sister R are just awesome and they manage an apartment building, so we went and helped them scrape the walls...it was an awesome arm workout and so much fun!
2. Ming's Chinese Buffett: pretty self explanatory! It was delicious, I felt right at home😉

3. Church! Yes, church is always a highlight, but one of my favorite people we have been working with came to church for the
first time in months!! Definitely a highlight!!

Okay sorry this is so long, but things are going well and I just love it here!  Thursday night I had the opportunity of seeing the blessings of the restoration right in front of me! One of our investigators was feeling SO sick and we asked if she wanted a priesthood blessing. She said yes but she was going to sleep soon (it was like 7pm) so we started calling everyone we knew to go give her a blessing but NOBODY WAS AVAILABLE! We kept praying and calling people until Sister Nez received the impression that we should call one of the YSA in our Ward.  At first he said he couldn't, but then he called us back and said he and his friend could do it! Our investigator said she felt so much better after the blessing and she definitely felt the spirit! Then we went to a lesson (that same night) with a less active YSA and she had just received some very sad news about her family. We did our best to comfort her but felt impressed to ask her if she wanted a blessing. She said yes and we went to get a member (it was a lot easier because there are a lot of members that live in her apartment building so that was a tender mercy) and it was such a spiritual experience. She showed up at church on Sunday, what a blessing! I am so very grateful for the restoration and the power of the priesthood!

I hope you all have a beautiful week. I am grateful for each and every one of you! Thank you for your prayers, letters, email, etc. you are the best!! Keep being awesome missionaries at home, everyone needs the gospel in their life!  I love you all.

 

Love, Sister Wong