Welcome sister Schultz!
This week has been wonderful!
On Tuesday sister Starkey and I had the privilege of going to Louisville to attend transfer meeting. Transfers are the best and worst part of a mission. It is like the end of the school year. Some of your friends graduate and leave and then school starts all over again. Some friends moved and there are the new freshman. The only catch is that there is no summer so it happens in a twenty four hour period. Woohoo! It is always bitter sweet. Sister Starkey was transferred to the Harmony Branch with her MTC companion and another missionary who is going home in six weeks. They are going to do amazing things there! At transfer meeting I received my new companion, sister Schultz! She is fresh off the plane from the MTC, but originally is from Michigan! She is the cutest thing ever! She speaks like a Canadian (cutest thing!) and is a convert! She was baptized a year and a half ago and is so on fire in the gospel! She attended BYUI before comingto Kentucky and we found out we were there the same semester and lived two blocks from each other but never knew each other! What? Crazy! She is so humble and teachable and is ready to hit the ground running! I am so excited to be her companion and ease her into the mission life!
Our first night back in town as we sat down to pray and plan for Wednesday's activities it was a super spiritual moment for me. As we knelt together the spirit was undeniable. It testified to me that I am supposed to be here is Somerset still and that there is work to do. It felt like home! It was something I won't forget! :) I love somerset so much! The power of prayer is real!
Sister Schultz first day in the field was crazy! We started at gods food pantry bagging snacks for them, we saw brother Alexander and then went and did some tracting. She was so excited to just be out and about and IN the work! I went over a few approaches and she chose to start with the most bold approach! Right off the bat! Yeah! That's my girl! We stopped at one house, the very first house and the woman, patty, invited us to come back. As we were leaving her boyfriend stopped us and he was one of the many baptist walking bibles around here. Lovely. Heavenly Father has a great sense of humor, throwing this guy at us on the first try! We sat there and were yelled at about how we were wrong, our religion is not endorsed by Jesus Christ and that the Book of Mormon is satans book. The guy continued to "preach" to us that we are sinners and God doesn't bless us at all because of our beliefs. Yes, he literally told me "God doesn't bless you and won't because you believe in the Book of Mormon." He then followed that statement up with "I just want to get you mad enough to bring your book back and put it to the test because I will prove to you that it is wrong." Oh man. I felt so bad that this was sister Schultz first impression of Kentucky people! It was quite hilarious to me because as this man preached he contradicted himself multiple times and didn't even realize it. When I pointed that out to him he
completely disregarded my comment and went on preaching. We bore our testimony and said goodbye.
This man quoted Luke 24:44 and said that Jesus doesn't endorse the
Book of Mormon. It bothered me that I didn't know what to say back to
him and I had to settle his comment for myself. This is what I found
on the matter and it was absolutely amazing. The gospel is so
wonderful! The people of Jesus' day were Jews. When he is talking to
them in Luke, he [Jesus] says that everything in the scriptures must
be fulfilled. "The scriptures used by Jews in Jesus's day were
sometimes divided into three main categories. The Torah, also known as
"the Law," consisted of the five books of Moses (the first five books
of the Old Testament). The Prophets referred to a collection of books
by and about prophets and included the historical books from Joshua
through 2 Kings as well as the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
the 12 "minor prophets" (Hosea through Malachi). The Writings were a
collection that included literary works (Psalms, Proverbs, and Job),
"the five scrolls" (Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes,
and Esther), the book of Daniel, and the historical books of 1 and 2
Chronicles" (institute manual for the New Testament). So collectively,
the Old Testament. Then the thought came to me that the prophecy of
the Book of Mormon is found in the Old Testament in Ezekiel 37:15-17.
So indeed, Jesus Christ DOES endorse the Book of Mormon. Now if this
man had done his research, he would have realized that that scripture
in fact proves him 100% wrong. Knowledge is a beautiful thing to
obtain. It continues to amaze me how much false doctrine is being
taught in the world. It brings me so much peace to know that the Book
of Mormon is true and that the gospel has been restored on the earth
again today! I am so grateful to be on the front lines combatting the
false truths being taught!
Having a fresh new missionary who is so on fire is so fun! Everything is new and exciting! Weekly planning was new and exciting! We went on an adventure in the morning trying to find a referral but she was sick and our backup fell through so we came home and started planning. We were able to see Billy this night also and he tried to scare sister Schultz away! Haha! Nice try Billy! She's not scarred of anything after we had the walking Bible (as he called himself) preach at us. We had a good lesson on eternal marriage and Billy was so happy to know that he wasn't alone in his beliefs. Everything we taught him he already believed! He is on track to be baptized! It just makes me smile when Billy says things like "I feel like I've always been a Mormon, I believe everything you teach!" How can he not be a Mormon? He is stellar!
The first district meeting of a new transfer is always a tad awkward and fresh because it is another adjustment. We have a new district leader this transfer and his name is elder fleener. He is from Alaska and is a stellar elder! He trained us on teaching our investigators more towards baptism in each lesson instead of just at the end. The spirit was very powerful.
The miracle of the week: our engine light lit up on our dashboard mid day Wednesday and we thought, "ok, we will figure it out tomorrow." Whenever we were at stops, our car would shake almost violently forwards and backwards. It felt like we were on a roller coaster, not in a car. Sister Schultz and I stopped by the Chevy dealership Thursday afternoon right as they were closing up.. Just our luck. They were so kind to us though and squeezed us in the next day! They gave us the 8 am appointment. We came and dropped the car off and did our studies in the waiting room.. Haha it was interesting smelling coffee and listening to the news as I read. They came in 25 minutes before district meeting started and told us that our car was ready and that they had to order the part and come back next week, but the initial problem was fixed. It was a huge blessing to be done right in time to get to district meeting. On our way to the church we texted the car coordinator updating him on the situation and told him about the $200 repair. He then made us aware that we needed a written statement sent to him so he could get approval from salt lake. This proved to be the biggest miracle and made me realize how aware God truly is! As we drove to the church and then back to the dealership our car smelled like burnt rubber and oil. Not good.. Since we had to come back to get a report on the part to send to elder Bailey, we told the tech about the smell. He said that it was not normal and he took it back to look at it. So here we are again, waiting in the waiting room and they come in to tell us that our car is spitting oil everywhere, literally blowing it all over the ENTIRE engine! Yeah... And so what had happened was the initial problem led to the finding of a second problem. When they fixed the second problem, they discovered the big problem, that our engine is shooting oil everywhere! The tech told us our car could have caught on fire... And the problem could actually be that our engine is shot. Elder Bailey called us and said that our car, as is, was not drivable. If it were not for having to come back and get the written receipts, who knows what would have happened. The
techs were telling elder Bailey way more information than us... We just sat in the waiting room eating muffins and trying not to listen to the news blaring in the background. We waited and waited and the tech finally came in a said the repair was more minor than they thought and it was just a tear in a gasket. Prayers answered. Miracles happen and are real! This was truly a miracle! It turns out it was all a minor fix that went wrong in the morning and we didn't need the $200 part after all. The cap that was replaced was put on wrong which led to the tear which led to oil spilling everywhere... And after sitting in that dealership most of the day, we were so grateful to get out of there and get back to work!
General Conference!
I seriously cannot believe it has been SIX MONTHS! Where does the time go? It seriously feels like I was just in Richmond, finishing my training and watching conference with sister jones, yet here we are again! I absolutely LOVE conference! It is my favorite time of the year! There is nothing better than hearing the word of God directly from His servants! Some things I loved from conference:
-many apostles quoted whether it be from me or my servants, it is the
same! This is a true statement!
( 38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not
myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall
not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice
or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. D&C 1:38 )
-hold tight to temple covenants! Be worthy of the temple at all times!
-see ourselves and each other as our Heavenly Father sees us!
-president uchtdorf: the truth is straightforward! Am I making my
discipleship too complicated? Exaltation is our goal, discipleship is
our journey!
-elder Richard j. Maynes: our joy is directly proportional to how
centered our lives are on Jesus Christ!
-elder Larry r. Lawrence: the Holy Ghost really does give customized
counsel! What is keeping me from progressing?
-elder Quentin l. Cook: self control is like a muscle, the more you
use it, the stronger it gets!
-elder Robert d. Hales: pretty much his entire talk. -tighten our grip
on the rod!
If I am here for the Lord, He WILL be there for me!
-elder Jeffrey r Holland: "maternal love has to be divine" always bear
my testimony to children. Mother fulfill purposes of eternity.
-elder Vern p. Standfill: PREPARE PROPERLY! There is no darkness that
cannot be overcome by light.
-Elder James b. Martino: keep up spiritual habits! Personal religious
habits, without them, I am vulnerable!
-elder Dallin h. Oaks/ the entire thing. Holy cow.
-president monson: BE THOU AN EXAMPLE! Radiate the light of Christ! Be
different to be like God! I have to be different than the world!
-elder Stevenson: focus on the cans!
-elder renlund: we all have divine nature and destiny
-elder Russell m. Nelson: KEEP MY COVENANTS. LIVE UP TO GOD'S
EXPECTATIONS! Nothing is more important to my eternal life than my
conversion.
-elder Schweitzer: true disciples don't look for excuses. True
disciples desire to inspire.
-elder eyring: make a constant quest for the spirit to be with me,act
on the promptings, today! DO IT. ETERNAL TRUTH DOESNT CHANGE.
-elder CHRISTOFFERSON. Throw down! I absolutely loved this talk! (He
is probably my favorite apostle) Conversion to Christ, not the church.
I cannot define my own truth, truth isn't mine to define. The ancient
purpose remains, bring people to Christ! God's ultimate purpose is our
progress, we progress through the gospel of Jesus Christ! This
religion is not "called to self" it is CALLED TO SERVE!
-Elder Durrant: PONDERIZE! It will get you from snorkeling to scuba diving.
-Elder keetch: God's standards are like barriers, they protect us from
great dangers. Follow the course He has charted for us.
-Sister Stevens: God never loses sight of our eternal potential.
Commandments and love go hand in hand.
-Elder Kim b.mclark: simple obedience. Have the eyes to see and ears to hear.
-Elder bednar: spiritually seasoned men lead the church. That is the
way the Lord has it. I loved this talk because because elder bednar
put into perspective how important the teachings of the living
prophets are today and how they still apply!
These truly are inspired men who devote their whole soul to serving God. They understand that it is no longer about them, but about the lord and his work. General conference is when we get to hear the word of the Lord for us in this day and in this age. I know the counsels given to us are true and applicable! I am so excited to get started on rereading and applying all of the principles into my life!
Sister Hannah
Pictures attached:
Sister Schultz and I with the Broughs
BRING ON the winter mane! I love the rain! :)
Sent from my iPad
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