Altadena!

So it is so great to be back in Altadena. At church on Sunday it was great to see the recent converts who are doing so well, and they have grown so much in the gospel. They have a little bit more confidence and great things are happening for them! The sisters have been teaching english class to some hispanic men, and have recently started teaching them the lessons. They are reading the Book of Mormon and have come to church 3 times already! They called us this week and had us come to their restaurant (where they work) and they gave us amazing food! We also talked to some of the workers, and them and had a lot of fun. The next day we taught one of them at the park, he had been reading and it was bothering him how he could change from the religion he had grown up in. We testified to him that it would only add to what he had already learned! As we read 2 Nephi 31 with him, the spirit came really strong, and we simply taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said he didn't want to committ to a date yet, but that he is praying about it, and he said he wants to be a part of what we are a part of, he feels so good! He is amazing, very humble and teachable, we are excited for him and know the Lord will bless him.

We were able to go on 3 exchanges this weekend, it was crazy! Sister Sherwin is leaving this week (transfers :( ) and so we were able to do a lot of things in a short amount of time, to figure out the best way to help the Sisters. We went to Pratville, Leeds, and up to Northport! We learned a lot in all of the areas and it was a fun road trip (missionary road trip) and we had amazing experiences learning from these sisters. I was able to see some old investigators in Northport, and see how they are progessing to help Bobbie be baptized this weekend. Lots of things are going to be happening this week, so I am grateful that everything is so busy, it helps you learn so much more.

I loved being in the branch on Sunday, they have such strong testimonies, and the spirit was very strong. It is amazing that even though there weren't more than 12 people in relef society, we all learned so much and were able to hear about how one of the members had finally taken her mothers name to the temple and did baptisms, confirmation, intitories and endowment- all in one night. She was so happy and helped get others excited about family history work. I love you all! I hope you have a great week!!

Hello Family!

 

So great week, very very busy but it has been amazing! First off, I have been 2/3 of the way transferred into a new area, today!! and best part about it is that it is Altadena where I served when i first came to Alabama. I feel very blessed. It is a great Spanish branch full of amazing members and recent converts and lots of hills- yep good thing I started biking in Northport or else we would be in big trouble.

So fast forward to last week, we had a fun zone activity which involved burgers and water balloons.

Tuesday we taught a lady named Jennifer, She had read, and had questions about 1 Nephi 1. she is great and the spirit is so strong in her lessons, we taught her again Friday about baptism and first part of plan of salvation, she wants to be with her parents again whom have already passed on.

Wednesday the large print book of Mormon we ordered for Martha finally came, so one of our appointments that night fell through so we decided to go give it to her and teach her how to use it. She was so excited, and was feeling better (after the blessing the elders gave her the day before because she had poor health) and had questions about peace and comfort and forgiveness, so we taught her how to look up scriptures and turns out one of the Elders gave her a reading assignment the day before and as we looked at it again it was about peace and comfort- that really increased her faith. We taught her Friday about the Word of Wisdom and she loved it, committed to it and said she would be at church. the only thing holding her back from being baptized is that she doesn't want to leave her church (40 year member) which is understandable! But we promised her blessings and she said she is going to keep praying.

Debbie is doing great, cutting down on tea and coffee still, and she knows she needs to be baptized, she needs to come to church at least two more times, so we read 3 Nephi 11 with her and promised her if she came to church, work would go better for her. She committed to come. Great lesson wither, her, we love her! she is so sweet, and really pumped up one of the YSA's here to really want to go on a mission, it was great.

We taught some fun member lessons this week, it really is a great ward and I was so sad to leave, i love watching their examples and they have a great love for the gospel. It was neat how we could teach to their needs, but how their questions helped us to. We had fun.

Sunday was AMAZING! Bobbie, Debbie and Martha all came to church!! Sister Nyland and I were half shocked half beaming, it was pretty great, members sat by all of them and continued to welcome them. Debbie had to leave after sacrament to go to work, but she texted us at work saying she had had the best day at work since she moved here! Martha participated in class and enjoyed church even more than the first time she came. It was great. Bobbie said that she doesn't have a for sure answer but she is willing to take a step into the dark to be baptized- so as of now she is preparing for the 5th! So exciting. The Lord is working- some days I don't feel like I can do that much good that day, or appointments fall through, or lessons don't go super well, but when you look at the big picture, you can see the Lord is blessing and inspiring his children to repent, and if she just ask them, they will repent and feel the difference afterwards. It is so neat. I am so grateful for all the new missionaries, it is changing the mission field! 60 new sisters in the next 3 transfers!! Crazy, you can feel this buzz out here, and it is amazing how between October conference and now it has just kind of been building up and now it is exploding. It is a great time to be a full-time missionary and a member missionary!

Make it a great week!!

 

Hey Familia!

 

 Fun fun week!!

Okay so Tuesday was great, we went to Birmingham for a meeting and the Ensley Elders (they are in our Zone) had a Spanish referral for us, so on the way home we stopped by and she wasn't home. We were kinda disappointed because it was out of the way. But as we looked down the street we saw 3 ladies and a guy out on their porch. We were running a little late and we thought its alright we can just go home. But then we just looked at each other and decided we needed to go open our mouths and talk to them. Well we started talking- they were elderly but really nice, and so we started teaching them a little about what we do. Then the guy came out- he is about 22 and he recognized us because he had talked to the Elders in the area recently (about 3 weeks ago) and had gone to an activity at the church. We asked him what he thought about everything and he said he liked it and was open to new things. and we started talking about prophets and he thought it was great, and wouldn't be opposed to having prophets in our day. THEN we asked if he had been reading the Book of Mormon, he said yes, and that he had read Moroni's promise and asked God if it was true and he felt like it was and he had gotten his answer.......Sister Nyland and I were kind of in shock I guess you could say. So we told him we would get a hold of the Elders and send them back over, invited him to church and invited him to read the conference talk by Elder Cook.

Fast forward to Sunday- we get a text from the Zone leaders (they text to the whole zone when someone has committed to a baptismal date) saying that Cory had committed to be baptized in Ensley!! We were so excited, that the Lord helped us open our mouths, and that the Elders were able to go invite, and he accepted!! President always talks about how the Lord gives baptisms to missions and not missionaries, as we are all being obedient and doing what the Lord has asked, he blesses everyone. It was really neat.

Wednesday we went on exchanges - Sister Woomer and I stayed in Tuscaloosa and Sister Nyland and Stahle in Northport. We all learned a lot and set some really good goals together, it was a 24 hour exchange, and the Sisters committed Bobbie to be baptized. We were all pretty stoked. Her family is so great, we just love them.

Debbie is doing really well with no tea, but coffee is a struggle. We are still working with her and with getting her to church.

We had some fun lessons with member this week, and learned a lot from one of the member converts here. She converted back in the 70's but has such a sweet testimony and love for the gospel, she helped us so much! The Lord puts people in your path to lift you up- so both are edified together.

Friday we also spent time opening our mouths- we went to lunch with one of the members in Birmingham who was visiting, so it was good to catch up with her, then we put our bikes in her trunk....haha and we went to Tuscaloosa and taught one of our progressing investigators. On the way back we had some neat experiences of opening our mouths- one was Jennifer, she was sitting outside on the chair and as we rode past I knew we needed to talk to her. She had talked to missionaries a while ago, but had lost the 'bible" they had given to her, we pulled out the Book of Mormon and her face lit up and said "that's it!" We set up a return appointment with her, we were able to meet some other people with varying degrees of interest, but it was neat to see that even though we did that, we still had time to do the things we were committed to later that day. Great great!

Sunday was great as well, there was special spirit in the fast and testimony meeting and I learned a lot from the members. We asked a couple if we could come over to practice teaching and they were all so nice and willing to have us. We are excited for this week, and more biking!!

Love you all, have a great week!

Sister Coleman

23 mile bike day!

So I am going to start out this e-mail with the fact that Sister Nyland and I rode 23 MILES on our bikes Friday. Yep, we did. We are pretty proud of it actually (thank goodness the next two days consisted of a lot of sitting at conference....) But when we told the Zone Leaders they were shocked and said we put the Elders to shame. All in a days work. haha we had to end the conversation by asking for more miles though, they didn't think that was too funny. We were able to teach 3 lessons and figure out some new service opportunities in the community. We were wiped at the end of the day though, but felt like we did some good work, and sacrificed to save miles for a different day.

This week in our member and less-active lessons we focused a lot on asking questions and looking for the answers during general conference. We taught one of the YSA's in the ward, and she had told us she had never done it before. We got a text from her last night saying how all weekend she had been trying to think of a question but nothing was coming to mind. But as she watched President Uchtdorf's talk she felt like questions just started being answered. She thanked us so much for that experience. That was neat!

Also, Sister Nyland and I may have splurged a bit at the Easter candy sale at Wal-Mart. So we were on a sugar kick for about 4 days, but on Thursday we taught one of our investigators who has a tea and coffee addiction- so we told her that in a 2 week period, if she could go 7 straight days without either, we would have a ding dong party (her favorite treat) and then Sister Nyland stepped it up a notch saying we would go without sugar.....BOTH of us! Yes, we are learning how to exercise control now as well, it was hard not to eat the brownies and ice cream at the between conference social, but it is amazing how we have kept in contact everyday with her through the hard times. She is going to stick with tea right now, and once we help her with that she will move to coffee. Addictions are rough. But tender mercy, we were talking to one of the YSA's and she works at the same Wal-Mart as our investigator, so we gave her some money to buy some tang and crystal light and take her a note so she can focus off the tea. Our investigator- Debbie sent us a text and was so grateful for this sister that gave her the gift and how it made her day. When you think out of the box, and use the resources the Lord puts right in front of you, miracles happen!!

Conference was really great, we learned so many things, and sister Nyland and I talk about cool things that stood out to us in each lesson all the time.  She and I are really learning a lot together, and have set some great goals on how we can bless the lives of those in this area more. President Holzapfel taught me about the story in John 10 a while back, and how the Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, he is always working, not taking breaks, not being selfish, trying his best to lead them through the gate- to their Savior Jesus Christ. He told me that we have to be the shepherds, and not the Hirelings. The Hirelings run when things get hard, but the Lord has given us these people to help, and we have to do our best to diligently work our hardest for them and for the Lord. Conference talked a lot about bringing peace into the lives of those around us- that is our job as members and as missionaries. Think of helping at least one person each day, bring a little bit more of the light and peace of the Savior into their lives. Our lives will change and so will theirs. I am grateful for all of our prophets seers and revelators, and that we can read the Book of Mormon and the Bible through the lens of the general conference talks. We have prophets who can help us understand! What a blessing- I am so grateful that we have 6 more months to study their words, understand them, and apply them into our lives.

I love you all! Have a great week :)

Sister Coleman

Week of No Car!!

So we had a lot of trips to Birmingham and other places in Alabama this month, so we were running a little short on miles. We decided we were not going to use it all last week and that we would be walking, and walking, until Sister Nylands bike got here. We had some fun experiences of people laughing and chuckling in their cars towards us. We just waved and were laughing as well, it looks ridiculous to see two girls in a skirts running across an intersection towards a trailer park. I mean really, I don't blame them. Then We had a miracle on Tuesday, we were attempting to walk to the library which was about 6 miles away....and we just had the feeling it would work out. So one of the members who we had taught the night before stops in the middle of the road next to us, and says "Get In!" so she asks where we are going, we tell her and she looked at us like we were crazy people for walking that far. She insisted on driving us there and coming to pick us up when we were done. We were so grateful!! While we were there we were able to teach Martha- she is doing really well, she is learning a lot and told us that no matter what her family says, she is coming to church on Sunday. She sounded excited and so we taught her about what to expect, all the classes, and the importance of the Sacrament. We both felt good about committing her to April 27th, but she told us she would pray about it. We are praying that this week, she will feel that desire. She is so ready! She loved church on Sunday- it was so fun to see her sitting up in the front by her member friend, we told the ward council she was coming so everyone greeted her and were very friendly.

We were also able to teach Bobbie during church, we watched "How Rare a Possession" about an Italian man who had to wait YEARS to be baptized. The spirit was really strong, we talked to her one on one about baptism, and she is getting closer and closer. We are excited for her family!

Another person we finally met this week as Debbie- she just moved from Illinois, and had been taught all the lessons by the sister missionaries there. She lives really far out in the country, but we had a member come with us, and as we were talking we asked her why she kept letting the sisters come back and why she likes the church. She said that her life had gone so much better, and she saw more blessings, and she was learning! She got emotional and said she knows it is good, and she wants to keep up with studying and coming to church. Her work schedule interferes with church so we are going to help her work with that.

There are so many people in this area who are ready! The Stake President stepped into our District Meeting we had this past week and he said, that we are not here to plant seeds (us 8 missionaries) we are here to harvest, the planting has already been done. It was so neat to hear him say that and feel the spirit witness of that. He is excited and so are we! I am lucky to be in this area.

We had some fun tracting in the rain this week. One of the young women came out with us and was a great sport. Lots of people were nice and let us give them a mormon.org card, but were not interested in anything else. We taught one man, who really needs the gospel, another who doesn't see the hand of God around him or in his life so he has come to the conclusion that nothing is really out there- that made us really sad. and as we were getting ready to leave (and wanting to because it was freezing) we saw a family get out of there car, they let us come into their mothers home and we left a blessing. The spirit came really strong and afterwards we asked if they have a church they go to- they did not, they were actually looking for one right now! The Lord gave us that miracle for being diligent, we were so excited and we set up an appointment with them for later this week. We will see how it goes!

So excited for conference, we are going to make flyers of sorts and give them to people to try and help them come and listen to a prophets voice! I love conference as a missionary, and appreciate it so much more now, seeing other people as they do not realize that we have living prophets and apostles! Remember to come up with some questions this week that you can take to conference with you. They will be answered!

Love you all!! Have a great week.

Sister Coleman