Sister Inman Letter - January 25, 2016

Let's finish with a bang!

Hey there, hi there, who there!

So this week was a little bit challenging for me personally. I was struggling because i just was in a bad mood for some reason. And I knew that, and it bugged me. So it has been a week-long endeavor to get over that. But you know, good things still happen every week, and during the times where good things happened... It was when I had a good attitude and we had unity and the Spirit with us as a companionship. And there were some little and big miracles that have happened this week, and the Lord is still very aware of us, even when we are being stink-pots. :)

So on Monday, we had a Zone P-day (Minus the Douglas and Bisbee missionaries, which will come for next P-day), in Benson/Pomerene. We played games and sports together, and at the end, we played a massive game of free-for-all dodgeball. Essentially, it is you against everybody else, and there are a few balls that anyone can pick up, but if you have a ball you can only take three steps before you have to throw it or "recharge it" against a wall. We were all in the gym and there were about 15 missionaries playing all at once, so it was pretty intense. The Willcox Elders and Sisters are now part of our zone.

We were on exchanges Monday night to Tuesday night, so I went up to Benson with Sister Jones (One of our Sister Training Leaders). Benson has kind of a small, dusty old town feel to it. I mean it was founded in 1941, so it's not too old, but... anyway.

Tuesday:

Got a killer workout this morning- we did a workout video from the Biggest Loser... man. I was sore all day, but felt good afterwards :)

Wednesday:

This morning was the WORLDWIDE Missionary Broadcast, where general authorities and other leaders, i.e. from the Missionary Executive Council speak to and train missionaries across the entire world in one conference. Apparently, we have not had a worldwide devotional/conference broadcasted to all of the missionaries across the world for over a decade. It's SO COOL to be a part of this historic-ish event. And I don't think it will be available to the general public, as you had to have a password to watch it. But it was the BEST training ever. We were taught about the Fundamentals of Preach My Gospel, with each section spoken of in detail by a separate speaker. I've gained such great insight and understanding!

Those who spoke were:
Elder Neil L. Anderson, Conducting

Elder David A. Bednar

Elder Christopher Waddell, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson

Elder L. Whitney Clayton, Presidency of the Seventy and

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Quorum of the Twelve and also the chairman of the Missionary Executive Council

Here are a few of my favorite things they said:

Elder Neil L. Anderson
Teach Repentance, and Baptize Converts.

We share a responsibility to testify of Christ. We must always have His name on our lips and be prepared as the prompting comes to testify of him.Wherever you are, whenever you are unsure of what to say, speak of the Savior and of his doctrine. Because of the restoration, we know more about the savior than anyone else. No matter how much we speak of him, it is never too much. "Whosoever will confess me before men, him will I confess before the Father." We are charged to defend His name.

Elder David A. Bednar- (super good. It was a training, but it was a previously recorded training with a group of local missionaries and more of an interactive discussion with him.)

The Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion

You CANNOT put the message into the hearts of the people.We must be worthy vessels unto the Lord to bring it UNTO the hearts of the people, but it must be the Holy Ghost that brings it INTO the hearts of men.
The Holy Ghost is the teacher, not us. It is He who carries into their hearts. We need to invite investigators to prepare to learn. Invite them to act. Most of the time their preparation is more important Than the actual lesson. Our worthiness affects the spirit that is present there. The Holy Ghost is not the tool we use. We are the tool, and the Holy Ghost is the teacher. All the things that we do contribute to the environment and the spirit.

Elder Christopher Waddell
We invite, they commit, we follow up.

Miracles are wrought about by faith. Conversion is a miracle in itself. They must act upon their faith.
Without the invitation by you to act, they have no commitment or reason to accept the invitation to act on their faith.

Invite them to become an agent to act, not an object to be acted upon.

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson

Teach people, not lessons.

Seek to obtain the word and treasure up the knowledge. We must put things in your treasure chest for the Holy Ghost to take out what the investigators need.

Elder L. Whitney Clayton
Finding people to teach

This was a training on how better to work with members, less actives, part-member families, etc. Great advice.

Study after study, and statistics from missionaries all over the world show that the most baptisms happen when working with members than by our own finding efforts. More investigators are found through the efforts of the missionaries, but the MOST baptisms happen when the members assist in the work.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks

We must develop the faith and skill to find. Now is the time more members and missionaries to come together. Our most success will come through working with Ward councils, Ward Mission Leaders, and ward members.

We must have the gospel of Jesus Christ engrained in our hearts. (Missionaries)

All missionary work is rooted in the doctrine of Christ.

The doctrine of Christ allows us to be saved in the kingdom of God.

We must understand who we are and what we are called to do. If we understand this, you have the big picture and the basis to understand everything else you need to be a missionary.

Who are you? You are the sons and daughters of God.

What are you called to do? Do not lose yourself in the little things. It is for the interest of the world and all of mankind. You are not called to invite others to a social group, where the rules are made by its members, or to preach what is politically correct or comfortable. We are called to invite others to come into Christ and do what he has asked us to do.

When we understand what the world would be if everyone understood what God's plan is for us, we will understand that this work is the greatest work we could EVER do.

"We salute you and love you as servants of the Lord, and invoke the blessings He has to offer you in the work of the Lord."

This was a super powerful, super helpful and inspiring conference. It was 2 hours long, but I have gained SO MUCH from it.

Thursday: Lesson with Anna, and she bore a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon!

Friday: Miracles today! Milagros!

We finally saw Josie again! Remember her? From my first transfer? It was the first time Sister Adams had even met her. It's been that long. But we both felt like we should just stop by and try to see her instead of keep trying to schedule an appointment. She was surprised, and was touched that we thought of her, and let us in for a little while. We brought up how she started meeting with missionaries, and she related her story about the Elders who helped her move, etc. and she said she had made quite a few discoveries since she started meeting with us and has learned many new things. She said "Not to convert, just to learn". Ha! For now, Josie. And it might take a little while... But eventually it'll happen :) But then it was finally arranged that we could start coming over regularly. Unfortunately she thinks it will be more of a study group for a couple hours... We'll have to figure that one out, but she forewarned us that she will have lots of questions, and we gave her the Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet to read before the next appointment. We're getting back on track!

Anyway so we left Josie's house.And on the way down the dirt road, we hear a little pop, followed by an airy sound which synchronized with the wheels turning.... we slowed down and realized that yes, we had popped the tire. GAH. We watched the tire rapidly deflate. (Sounds familiar doesn't it? Oh Hereford. You and your dirt roads that shouldn't even be called roads.) Long story shorter, some members close by helped us change the tire. The manager/owner of the tire shop happens to be the bishop in one of the wards, so we called him, and we took the truck in, and the workers offered to stay after they closed a little bit to change the tire with a brand new one for us that night. They were very generous and kind throughout the whole thing. Meanwhile, our dinner appointment helped us at the tire shop too, and took us out to dinner (while our truck was at the shop) to a Mexican Restaurant, somewhat like Macayo's, but less decorated, and more of an intimate setting. At this restaurant, there were two Mariachi men who played and sang live music to us while we ate! One with a guitar, and one with an accordion. SO COOL! They sounded like the ones on Nacho Libre and I was really happy about that. They were really good! (Pictures to come)

Friday: None of our plans went as planned, as we had to go back to the tire shop to change our other tire that was pretty bald, but there was like a 2 hour wait, so we did weekly planning while we waited.

Saturday, meh.

Sunday:

End of the week calls tonight with Elder Judy! So guess what?! As a district, 2 companionships hit 5/5 Standards of Excellence (Weekly Goals for Key Indicators) and we were so close with 4/5!!! As a zone we did even better! 4 companionships with 5/5, and 3 with 4/5. We're getting pumped up, and next week we're going to get ALL of them. 5/5. we can do it. I love the support that we all have for one another. It's really encouraging!

Side note: For those of you who do not know, I came out on my mission without going to the MTC. Now that I know I am staying in this mission fro the remainder of the 14 months or so, I will now go to the MTC to receive additional training and preparation to continue and complete my service as a full-time representative of Jesus Christ as a missionary for His Church. It will be a unique experience compared to that of those who have barely entered the mission field, but i still have sooooo much to learn, and I am excited to learn while I am there. I leave for the MTC on February 3rd.

Well, that was my week! I have learned quite a few things, and have had some personal pondering time to figure myself out. I have set plans for myself, I have made myself a mission statement for my time at the MTC, (like President Rolfe encouraged me to do) and I am going to make my last week in the Sierra Vista Zone the best one ever! I am kind of sad to be leaving with two weeks left of the transfer after I leave, and I will especially miss the people and the amazing missionaries that i get to work with here, but here's to a new, exciting adventure! "Adventure is out there!"

This Gospel is so true. If you don't know that for sure, please take the time to find that out for yourself. I believe that there is nothing greater that you can do for yourself than to find out for yourself that God loves you, that He has provided a way, and has an individual plan for your life here, and how you can gain eternal life, and then to do what He asks you to do so He can bless you with all of the blessings that he has to offer. I love each of you and keep you in my prayers.

Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Inman

Pictures:

Hna. Adams and I at the Mexican Restaurant

The menu said CHEESE CRISP!!!!!!!!!!! It DOES exist, I knew it! I was very happy when I saw that. Anyway.

The Mariachi men

The Mariachi men singing to us :)

Our beloved tire

Sister Jones and i in Benson. There were a bunch of cows eating together.

Yup

This super weird looking house that looks like it was build on Minecraft... Almost looks like a prison. But yeah, the things you find in Hereford...

Our Zone when we had Zone Temple Day! It was a great day. I love the temple.

Sister Inman Letter - January 19, 2016

Aaaaaaand I'm back!

Hello family and friends!

These past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy, and my journal entries are pretty much useless to me when writing my email today. So, I will try my best to make it interesting. :)

ALRIGHT, So... Last week, (as in January 4th-10th) I was actually able to go home for the week. (I know, right?) Seeing as I was originally called for three months, and I had initially only said goodbye to my family until then, my mission president agreed that it would be good for me to go home, spend some time with my family, go through the temple with my family, (I hadn't before, per instructions from Salt Lake), refresh, restart, and reboot before returning back, this time for 15 more months. I was also still a set apart missionary. (Not released). With that in mind, here's what happened, or at least my favorite parts.

Tuesday, January 5th

Got up at 5am, left at 5:45am to drive all the way to Tucson. It was so foggy and thick and wet and cold outside, pitch black, with very low visibility. Essentially, we were driving through the clouds. We got to the transfer site in Tucson at around 7:45am. I saw a few people I knew! We sorta just hung out there for a couple hours, waiting for companions, etc. President told me that I could hang out with the departing missionaries, so my companion could go back to our area with another sister who would be replacing me for the week.

I met up with the departing missionaries, and they decided to go tracting as their last big "hurrah". So I went with them, with Sister Brown, my first trainer, as my companion :) We knocked into this interesting couple, who immediately invited us in "to see where they do yoga"... Kind of a weird/creepy situation, right? At least we felt that way... But then they talked about how the Elders used to come over, and they had never seen Sister Missionaries before. Anyway, they were some strange faith that I had never heard of before, I won't name it, because I don't want to bash anybody, but apparently it is "just as popular as the Mormon faith". Huh. Well cool. We started with a prayer, we said one, and then they would say one. So after ours, she recited one of her favorite prayers that the founder of their faith had written. We, expecting just a spoken recitation, were... privileged... (and shocked haha) when she started singing. Yeah.So she finished her prayer, and we went from there, discussing beliefs, understandings, etc. Then we hear a knock on the door. Sister Brown and I looked at each other like, Just watch, it'll be other missionaries. IT WAS. Three Elders had knocked on her door, began to introduce themselves, Elder O'shia, Oviedo, and Gilson. Elder O'shia made eye contact with us, and we were like "this is seriously happening right now..." they knocked on a door that already had missionaries in it. HAHAHAHAHA! So she invited all of them in, so we had 5 missionaries in the room at once. We shared a video about why we need a Savior. Pretty funny experience. (Turns out Elder O'shia had previously taught them a long time ago, but it's still funny.)

My parents picked me up at the transfer site. And we drove home. Crazy.

Wednesday, January 6th

Happy 26th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

I had my temple recommend interview, and received some counsel from President Rolfe. It was good :)

Satan has been working on me this week. He knows I'm going to the temple. Grr.

Saturday, January 9th

Temple Day!

Lots of emotions today. Lots of new things. Lots of crying on my part. I was able to have my entire family in the temple with me that day. Lacey and Eric and Jake flew down just for me. My Grandparents were there, and just a couple of other people. I wanted it to be small. There is a special feeling in the temple, especially in the Celestial Room.

Sunday, January 10th

Church was good today, I got some confused people, and that's okay aha. It was good to see familiar faces.

Tuesday, January 12th

Happy 3 Months!

I had to say goodbye to my parents and family again, as they dropped me off. I think I was more ready this time, but it's still a bittersweet time.

Today was Zone Temple Day! I got to go through the temple with my zone, and that was a really neat experience, to see everyone dressed in white, and to see all of these other missionaries in a different light. The Spirit was so strong this time. I gained a lot more out of my second time through, because I'm a pro now. :) But I was overwhelmed with the strong Spirit there, and it was a sweet experience. :) We went out to lunch as a zone, too.

Wednesday, January 13th

BAM. Spirit-packed day. I got up early, and exercised, using the workout that Lacey gave me when she was home. (Thanks Lacey!) 

We were early to zone meeting, and had super awesome trainings by our leaders! We went out to lunch, about half of us to Chipotle. Yum!

Okay, so intense lesson tonight! To introduce my experience, our Sister Training Leaders challenged us to the 5 second challenge. Basically, when you get a prompting, you have 5 seconds to follow it. Kind of scary sometimes! But we have been striving to follow that rule, and have seen TONS of miracles!

Here is one that completely blew my mind. I am not boasting of myself, but have just a stronger testimony of the power of the Spirit, which really is the one that can do these things, and put words into our hearts.

We had a lesson with the Norris family, which was the most intense, spirit-filled lesson I have ever been a part of. The Nelsons, who are the members that have invited us to teach the lessons in their home, gave the most powerful testimonies as well. I remained quiet for most of the lesson, as every second of silence was filled with someone talking, but I was also waiting for the Spirit to direct me what to say.

Last time, they were invited to read from the Book of Mormon, and then pray to know if it was true. There were quite a few disputes from the Norris' about physical evidence, and the minor things that, although can prove that such people existed, cannot give you a witness or strengthen your personal testimony that these things are true.

After many discussions, questions, agreements, disagreements, plus many bold testimonies given by the members and Sister Adams, I had this very strong urge that I needed to speak up. "You need to bear your testimony that this Book is true. You KNOW it is true. You cannot just sit here, with the knowledge that you have, and not speak up. Speak now. (A.K.A. the Holy Ghost)

So amongst the many words which had been spoken, my hand shot up. (What? you ask, Why? I was moved upon by the Spirit. That's why. So I don't ask questions.) So I did. I raised my hand about head height, and said "Can I say something?" Everyone was quiet for a second. They said of course! So here are some of the words that I felt like I should say, and so I did:

"I have been quiet for most of this lesson, but I just need to say something. You said that you want proof. If you want proof that this Book is true, look at those people who live it.Look at the lives of those who have read the Book of Mormon, have prayed about it, and have lived the principles found in its pages. Look at the Nelson's. You said yourself that you can see they have a happy family. They are sealed together for all eternity. They have a happy family, because they live the doctrines and principles of the gospel, found in the Book of Mormon. I didn't know this Book was true until a few years ago. i grew up in the church, but didn't really pray or try to KNOW for myself that it was true until i read it, and found out for myself. i never wanted to be a missionary! [Until I learned that this was true.]"

I continued to bear the most sincere, bold, and powerful testimony that i have ever given in my life. I have never had the Spirit have such a profound, even a physical effect upon me. before i spoke, my heart began to race, and it felt heavier and heavier as if it would continue to weigh me down until I finished/bore my testimony. The Spirit shook just about every ounce of my being, physically and spiritually. I was seriously trembling. That doesn't usually happen on a regular basis. And even though I felt like my voice would crack, I was able to boldly testify clearly. (continuing)

"God wants all of His children to hear His Gospel, not just the sheep in Jerusalem. They didn't understand the scriptures, because they were not spiritually in tune. We can tell if a seed is good if we plant it, nourish it, and allow it to grow. That is all we are asking you to do. We have given you this seed, and we are asking you to plant it, nourish it, and allow it to grow. You have all of the evidence in your very hands, and you have not even read it. No matter how many online sources you read, no matter how many other people you ask, you WILL NOT gain a testimony or know if this Book is true, unless you read it, and pray to know."

And while I bore my testimony, they both actually listened, as I could tell by the expressions on their face. They didn't interrupt. 

And although these situations don't happen all of the time, it was just a firm testimony to me that the Spirit can put words into your mouth. if you are exactly obedient (I had been working on that especially this week) then the lord HAS to bless you with miracles, big or small. And we continue to move forward.

They said that they (primarily brother Norris) don't want to continue to meet, but they kept their copies of the Book of Mormon, and said they would continue to try and read it/study into it, etc.

Thursday, January 14th

Anna has a baptismal date! It's going to happen, we can feel it. It was her decision this time. February 20th. It's kind of far out there, but it gives her enough time to come to church a few times, go over the things we have taught her, etc.

We invited Elder Judy and Wilson to come meet her, as he would be the one to do the interview, to help ease her anxieties. he cannot participate in teaching her, and only stayed for like 10 minutes, but it was good!

This week, I have seen a lot more successes than ever. The Spirit is more likely to help you out when you're obedient! (seems i would have learned that by now...)

Anyway, I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love you!

Sister Inman

P.S. I am on exchanges in Benson, AZ and we came across somebody (a potential investigator) who knows Daniel Tillett! We were parked in front of their house too! They are in one of the Benson wards. Small world!

I want one.

Sister Inman Letter - January 4, 2016

Happy new year! It's crazy, the work keeps going forward

Hey-o!

So this week has been crazy. I've been sick all week, but it has also
been pretty successful of a week! Most of this week's emails will be
just fun experiences, because other than that, most of things were us
just trying to settle in, figure things out with scheduling, packing
and unpacking, meetings, etc. I promise I did do missionary things
this week, we actually had a really successful week as far as that
goes.

I apologize if there are some misspelled words, some of the keys on
this keyboard aren't working very well.

Monday: We packed this morning. Then emailed, then went back home to
finish packing, then started the move into the Naegle's house. The
Phippen's helped us gather stuff together, and we started loading the
truck. We had asked the Elders for help moving, and so pretty much
every missionary in the zone showed up at our house. Except the
Missionaries by the border. So we had Elders Whittle, Garcia, Jeffery,
Ludlow, Judy, and Wyman. Then later Sisters Daun, Diderickson, Walter,
and Jones came over. So at one point we had 12 missionaries in our
house. Every one of them (primarily Elders, they were flipping out the
whole time) were just in shock that we had a HOUSE to ourselves. They
all like ran around the house and were saying "man, if I lived here,
I'd do studies in a different place every day. Dude, check out the
basement! Whoah, they have a huge bathroom, WAIT they have TWO
bathrooms! What? They even have a basketball hoop?! And a piano? And
and an upstairs?!" Yeah. So it was mostly just them coming over to
party. But it was all good, they helped us move our stuff and take it
into the new house.

Once we got to the house, the Elders totally schmoozed the people who
own the house, (it was planned) by saying things like "You have a
beautiful home." And "I've been on my mission for 16 months, and these
two are some of the best sisters in the mission." Whatever, guys. But
she fell for it haha :) They're awesome.

Tuesday: We did a trio-exchange with one of our STL's (Sister Training Leaders). Tuesdays are
typically are least busy days as far as lessons.
I felt pretty terrible today. I'm hoping it's just allergies, but...

Wednesday: We stayed in our new house today!
We had District meeting and we all set goals for the new transfer! Our
goals as a companionship were: 5 New Investigators, and 1 baptism. We
will be exercising a lot of faith this transfer.

BUT, We had a MIRACLE tonight! We had dinner at the Nelson's home, and
they invited their nonmember friends (we met the wife at the Christmas
party) and we were able to teach the Restoration! They asked a lot of
questions. They were already Christian, and have faith in and a love
for Jesus Christ, so we were on a similar page there. Some of their
questions were solid, reasonable questions that took some
understanding from both parties. But we finally got a commitment from
them to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Laura (the wife) said
"Well, I am always wanting to be closer to Christ, and if you say that
this book is what is going to bring me closer, I will read it." *fist
pump to the air* Yay! We have two new investigators :) Miracles
happen, even if they don't happen until the very last hour.

Thursday: Holy cow, the year is over!!! We had a pretty good day, I'm
still sick though.


We had service at the ranch. The Elders chopped/chainsawed firewood,
and we picked up pecans that had fallen from the trees. Then we
stained a wooden wheelbarrow with flaxseed/motor oil.
At the ranch, there is a tire swing, so we played on that after we
were done with everything.


The Elders stood on it and swung on it, and then after that, they
decided to climb up the rope that attached to the tree. They tried
different things, Elder Judy ad Wyman both made it to the top. E. Judy
climbed it just using his ARMS the first time. I can't even lift my
own weight hahaha. They kept trying to outdo each other. The ZL's were
matching today, with the same green button up shirt. Yesterday they
wore matching ties that E. Judy's mom got them.

New Year's Eve: The most exciting part of the night was that we went
and got ice cream at McDonald's, then decorated a gingerbread house
that Sister Adams got for Christmas.

Sunday: we taught Gospel Principles, and I am still sick! It is hard
to talk and teach. Anna came to church!!!!!!! All three hours!!!

Well the computer deleted everything else I put here before I could
save it, so I forgot what I wrote, and now don't have any more time to
re-write it. The most exciting part too, you know the missionary work
part? Grr. -_- Transfer news! Long story short, half of the zone is
leaving, we are staying, Elder Burns is going up to Thatcher to be
companions with Elder DILWORTH!!! How fun :) and then Elder Judy and
Whittle are switching positions as DL (District Leader) and ZL (Zone Leader)! Crazy!
But anyway, have a great week! Love you all!

Sister Inman

Gingerbread House

Hoop at the House
(the Elders decided to play)

Sisters Inman and Adams

Sierra Vista District