Sister Inman Letter - December 19, 2016

Feliz Navidad, Merry CHRIST-mas, and Happy Birthday, Jesus! :)

Well hello my fantastic family!!!

This week was pretty rough, work-wise. We are running very dry on new investigators (or any, for that matter), so naturally it was hard to stay motivated to go out and to work. This week, we will definitely be exercising an increased amount of faith! God's power and influence in our lives is in part limited to how much faith we have, and our desire and commitment to act!  But we did have a few miracle happen this week, despite the fact that people are sick, lessons cancel, and much of our other time this week was spent at ward functions, meetings, and service! Next week will be SO much better. There is a lot of guilt that you feel when you know you haven't done as much as you feel you could or should have. I never want to have another day or week like that again.

We're ready to pound the pavement this week, be exactly obedient, have more meaningful studies, and set goals for every day during the week, and ACCOMPLISH them in faith.

This past week, I was really trying to focus on listening to and immediately following the promptings that the Spirit gives me. So, with a determination to act, Heavenly Father prompted us throughout the week of things that we could do to serve others. One particular morning, I was feeling not-so-motivated and depressed. So I prayed for the strength and motivation to be a missionary that day, and asked for direction. Immediately, the thought came into my head, "Get up and go serve someone." I immediately got up, and went over to Sister Spencer. I started by saying, "I don't know about you, but I am having a very hard time this morning. I'm feeling depressed, and I need to do something about it." She finished my thought and said "We need to go serve someone. Right now." I said, "Exactly, that's just what I was thinking too! Let's think about some people that we could serve, ask around, and we'll go."

We prayed to know who needed our service, and then looked over some names in the ward. A few came to our minds, and we sent them all messages. I wrote a few names down, and one stood out to me. Sister Spencer also had that same name in mind.  So that morning, we texted her and asked if we could come over and serve her. She responded and said YES. So we went over to her house a short while later. She was so grateful and she was very overwhelmed as a young mother who was recently called to the Primary Presidency. She had been praying for a miracle, because she had a task at hand that would have been impossible for her to do on her own. Something simple as cutting out like 60 balloon-shaped papers, and taping them on the end of bendy straws. She was also one in charge of table decorations for the Christmas party the next night. It literally would have been impossible without a miracle. She couldn't believe it! She thanked us over and over again and was almost brought to tears, because God had answered her prayers through us.

On another occasion, a family's name kept popping in my head, and I didn't know why. They are an active, awesome family, and we love them! But we went over there anyway, and asked her if there was something that we could do to help her. (She has her hands full with a lot of hyperactive kids, and she has so much on her plate). She said no, but then asked if we wanted to come inside. We did, and then after a little while, she asked if we could please help her with her dishes. We said yes, absolutely! And we ended up cleaning her whole kitchen. It turns out that she hadn't eaten or had much all day, and began to shake and didn't feel so good. So we were able to let her rest and eat while we listed this small burden for her. It felt so good to serve!!

On Sunday, we did our musical number in Sacrament. (The same one we will be doing at the Christmas Conference- Mary, Did You Know?). We have been earnestly praying as we have practiced that we would be able to sing and perform in such a way that the Spirit could testify, and fill the room so that all could be blessed by it. We had been praying that we could feel the emotion and true meaning of the song we performed, and when we finally broke it down, read through the words, pondered, and discussed what it really meant, the Spirit testified to both of us that the Savior is truly the Redeemer of the World, that He did come to earth to be born in humble circumstances, and to understand each of us personally as He suffered our pains and afflictions and temptations, and everything we would ever go through. Well, our musical number went really well, and it brought the Spirit for sure! People cried, and thanked us. I was so grateful to my Heavenly Father.

I have a testimony that if we are willing to follow the promptings that we receive, and ACT according to His will, we can not only receive answers to our own prayers, but we can also be the answer to someone else's. I don't want to be the reason that someone else's prayer goes unanswered on delayed. Here's to a new week, and I'm excited to be the Lord's servant this week. Especially the week of His birthday!

What gift can we give Him? Our Hearts! Look for ways to serve this week. Develop Christlike attributes, and as you do this, you will come to know the Savior, as you will become more like Him. 

Have a great week and Merry Christmas! I look forward to Skyping you on Sunday! See you soon!

Sister Inman

Last week's average temperature....This week's has been in the 30's-50's range. Brrrr!!!!!!

A member gave us money for Freddy's so we went :D

One of the Christmas parties. I've never seen one so PACKED. All of the seats were filled.

Selfie yeah!

Caught in my natural habitat... and found a new talent

Sister Inman Letter - December 12, 2016

14 Months Out. 4 months left. It's Go time.

Well ladies and gentlemen, another week out, and I've hit 14 months today. 

Lots of pictures today!!!

I am so grateful to have Sister Spencer as my companion. Even just the first day we were together, I knew it was inspired. It has been a little rocky week, due to trying to adjust to things and I'm still figuring out what's going on and taking over the area a little earlier than expected, and we both were struggling a little bit with depression his week. However, because of this, I think we can relate and know how to help each other overcome this challenge. We've already seen success together, and I've already learned so much! We can just laugh, and vent, and cry, and discuss, etc. ANYthing. It's so great! I don't know how I managed to be so lucky, but I know that the Lord has been hearing and answering my prayers. How sweet it has been so far. I am just filled with gratitude.

I am optimistic for this transfer, but I also have the prompting and feeling that this transfer will only be as successful as I make it. This is the same with all other transfers, but I feel this one is different. I could slump back into my weaknesses, or I could use this as a time to strengthen myself and my companion, buckle down and take everything I have learned and put it into practice. I feel like God is giving me another chance, and He wants me to succeed. And even though I seem to never be enough, I think he knows I WILL accomplish a lot this transfer. I feel like He trusts me enough to let me take the lead this transfer. Almost like He is saying, "Okay, Sister Inman. You've made some great progress on your mission so far. But I know that you are capable of becoming and doing so much more. I am giving you the tools, the companion, the hope, and the faith you need to give it your all. I trust you with this area. I know you will become the missionary you are meant to become this transfer."

So my companion and I have decided to do a musical number for the 1/2 mission Christmas Conference next Wednesday! She can sing, and I'm getting better at the piano, so we are doing "Mary, Did You Know?". One of my favorites! I've been working really hard on it whenever we have breakfast, lunch, or before bed, etc. And I've gotten a lot better! Please pray that I can do well enough to sound good! :)

Tuesday, Diane had her baptismal interview, and she passed! Obviously, haha. And when she came out, I asked her how she felt, and she said, "Excited! I can't wait!" and she had a big smile on her face. She's so sweet. She was so ready.

Wednesday we had zone meeting in Sahuarita. Three Missionaries that I have served with are going home tomorrow :'( Elder Dilworth, who was my first zone leader, in Sierra Vista, Elder Carico, who was in my district in the Gila Valley, and Sister Daun, who I served with in Sierra Vista, Northwest, and now Southeast. I have met some of the best people and friends on my mission. And I will miss them!

 

Elder Carico, from Houston, Texas.

Elder Dilworth, from Burley, Idaho. (Throwback to 14 months ago!)

Throwback to Northwest!

Sister Daun from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Southeast Zone, sorry for the bad quality!

Elder Dilworth is "dying". Get it? 

Las Hermanas!

Saturday was the GREATEST DAY ever!

I LOVE DIANE! There was such a good turnout, and she had so many supporters there. Because of the new ward, she is the FIRST EVER baptism in the history of the Mt. Fagan Ward! None of the bishopric were going to be able to make it, though they wanted to, but by some miracle, two of them were able to come. The baptism was so beautiful, and we got to stand behind and watch her from the steps of the font. So we got to watch her face and encourage her. There was a special spirit there. Her nonmember daughter came, and we didn't think she would. She is not really interested, but she was brought to tears. Diane bore her testimony at the end about how she knows the priesthood power is real, and that she knows that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the one and only true church. Pow.

Later that day, there was a senior's dinner for the community, hosted by the church, in conjunction with a local program/service. It was so much fun, and we sat with a table of senior citizens and got to know them and eat Christmas dinner with them! They were so funny! Mary Jo, Sharon, John, Fred, and Jack. How fitting! We also got a picture with Santa! :)

How great it is to get to know people and to be a missionary in simple ways. we got contact information from a couple of them and hope to visit them soon! :)

Well, I just love this gospel. I am determined to be a consecrated missionary. I won't waste a second of these last few months I have. I'm going to rely on the Lord, feast upon the word, be exactly obedient, do my very best, and God will do the rest. My challenge for myself is to invite ALL to come unto Christ. To never hesitate to share what I know.

We are hopefully meeting with Nathaniel this week!! Thank you for your prayers in his behalf! Diane was most DEFINITELY blessed by your prayers, and she said "I had no idea just how different I would feel. A burden was completely lifted off my shoulders. I just feel so good!" Her confirmation blessing was beautiful, and I plan on writing it out for her soon. 

I just thought of something. You know the saying, "if there's a will, there's a way"? Well think about this: "When we act according to HIS will, HE provides a way". Whoah! Thanks, Spirit! I love those random a-ha moments! 

Here's a couple more thoughts:

"Don't evaluate yourself... harshly".- President Passey In other words, allow yourself to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and with a determination to improve, try your best and trust in God to help you!

Favorite scripture of the week: Mosiah 2:31, 41 Keep the commandments, and God blesses you with Happiness, and NO enemy (or weakness!) can overpower you!

I love you all so much, I keep you in my prayers, and I can feel yours every day. It's what gets me through!

Have a great week!!! :)

Sister Inman

Sister Inman Letter - December 5, 2016

8 Week Transfer? Wahoo!

Well hello family!

This week has been quite the turn of events. Wednesday evening, we got a call from President Passey, and he told us that we would be having an early transfer. "Not an emergency transfer, but an early transfer. These changes were already going to happen in a couple of weeks, but instead of waiting till then, we're just going to switch it now. Sister McCombie will be leaving to Casas Adobes to be a Sister Training Leader (STL), and Sister Inman will be getting Sister Spencer. You'll be switching Friday morning before the Leadership Meeting." 

What????!!!!! Well okay..... Neither of us expected to receive this call so early, as transfers are in 2 weeks! But I immediately felt peace, knowing that Sister Spencer was going to be my companion. I served in the Northwest Zone with her, and I LOVE her!!! So, needless to say, I was excited for that, but I didn't expect the change to happen so fast! But I know Sister McCombie will do great wherever she goes and especially in that area! :)

So my new companion, Sister Spencer, is from Indiana, and she's been out for about 6 months. I was there when she first came out :) I am so excited and grateful to be her companion, and she has already strengthened and helped and taught me so much. She is a musician, just like me, and I finally have a companion that is just as crazy and stoked about music as me!!! She is a singer, and I'm an instrumental performer, and so when you put the two together, it's a beautiful duo. At least this one is. Haha. :)

So Thursday was mainly spent saying goodbye to people, and also serving as much as possible! We worked at the food bank, and we also helped a widow in our ward set up and decorate her Christmas Tree. It always feels good to serve, expecially during Christmas! How have you served someone this month so far? How is the #LighttheWorld challenge going so far?

Here's pictures from before the transfer:

 

Look what I found!!!!! Hahahahaha

 

District picture! I love our district!

 

Working at the food bank, getting rid of what we call "science experiments" haha.

 

Food bank, pt. 2

 

Decorating the Christmas tree!

 

Thursday night, saying goodbye to the Leach's

 

Last companionship picture.

And then I'll just start from Friday on, because that's where most of the juice is! It has really been a wonderful past few days. Lots of tender mercies and miracles to offset the stress of an early transfer. 

Every single lesson that Sister Spencer and I have taught and been a part of has been incredible. The Spirit has been SO strong, and SO powerful, and there are just a few specific times on my mission where the Spirit has borne witness that strongly and where both my companion and I were able to be on the same wavelength and just speak boldly and testify of Christ. Wow, it feels great to be a missionary! I just feel so lifted and empowered and excited.

Our first lesson was with Diane. We went over the baptismal questions with her, and she nailed it. She is so prepared, and I just love her. She's a miracle. She is one of the reasons that I was assigned to this mission, and why I came to Vail. She is that one person whose life I was supposed to touch. And what a privilege it has been to be the Lord's instrument in helping her come unto Him. Please pray for her this week, as Satan has already been trying so hard to stop her! Keep going strong, Diane!!! :) December 10th!!!

Then we met with Nathaniel. This was super powerful. This was when we felt the Spirit super strong. We were talking about what his vision for himself is, and where he sees these lessons going, etc. We asked him to compare himself from the times that he first started meeting with missionaries to now. He said that there is a big difference. He comes to church almost every Sunday now, and he feels the Spirit when he comes. He prays. He is already in Jarom of the Book of Mormon. (He calls him Jarome haha). But we talked about our last lesson on the Plan of Salvation, and how this life is the time to prepare to meet God, and how we will choose where we will go, depending on our actions. He had answered that he wanted to go to the Celestial Kingdom, but he guesses he'll go wherever God puts him. I had an interesting prompting, which led the conversation in kind of a different direction than any of us expected. Here's how it went:

Me: Nathaniel, you can decide where you want to go! You can choose to keep the commandments, and repent, and follow Jesus Christ. And if you do these things, you won't have to wait until Judgement Day to know where you're going to go. What are you worried about? Where do you think you're going to go?

Nathaniel: I just feel like I'm going to Hell.

Me: Why do you think you're going to Hell? (There it is. That's what my prompting was. Ask him why he feels like he's going to Hell. Because he has told us that before, but if he truly believes that, there is a deeper concern).

Both Sister Leach and Sister Spencer just raised their eyebrows and their jaws dropped. Did I really just ask that? Nathaniel paused and just looked at me for a second, and then he thought about it.

Nathaniel: I've just done too many really bad things in my life. I will never be able to take that back.

Me: Do you believe that God can forgive us of our sins? 

Nathaniel: Yes,but it doesn't matter how many times I say sorry, it's not going to get rid of what I've done in my life. There's a limit to how many times you can say sorry for something. Saying sorry doesn't make up for anything that I did.

Me: Nathaniel, I testify that you can be forgiven of your sins. Just a few moments ago, you told us of the changes that you had made, even just since you started meeting with missionaries 8 months ago. You have been able to feel the Spirit, finally, when you come to church! You are making changes in your life that show your Heavenly Father that you want to change. And that is the whole reason Jesus Christ came down to earth, to pay the price for your sins, so you can change, and be forgiven. Even if you were the only person on the earth, Jesus Christ would have come down to Atone for your sins alone. It would have been worth it to Him.

After this, my companion testified of the Atonement, and was reminded of a scripture in the Book of Mormon that shows us His infinite mercy, and it was just perfect. She then testified of the forgiveness that comes when we repent. That "as oft as we repent we will be forgiven". If we are truly sincere, we will be forgiven. The Spirit bore powerful witness to all of us that these things were true, and afterward, Sister Spencer said she didn't even remember what she said, but that the Spirit gave her the words. She didn't know Nathaniel. This was her first day. And yet the Holy Ghost gave her the words to speak, which ended up being exactly what he needed to hear. The Spirit is such a sweet thing. It has been so wonderful to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, in particular the last couple of days. I think this will be a great transfer. :)

Anyway, I know that this is true. That's all the time I have, but I am so excited to be a missionary. I just feel good about God's plan for me. He has sent my companion and I so many tender mercies and has reminded us that He is very aware of us. I love the Lord. I love this Gospel. I love my mission.

I hope you have a wonderful week, I love you so much!

Sister Inman

 

This happened to me. It was the worst moment ever. I don't even know HOW this happened.

 

Gingerbread houses we made with a family in the ward, who invited two recent converts over for FHE!

 

Sister Spencer and I (Just look at her smile. Isn't she cute?)

Sister Inman Letter - November 28, 2016

#LighttheWorld

Hello hello hello!

Sorry, I just cut the tip of my finger like an hour ago, so I put gauze and a band aid over it, but it makes it very awkward and inconvenient to type with haha. So if there are any random Z's or S's or other letters, or if it my email isn't as long, sorry! It's because I am missing the use of my ring finger! You don't know what you've got till you can't use it anymore! Haha.

Well, Thanksgiving was good! We actually resorted to just one Thanksgiving dinner, but it was very good, and though I felt very full afterwards, I didn't go into a food coma, nor did I completely stuff my face and I am not as worried about the extra pounds that I gained last year during the Holidays. One holiday down, Two to Go! Haha :) Trying to resist the urge to try every flavor of pie. Speaking of which, last night for dinner, our new Ward Mission Leader had us over for dinner and we had homemade Chicken Pot Pie! Man, was it good! Flaky Crust, all the fillings, it was the best. :)

So this week was yet another unique experience! 

Monday night, we felt that we should try this one family in the ward. Then when we got there, we didn't feel right about it. Those moments are the best.... but then we prayed to know where to go, and Sister McCombie was reminded of a potential investigator that she had found a few months ago. We felt good about it, so we went. The TV was on and pretty loud, but we knocked on the screen door. No response and it was pretty quiet, because I didn't want to sound like I was trying to break down the door. They didn't have a doorbell, (Who'da thunk that you'd miss door bells?) But we tried everything. The window, the wind chimes, everything. I was determined to get this door opened. And then we heard someone say, "Someone is knocking!" And they came to the door and opened it. There she was! Vicki! She was friendly to us, and we asked her if we could come back and share a message about Jesus Christ that would bring strength and happiness and peace to her life. She said "Yes!" We asked her how she thought that it would bless her family to strengthen her relationship with Christ, and she said, "Well, it would really help our family. We are going through a really hard time right now, with my daughter's illness [not for blog: she has cancer]." She invited us back, and we look forward to meeting with her again! New investigator on a Monday!

Then on Wednesday, we met Neila. Neila is an investigator that was previously in the Vail Elders' area, but due to the ward split/boundary changes, she is now in our ward! :) Sorry for them, but awesome for us! She is amazing! So some background on Neila, I wish I could tell you everything, but there is only so much I am allowed to share over email. She is from Northern Africa, [not for blog: A place called Tunisia, look it up on the map] and she is very committed to the faith that they practice there. She came to America and fell in love with the Christians. She loves the Mormons in particular. She came to America, and said, "this country has God!" Really, we don't realize how good we have it in the United States. We get to practice and believe what we so choose! Another thing to be grateful for! :)

Well, that's all the time I have, but I wanted to introduce you to the Christmas video! #LighttheWorld !

There is an Advent Calendar that starts December 1st, and goes till Christmas! There will be a new video coming out every DAY. Watch the kickoff video at: https://www.mormon.org/?cid=HP_FR_25-11-2016_dMIS_fmorg_xLIDyL1-A_

The Christmas season is about service. Christ served every day of His life. Every day in December, go to the website to find a way to serve... just like the Savior did. 25 ways, in 25 days. We are so excited! I look forward to hearing your experiences!!!

Anyway, the Church is true, the Gospel is Perfect, Christ is our Savior. I love each and every one of you.

Have a great week!

Happy birthday Dom! Love you!

Love,

Sister Inman

Dinner with some members from Thatcher!

Ugh, the quickest way to start a fight at a Thanksgiving party. 

Thanksgiving with the Leach's!

Sister Inman Letter - November 21, 2016

3 sacrament Meetings, Miracles, and Experiences, Oh My!

Wow, what a week!

Unfortunately, I don't have as much time as I'd like to share all of my experiences with you, though. :(

This week, we were super productive, and filled our time with as much finding and teaching as possible! We just felt an extra push and boost of motivation to try as many people as we can, contact and talk to everyone, and just be the best we could be. Lots of good things resulted from it, and we felt successful at the end of each day. You know those days when you get to the end and are like, "YEAH! I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED! *Fist pound to the air*" ? Yep, it's a good feeling. Even though a few of our appointments fell through.

Diane is still absolutely amazing. She is prepared. She is so solid. She is continuing to progress towards baptism!

On Saturday, we went on exchanges, and so I went to another area for the day with another missionary, Sister Barker, who just finished being trained, and she is SOLID! As part of our day, we went tracting for about 1.5 hours. I actually feel pretty confident now! Whereas before, I'd be pretty scared and my anxiety would go up, and everything else. But it was a neat experience, because we switched every other door that opened who would start. So each of us got about 45 minutes of tracting where we were the ones doing the talking! It was really good! I got to the point where I could bear testimony of the message we share sincerely, and offer it as something of a gift. People were a little nicer when we presented it as something that we have experienced joy from, that we wanted to share with everybody. Of course the one house that I felt I had the best door approach happened to be the only member of the church that lived on that block, haha. Good practice, I suppose! But it was good! my testimony of the Book of Mormon and the message of the Restoration increased significantly through bearing witness of the joy we experienced from it!

This week, with various experiences, I have gained a greater confidence in my ability to let things roll off my shoulder, not allow things to get to me, and keep pushing forward in faith, trying my very best every day. And even if I wasn't as great as I was the day before in one aspect, if I know I have been trying my best for that day, and the Lord knows that, I have a greater ability and motivation to try harder and do better. As a result, I have felt the peace and presence of the Holy Ghost so much more lately! I also prepared well for the sacrament on Saturday, and because of that, I had a wonderful experience, and could actually feel the cleansing and sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as I pondered during and partook of the Sacrament. It was a wonderful, Spirit-filled day!

I look forward to continuing to see the miracles happen in this area, as we continue to exercise our faith. We have been striving to ask everybody for referrals, especially after sharing a message with them that allows the Spirit to be there. So far, it's been miraculous, that's for sure! Last night, we felt inspired to share the Restoration for our dinner message anyway, even though the nonmember family they invited to join us ended up having to cancel. As we did this, the Spirit was SO strong, and before we shared the message, we invited them to listen to the feelings they had as we spoke, and think of who is ready to receive the message we have to share. It was quite possibly one of the most powerful times I have taught the Restoration, and I'm positive that everyone who was in tune felt the Spirit super strong. We walked out of there with 5 referrals. :)

Here are a couple of thoughts that I gained/had from my studies/church this week:

-Because of his decreased strength, the prophet ONLY says what is most important. Pay attention to what he says when he speaks to us!

-Imagine this life as a construction business. You are the worker. A man says to you, I want you to build me a mansion. I will give you a huge reward to build this house. Spare no expense, use the finest materials, hire the best workers etc. Say that you begin to work on it, and only think about the big reward you'll gain, but don't take the time or care to put the work in to equal the reward. After a while, you start to slack off, use flimsy materials, don't lay a firm foundation, use flimsy nails, walls, hire inexperienced workers, etc, etc. At the end of this job, the man comes back to you, and hands you the keys to this mansion, as his reward and gift for you. How would you feel after having not worked hard or diligently, or sincerely, or in full faith? In other words, What mansion are you building? What do you want Heavenly Father to give you the keys to? Will you work out and earn your reward? Just a thought. God is preparing us a mansion, but if you think about it, we have a say in what we get! 

I love being the Lord's missionary in this part of His vineyard!

Have a great week! I love you!

Sister Inman

Sister Inman Letter - November 14, 2016

Well, I've learned a lot. And God is still the best.

Well this week was basically super awesome. We tried our best to just have a super productive day every single day. If someone wasn't home, we'd try their neighbors, or someone close. If an appointment fell through, we'd try someone that the Ward Council asked us to go visit. We'd schedule return appointments, we'd visit struggling members, we'd ask for referrals, we'd do as much as we could. And we had a solid week. It was great!

First off, on Thursday we had an AMAZING Zone Conference. The spirit was so strong. At the end, for the last hour and a half or so, the elders and sisters did breakouts with President or Sister Passey. So all of the Sisters went with Sister Passey. We discussed a talk, "You Were Born to Lead, You Were Born for Glory" by Sheri Dew. It's amazing. I think it was a BYU devotional. GO AND READ IT. But basically we just opened a discussion, as sisters, where we talked about our individual struggles and thoughts about the talk, missionary life, etc. Basically, most of us who had been out on our missions for awhile were bawling by the end, and it was very meaningful for each of us. There was so much love and trust and empathy for each of these sisters in the room, and it was very powerful. Just what I think a lot of us needed. 

But aside from that, I wanted to share a few things I learned from Zone Conference!

• Each month, our mission has a goal to have at least 30 convert baptisms and at least 40 reactivations. Well, for the past two months, being our #FTF #FaithtoFind #FilltheFont Challenge of every companionship having One baptismand one reactivation in their areas, there was a tremendous increase of faith in our mission:
• In September, Our mission had 31 convert baptisms, and 82 reactivations. HOW AWESOME IS THAT? Then in October, we had 41 convert baptisms, and 81 reactivations. Wow. That is fantastic. When we focus our faith to accomplish our goals, miracles happen. When we exercise our faith, NO effort is wasted!
• These challenges (and other challenges in life) are given to us so that we can know what is possible for us to accomplish with the Lord's help! "When we put ourselves in the game, the Lord will pass us the ball!" -Sister Passey
• Our work does not always equal our success. We do not have to be perfect to be effective. We simply have to have a desire and determination to be and work hard every day to accomplish our goals.
• If we focus on our goals, not necessarily a specific outcome that will infringe on other people's agency, GOD WILL PROVIDE THE WAY. (i.e. we pray for a baptism, and though we wish it would be a specific person, the Lord may have someone else who is better prepared.)
• We learned about Teaching Prayer Effectively, through 1. Getting the Head of Household to Pray, 2. Setting the expectation for prayer through our example, and 3. Showing investigators how to pray. When people understand HOW to pray, specifically to receive answers to their prayers, they will progress in the gospel more quickly. Prayer is an ESSENTIAL part of conversion! We can't be converted to a God we don't know or talk to!
• We learned about asking inspired questions (Listen up, all of you teachers!) Asking inspired questions allows us to : 1. Determine the needs of those we teach, 2. Teach PEOPLE, not lessons, 3.Help them answer questions in a way that they can actually teach themselves, 4. Help them express faith and act, through acknowledging their belief or knowledge about something, and 5. It invites the Spirit to teach everyone.
• Asking inspired questions and then listening to the Spirit allows us to become powerful teachers.
• Tender Mercies are unmistakable blessings that are a special acknowledgement from God that he LOVES you and KNOWS you. They are given to us according to our faith!
• Don't allow your past efforts and failures or trials determine what successes and growth you can achieve now!
• "Be Ye Perfect" means "Learn to love as Heavenly Father loves." - Sister Passey
• We become a chosen vessel of the Lord, a chosen son or daughter of God, when WE choose God, and choose to follow His Son.

Anyway, those were a few things I learned! Amazing conference. I learned a lot more, but the Spirit taught me those things. But one thing I can say is that I truly felt each of the fruits of the Spirit. Heck, I had a whole fruit basket that day! love, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, patience, faith, joy..... I felt incredible! 

DIANE SET A BAPTISMAL DATE!!!! DECEMBER 10TH!!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!! 

Zone Picture:

​

Lots of new faces! (And familiar ones!)

I feel like I have learned and understood more about the most important things this week, than most other weeks.   

Friday, we met with a woman named Sister Rubcic (Pronounced Roo-bik) and she is quite possibly the classiest 80 year olds I have ever met. She has the cutest smile and laugh, and we just adore her. Here's a couple pictures that Sister McCombie secretly snapped of her hahaha

 

She is seriously SO FUNNY. We love her so much!!!

Sunday was fantastic! Sister McCombie and I accidentally were twinsies, which was fun. The talks were incredible. All three. About Purity, the Word of Wisdom, and Chastity again (specifically  guidelines and stay away from pornography, etc.) really great talks.

Both Nathaniel and Rod came to sacrament! They both stayed for second hour, and then Diane came for third hour, and loved Relief Society. The lesson was absolutely perfect for her. The Spirit hit strong. And Gospel Principles was about the Plan of Salvation. Both Rod and Nathaniel needed that lesson. In fact, when talking about the Spirit world where we again have the chance to accept the Gospel, and that each of us will have the chance to change and accept the truth, Nathaniel turned to Sister McCombie and said, "I want to change. I want to keep the commandments." What? Yay!!!!

Yesterday, we went to a special meeting where they announced the realignment of the Stake Boundaries, and the creation of a new ward. We were afraid that we would lose some of our dearest friends to another ward, but God blessed us to where the new ward was just sandwiched between our two existing wards, still in our area. So now we cover THREE wards :) Here we go! 

The new bishops (and Bishop Merrill, who was just released) bore their testimonies. And the new bishop over Cienega Ward said something that really stuck out to me. When referencing what people told him about trying to fill Bishop Merrill's shoes, he said, "Somebody told me something that I will always remember. They said, 'Don't worry about filling somebody else's shoes. Fill your own, and then walk the path you need to walk.'" Jesus Christ will strengthen you and be with you every step of the way.

I really loved that, because so often we are trying to be "just as good" as the person before you, and that will not likely be possible. Each of us is called to our callings through revelation and inspiration, and the LORD qualifies whom He calls. We are put where we are because somebody needs you there. :)

Well, I'm about out of time. Here are some pictures! Sorry, some of them are turned and upside down... sorry D:

Hahahaha Sister McCombie was taking a panorama of the room when she was laying on the ground, and I moved, so I ended up looking like this ghost thing hahaha xD

During Dinner, this little kid (probably like 3 years old) came up behind me and put this laundry basket over my head. xD

Guess who I got to see at Zone Conference!!!! Sister Chandler!!!!! She's my favorite and we cried so hard. We haven't seen each other since we'd been companions.

We drove past an airplane graveyard. About 100 planes from the armed forces. (In Central Tucson) It's really a neat sight to see. Wish we could have caught all of them.

Again with my ghost face.

Sister Leach took a secret picture of Brother Leach teaching Rod how to look up conference talks on his phone. It really was one of the sweetest things ever. They're so good to him.

Well anyway, that's all the time I have! Sorry! I love you all and pray for you daily. I hope that God continues to bless you this week! Look for miracles!

Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Inman

P.S. Where's my baby? How is Rory? Is she still cute? I can't tell because I don't have nearly enough pictures hahaha SEND ME MORE! ;)

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Sister Inman Letter - November 7, 2016

Happy November!

To the Fam Bam:

This week has been great! I've been able to see miracles, and also witness the Lord's love and hand in my life, I've had greater sensitivity to the Spirit, and God has just been blessing us so much. 

I've definitely learned a lot of spiritual lessons this week. It was a week of refining, that's for sure. 

Lately I have been feeling like I've been focusing so much on trying to be perfect in my behavior and actions as a missionary. I think that because of this, most of my energy and thoughts are spent simply correcting the flaws of the outward missionary, that my spiritual growth and learning and skills are weakening! I have come to better realize that I will never be a perfect missionary, and that I need to try my best, allowing the Savior to change and correct and strengthen me. It is when I realized this that I gained more confidence, effectiveness, and sensitivity to the Spirit.

This week, I have been pondering upon some of the changes I have been making and the improvements that I have been able to accomplish this past transfer. When I prayed about it, I was blessed to realize that I really am doing a lot better than I give myself credit for.

Currently, when pondering on how I have changed spiritually, here are a few of my successes/blessings/results of my efforts to be better!

- I have had more meaningful and Spirit-led studies.

- I have expressed more gratitude, and thus am happier and more in-tune to the Spirit

- I've been more consistent with writing down inspiration and revelation in my study journal

- I've been reading more conference talks, which has been AMAZING! I love it! Overall, feasting upon the word of God. It really does bring joy and direction!

- I have been better about receiving and ACTING upon promptings I receive!

- Choosing more Spirit and purpose-filled music

- I have received help from Heavenly Father to have more confidence in contacting people, and door approaches for tracting.

- I have been trying to focus on serving others and I have been blessed with an increase of love for my fellowmen! 

- God has been blessing me with the ability to remember names. Which has been extremely helpful!!! (I am reminded of Grandpa Ellsworth, who was also good at remembering names, correct?)

- Better follow-through with commitments and invitations, referrals, etc.

God really is amazing. I have been feeling of His love a lot lately! I have been trying to better understand the aspect of faith, and gaining access to the Enabling Power of the Atonement, and my studies have been wonderful! Here are a couple of experiences this week that were particularly meaningful and strengthened my faith!

This week, our investigator Diane received a healing blessing. And wow, was the Spirit powerful, and her whole countenance changed. She SMILED. She gave a genuine smile! She has had a very rough life, and because of some traumatic experiences earlier this year, it has prevented her from feeling joy and truly embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There comes a numbness, so to speak, when we block ourselves off from any feeling, in order to prevent ourselves from being hurt again. We felt inspired to ask her if she wanted a priesthood blessing. We bore our testimonies of them and reassured her that her faith was so strong, and that God wats her to be happy, and wants to bless her! She accepted. So we went over there, and our Ward Mission Leader and another man came over to her house. We taught about the doctrine of the Priesthood, and how the anointing of the sick and afflicted has been done for centuries. (See James 5) One of the men taught very simply and clearly about what the priesthood was, and how it works. We explained that it was the power of God that was given to His children to accomplish His purposes in helping us attain eternal life and joy. She understood very well, and asked a couple of questions. After our discussion, they proceeded to give her a beautiful blessing. After which, we asked her how she felt. She said, "I just feel.... lifted! Like a huge burden was just taken off of my shoulders! Like... this source of energy or something! I could feel the Spirit of Christ when you were speaking." Isn't that amazing? We confirmed to her that what she was feeling was the Holy Ghost, confirming that this sacred power is real, and that this Gospel is true. She said that for the first time, "I felt something... I don't even know what words to use to describe it! Lucky!" And she SMILED! Oh Diane, It was such an incredible experience to be a part of. 

We went tracting this week, on a street that a less active and a potential lived on. We knocked every door. Remember President Uchtdorf's talk, "Fourth Floor, Last Door"? Well, we tracted up and down that street, and we came upon the last door, after having been rejected every time. (Most were nice about it, at least), Well we went to this last door, which was where a potential investigator lived. We knocked on the door, and here was the gist of our conversation:

 

"Are you the Carpet Cleaners?" 

No, we're the Sister Missionaries!

"Oh. I was hoping you were the Carpet Cleaners. We really need our carpets cleaned, but nobody will come out here! And the one I called went out of business!

Oh, we're sorry! We actually know of someone who totally would clean your carpets! In fact, he actually lives in Vail! He just cleaned ours last week. (He just so happens to be the Bishop! heehee)

"Really? That would be great!"

Yeah! Here, we'll get your number and give it to him.

"Okay, great!"

He came outside and told us that the missionaries used to stop by all of the time and speak with his wife, but she was ill that day. We started to talk to him about their visits, and he said he enjoyed them, but he felt that he had done too many bad things to receive forgiveness. He was a Vietnam Veteran, and told us of a couple of experiences that he had had there, and what he had done. NO WONDER he feels bad! Poor man obviously had PTSD. :/ But he asked us some of the most basic questions of the soul:

"-Why do so many evil things happen to such good people? Why does God allow it to happen to one good person, but not the next?

-Why are we even here on earth?

-What is the purpose of life if all we do is suffer and then die?

-Why would God want someone like me?

-How can I possibly be happy in a world like this?"

Well Johnny, these are exactly the questions that we answer as missionaries. We know that it is through our Savior Jesus Christ that we are able to find true happiness and joy, and a forgiveness of our sins. God has a purpose for you here on this earth, and He wants you to be happy.

"Are you happy?"

Yes, absolutely! The Gospel is what makes us happy!

"Probably because you two haven't done anything bad your whole life!"

No, each of us makes mistakes and each of us is guilty of sin. The reason we are happy is because we understand what the Purpose of this life is, and we know we can be forgiven through Jesus Christ. And we know you can experience this joy too. Do you want to be happy, Johnny?

"Yes, I do. But I'm not. I've never been happy."

Well we testify that you CAN be happy..... etc. We gave him a Plan of Salvation Pamphlet and invited him to read it. We promised that a lot of his questions would be answered in that booklet. And we left him with a prayer. It was a pretty successful door contacting experience, I'd say! :)

Another experience was quite interesting....probably the craziest of my mission. I helped save a dog from being eaten alive by a pitbull, and that was fun... not... But anyway, long story short, we contacted this recent convert and less active family who had recently moved in. They were very bitter towards the ward and it's leaders. So we listened to their complaints and accusations of them, and then we hear the dogs barking and squealing outside. The wife leaves, and we were left alone with this man. Umm... not okay... Then we hear her screaming for help. We go outside and she had also been attacked and the ropes tied around her and knocked her down. The pitbull was trying to eat the little dog, and the owner was screaming to try and help but yelled for me to come help grab one of them. So I helped, and pulled the other dog away from the two fighting, and it was all just a fun experience. With death threats to the dog, and contention, and more angry words, all that good stuff. Anyway. The dog was bleeding, the family was not happy. But it was a fun first meeting. We met with them last night and it went a lot better :)

I wanted to share a couple of the talks I read this week!

Talk: The Atonement Covers All Pain by Kent F. Richards, April 2011 Gen Conf.

-Christ chose to experience pains and afflictions in  order to understand us, rather than just receive it through revelation. Perhaps we also need to experience the depths of mortality in order to understand Him.

Talk: The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing, Richard G. Scott

READ IT! Sorry, out of time.

Anyway, I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!!!!

Love,

Sister Inman

P.S. The Coyotes out here are obnoxious. They come up pretty close to our house. And they howl ALL NIGHT LONG. I've also noticed that people on this side of the state speak differently. They have their own slang and terms and lack of grammar. It's funny though. :) "I says"