My Last Week

I seem to just be in a daze as i think about the fact that I only have a week left of my mission. What am I suppose to accomplish, what am I suppose to do. Time really does go by fast. I cant even believe that it is already Monday. Not to mention this week is going to go like the speed of light. Tomorrow we have our meetings, Wednesday we are watching the new movie 'Meet the Mormons', Thursday we have service, Friday is weekly planning, Then this weekend is General Conference. Writing it down makes it look even smaller.

This week when I told those in my ward I was leaving that they didn't want me to go. They were all in denial, and felt as though I haven't accomplished everything that I needed to get done in my mission yet. Though one member told me that I have accomplished more in the 8 months that I have been out then most do in the 2 years that they are given. Although I am so sad to have to say goodbye to those in the Victoria Ward, I know that this is what I am supposed to be doing. Ever since I have made the decision I have been filled with a sense of peace and comfort. The Holy ghost has witnessed to me that Heavenly Father is happy about the decision that I have made. I know that there is something in store for me.

I am willing to put all my faith in to His plan. Especially since I literally have no plans now. This is the first time in my life that I do not know the next step. I don't know where I am going, or what I am doing. For most this would be stressful, scary, and a bit overwhelming. Well I at times feel that, but then I remember that I am doing this because Heavenly Father wants me to. So I know that everything is going to be Okay. This week in Sunday School we were reading the Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon. Our teacher kept telling us that Isaiah is telling the people that everything will be okay. Then our Relief Society lesson was all about how everything will be okay. Making decisions now doesn't mean that they have to be scary because we might have more responsibility than we did as children making the choice of what we wanted to play with. Because all we really have to do is rely on the Holy Ghost telling us where we need to go and what we need to do.

Not only was Sunday filled with lessons of comfort, and knowing what I need to do and where i need to be, but so was the Women's conference. All of the talks were on the temple, and how we need to prepare ourselves to go there, and that we need to visit the temple frequently. Well the only plans that I have made from the moment I knew I was going home was that I was going to go to the temple as much as I could possibly go. Including going to all of the temples within a 4 hour radius of my mom's house in Tennessee. Come to find out that there are 7 within 4 and a half hours of here. Then when I go to Utah, I can basically go to all the temples there and I would only have to travel an hour to go to at least 10 temples. The comfort that came from knowing that I could finally visit the temple again on a weekly basis brought joy to my heart, and I know that this is what I am suppose to be doing.

I know that my mission has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father. I know that I have been able to be more in tune with the Spirit, and to come to understand the doctrine of the church because of the decision to serve the Lord. I know that this literally is the best thing that has happened in my life, and I know that the blessings that come from serving the Lord will continue to bless my life even when I am home. The willingness and the desire to serve the Lord will not stop when I have to take off my little black badge. Although this is a sad moment I am not going to dwell on it, but make it more of a life long habit than a calling for a few months. It has become ingrained into who I am, and I am not willing to let it go. I will continue to read my scriptures, pray, and grow my conversion story for the rest of my life because I have truly come to realize this is a life long commitment to my Father in Heaven, not just a Sunday thing.

I want to continue to receive the blessings of the covenants I have made, and I know the only way to do that is to be faithful, obedient, diligent, and endure to the end.

I hope all of you have an amazing week, and know that Heavenly Father really does love you. He knows each and everyone of you and wants to help you. His arms are outstretched you just have to make the effort to come unto Him. I will see you all soon.

Love,
Sister Bell

What makes me happiest

We were able to meet a great new investigator this week while contacting at the park. I know without a doubt it was because we were guided to her through the Holy Ghost. Her name is Liz. So we were about to leave the park because everyone was busy playing soccer and tennis and didn't want to talk to us, when we spotted her. She was watching her kids in the park, and I knew that I needed to talk to her. She is great, we went from talking about weather, to movies, to missions, to plan of salvation, the whole time talking about her family. We gave her a book of Mormon, and she told us that this is what she has been looking for, she even asked us to come talk to her again, and gave us her phone number. It was an amazing opportunity, and I was so glad to finally be able to see Heavenly Father's plan.

Not only that, but we were just able to see the beauty of the temple, or serving, and of working to the best of your ability.

This week has been hard with my health we have had to take a lot of down time, and I'm sick of being sick. If you know me, I work as hard as possible and then some. So when I can't do that, or I have to rest, it makes me feel weak. It makes me feel that I am not worth much here. I realized something though: I just have to make the best of the time I have and think of the scripture in Ether 12, that He makes weak things become strong. I have to humble myself, and know my weaknesses, and help people because of it. I have really tried to do that this week. I think that it has really helped. We worked, but not more than I could handle. I had a hard time when I got home. I laughed, I taught, and I endured. The few members that do know that I am sick told me that I don't act like I am sick. I am so grateful that I can mask my pain to be able to work.

The members are really helpful and try whatever they can to help me in whatever way that I need. I am so glad that I am still in the Victoria ward. I love it so much, and I really do love the people that I work with. They are the best. I wish that they would finally understand how important their role is in missionary work. Do all of you realize it? I know that we have had so many lessons, so many firesides, and so many talks given about how we are commanded to do missionary work. I mean that was what my farewell talk was on, but do you understand that missionaries literally have to knock on 1,000 doors to get one baptism out of tracting? That it takes 7 touches from members of the church before anyone becomes willing to even open the door to missionaries? We can't do it by ourselves. We had to drop all of our investigators this week besides Liz because they weren't progressing.  They won't answer the door; they won't answer our phone calls. Well all of them were found though our efforts. So no wonder they weren't progressing - they needed more people to support them and lift them up. So please help the missionaries in your area, because we need to always be helping because who doesn't want to share what makes them the happiest in the world? I know without a doubt that this gospel, this mission, and the Book of Mormon is what makes me the happiest. So share it with others.

Well I love all of you so much and hope that you have a good week. I will see you soon.

Love,

Sister Bell

P.S.  I am coming home from my mission early for medical reasons. I don't want to leave 'til the end of the transfer, so I will be home October 6th. Please don't feel bad; I am still doing the Lord's work, and He must have another plan for me. Just like Paul said, you might not have a black name tag, but we need it to be written with ink on our hearts. Just like all of us, I will still be the missionary the Lord needs me to be.

I love to see the temple

This week has been a hard week. I wish that I wouldn’t have so many health problems on my mission. Right now I am in an extremely large amount of pain, and it won’t stop. I have been working through it this week, so that we could actually do some missionary work. We went contacting in the park this week, and met a football coach named Donne. He was really great and we were able to teach him all about the plan of salvation. He told us he lives in Ontario so as soon as he calls us we will be able to send him as a referral.

I was able to go and see Silvina, the investigator we had to give to Terra Vista ward because she wasn’t in our ward boundaries. It was her son Isaiah's first birthday on the 9th so my zone leaders let us go over and wish him a happy birthday. He is getting so big and she is progressing so much. I hope that she will get baptized soon.

We went on splits this week with the relief society, it went really well, we were able to see a lot more less actives, and a lot of them are progressing. I had a lot of fun going to see Patricia. She read the wrong chapter in the Book of Mormon this week, and it was no coincidence that she read the chapter that she did. It helped her so much, and she completely understood the repentance process. She told me that I really know how to make her think, and want to be better. I don’t even remember what  I say in the lessons with her, so I know that it is completely by the Spirit that I am teaching her. I really do love her though. Isn’t it weird the love that you have for people you have only known for a few months, because they are Children of God, and that you are just interested in helping them to become closer to their Heavenly Father. I really do have a genuine love for everyone that I meet.

We also got asked a lot of weird questions this week. One was about one of our less actives, she is trying to do surrogacy for a gay couple. We didn’t know what the stance of the Church is on the subject of surrogacy so we had no idea what to say, So we asked our ward mission leader, and he looked it up, apparently the church doesn’t approve of it. The same less active asked us if she could still wear crosses, because she loves wearing them, and she wouldn’t let us explain why we don’t choose to wear them.

I cannot describe how amazing it was to be able to go to the temple once again. I love the temple. The joy, peace, and overwhelming feeling of the Spirit. I was able to receive revelation, and just be able to really feel the Spirit more than ever. I was so excited, and have been looking forward to it for weeks. Now that it is over it is kinda sad. I just want to go every single day. Hopefully when I get home I will be able to do that. Have you ever really listened to the blessings and the covenants that we make in the temple. The next time you go to the temple just listen to the blessings. It brings you so much joy, to know what Heavenly Father wants to give to you.

I hope everyone has a great week! I love all of you! Talk to you later!

Love,

Sister Bell

Spiritual Prescriptions

This week has been so hot, and really hard. So I have had to go to the doctors again this week. No surprise right? Lol. Well I have had a few health problems this week, and I was finally able to go and get them checked out. They almost sent me to the emergency room they were so bad. It is so nerve racking and hard to go through these challenges on a mission. All I want is to do missionary work. I want to go out and find people to help come closer to Christ. Except I can't because of my physical limitations. It made me really mad, because I feel like I am wasting the Lord’s time.

 

The time that we are on a mission is so short to begin with, and then to be spending so many hours and days not being able to go out and help the ward. I really didn’t think about it on Sunday, but it was fast Sunday and so I was fasting, and I couldn’t even complete my fast because of my physical limitations. I had to break my fast and drink water and eat something so that I wouldn’t pass out. I even tried to go out and do missionary work when I wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t tell my companion of all of my symptoms because I am good at hiding my pain or hiding the things that were wrong. She didn’t know until I told the nurse to make sure that it wasn’t more serious.

It made me realize that, that is how we are sometimes as members. There isn’t a doctor to tell us what is spiritually wrong, and even if there was that the doctor couldn’t do anything until we confess it ourselves. We have to acknowledge when there is a problem in our lives spiritually. Then we need to pray to our Heavenly Father (Doctor) and tell him all the things that are going wrong in our lives. Then we need to follow the prescriptions that He gives us which are following the commandments, reading the scriptures, going to church, and praying to our Heavenly Father. Then there are others that are willing to be there to help you through your illness or problems. Like my companion, the bishop, other ward members, and much more.

Sunday was so amazing because one of the less actives I have been working with really closely since I started serving here bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon this week. It was amazing because she just barely started reading her scriptures in the last three weeks. She has seen the blessings of reading the Book of Mormon. It was amazing to see the difference she saw in her life and that she wanted the change to take place.

Then I saw more blessings from reading my scriptures this week. I was able to finish the Book of Mormon again, and the Doctrine Covenants. Then I was even able to start on the Pearl of Great Price and to read a little more in the New Testament. My knowledge of the scriptures has grown so much in the six months I have been out. It has been amazing to even see the change in me, along with the people I am teaching.

Well I hope all of you have had a great week and let me know if there is something that I can do to help you.

Love,

Sister Bell