Snow and Thanksgiving Day Prep. - Week 18

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday was my four month mark of being on my mission!  I'm just blown away by how quickly things have gone by!  It seems like only yesterday I entered into the MTC and said goodbye to friends and family.  Now I have even more friends and amazing ward families!  I feel so blessed to be here in El Dorado and in Sacramento! 

Speaking of El Dorado, we are expecting... wait for it... SNOW!  We are supposed to get slammed with snow tomorrow and it is supposed to last until Thursday.  We spent all day today getting prepared for the snow because boy were we woefully unprepared.  Now we have coats, snow boots, scarves, gloves, and hot chocolate!  The interesting thing is that the snow up here is A LOT heavier than the snow I'm used to in Utah.  They call it Sierra Cement because of how wet and heavy it is.  We may even get snowed in!  It is going to be an adventure!

Highlights of the Week!

-  We got to go to the temple with a member of our ward and do baptisms for the dead with her for the first time!  She was an inactive member but she wanted to start going back to church because she recognized the difference in her life.  She is amazing and has worked so hard to get to where she is today!  She invited us to go with her and we got special permission from our mission president!  Not only did we get to go do proxy baptisms with her, we also got to do a temple tour with her and her nonmember husband!  It was such an amazing experience and the Spirit was so strong! 

- We had an awesome lesson with our friend Charlotte this week!  We went over the Restoration with her and talked about how the gospel has once again been restored to the earth again!  The Spirit was so amazing and at one point during the lesson, Charlotte stopped us and asked, "Do you realize you two are basically glowing?"  We also invited her to pray about being baptized and she said that she would!  We are so grateful that we get to teach Charlotte!

- We got to have another lesson with Mary this week!  We went over the Plan of Salvation with her and she had a lot of really deep questions about this life and the next.  It was AWESOME!  The best part however was when we asked her if she has been reading the Book of Mormon and she said that she sets apart time everyday before school to read the Book of Mormon!  I legit almost cried when she said that!  She is such an amazing teenager and is so excited to be baptized on December 7th!

- LIGHT THE WORLD!!!  We are SO pumped to get to introduce the Light the World Initiative to our friends and members this season!  If you haven't been to the website yet (lighttheworld.org) I highly recommend that you do!  Also, I want to invite you all to watch the Christ Child video!  It is such a touching video and it is a beautiful visual of the nativity!  Every time I watch it I may cry a little.  It is amazing!

This week has been full of gratitude for the Savior and the Gospel!  I am so grateful for all the many tender mercies and blessings I have received.  I love this scripture in the Book of Alma:

Alma 34:37-38  And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, and that ye should work out your salvation with fear before God, and that ye should no more deny the coming of Christ; that ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.  

I hope that we may be able to remember all the things which the Lord has done for us and live in thanksgiving daily!  Thank you for all of your love and support and I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving!  I love you all so much!

Lots of love,

Sister Ferrin

Pic of the week!

1- I'm so blessed with such amazing friends and fellow missionaries!

More Temple Tours! Week 17

Hello Everyone!

This is going to be a quick email since I was at Sister's P-day for most of the day!  Sister's P-day was awesome and it was so fun getting to see all my past companions!  

Highlights of the Week:

- We had an amazing temple tour with our friend Charlotte this week!  She really enjoyed the whole tour, especially the family history aspect of it all!  We also got to go over to her home and help her set up a FamilySearch account!  We are so pumped to get to continue teaching her!

- We had three friends come to church again this week!  Michael, Josh, and Madi all came!  It was also a great Sunday because both our wards had their primary programs!  The kids were all adorable and the Spirit was super strong!  It was an awesome Sunday!

- We found out this week that we are getting a new missionary handbook (rulebook).  It looks super awesome and much more updated!  You can look at it on the Gospel Library app!  I am so grateful for continuing revelation and modern day prophets and apostles!

I hope you all have an amazing week this week!  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I challenge each of you to find five things you are grateful for each day and write them down!  Then, get on your knees in prayer and thank Heavenly Father for them!  I promise that as you do this, you will feel a greater love and appreciation for the things around you and your will feel closer to the Lord!

Lots of Love,

Sister Ferrin

Pics of the week

1 & 2 - Seeing my past companions at Sister's P-day! It was awesome!

2 Attachments

Week 16

Hello Everyone!

Well, this week sure has been exciting!  I have a new companion!  Her name is Sister Rew and she is from Bountiful, Utah!  She has been on her mission for 5 months today and she came up from Rancho Cordova.  She is super funny and I love working with her!  Also, the reason why I am writing today is because yesterday was Veteran's Day so our P-day was moved!      

Funny Story Time:  One of our Bishops (Bishop Roberts) has this tradition he likes to go through with for new missionaries.  He (and his wife) hide all their pictures, statues, and books of Christ that are around the house.  Then they have the new missionary come over with her companion, and sets it up so that she thinks she is teaching a non-member.  Bishop Roberts introduces himself by his first name and says that he is a non-member.  The lesson starts and Bishop Roberts starts asking the new missionary really deep doctrine questions.  He does it for about ten minutes and then he stands up, shakes her hand, and welcomes her into the ward.  He did it for Sister Rew this week and it was pretty funny!  She did an amazing job with answering all his difficult questions.     

This Week's Highlights:

-  One of the best ways to find people to teach out here is to work with Part Member Families.  We were able to visit this family in our ward on Friday and they are awesome!  The mom and the daughter are members, but the dad (Josh) isn't.  However, when we read the Book of Mormon with them, it became very apparent that Josh already has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith!  The biggest issue that the family has is that they have a really hard time coming to church on Sundays.  However, THEY CAME TO CHURCH THIS WEEK!!!  It was such a miracle and they are going to try to come to church next week too!  We are so excited to get to work with Josh and his family!

-  Not only did Josh and his family come to church but Mary and her family came to church too!  We have been used to seeing Mary at church because members of the ward will take her, but it was such a miracle to see Mary's whole family at church!  They are a less active family but we are hoping that because Mary wants to be baptized, her family will begin to come to church again!  The ward members were so awesome with fellowshipping the family at church!  We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our wards who love the gospel and missionary work!  

-  We had an AMAZING lesson with our friend Suzanne this week!  Suzanne has a lot of struggles throughout her life so we focused on the Plan of Salvation with her.  The Spirit was so strong as we talked about how the purpose of this life is to have joy and become like our Father in Heaven.  It was just what she needed to hear!  We all may have gotten a little teary-eyed and she wants us to come back again!

-  Sister Ferrin has discovered that driving a giant truck may not be one of her strong suits.  Long story short, we are alive and the truck isn't destroyed.  I have learned the valuable lesson of taking sharp turns slower and to not drive off cliffs.  Also... why we have companions.

Something that stood out to me this week was the importance of knowing that we have a loving Heavenly Father and that we are his children!  It's crazy (and pretty sad) to think that there are people in the world who don't know that they are a child of God.  Everyone deserves the chance to know that they are a daughter or a son of a loving Father in Heaven and because of that, they are worth everything to God!  That why we sing "I am a Child of God" at such a young age!  So in case you have forgotten recently, please, please, please remember this:  YOU ARE A PRECIOUS CHILD OF GOD!  You are loved and needed!

1.  I am a child of God,
   And he has sent me here,
   Has given me an earthly home
   With parents kind and dear.
2. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
   Help me find the way.
   Teach me all that I must do
   To live with him someday.

Have an amazing day and a fantastic week!  Know that you are in my thoughts and my prayers!

Lots of Love,

Sister Ferrin

Mailing Info:
8267 Deseret Ave
Fair Oaks CA 95628
United States 

 

Pictures of the week:

1 - P-day with the El Dorado Zone Sisters!

2 - Sister Rew and her amazing egg flipping skills

The Most Spiritual and Spoopy Week of My Mission - Week 15

Hello Everyone!

First of all, we got our transfer calls this last Saturday and I am NOT leaving Camino and Pleasant Valley this time!  However, the sad news is that Sister Durfee is leaving me for Elk Grove tomorrow.  We are pretty bummed but we are so grateful for the time we spent together as companions!  Sister Durfee is super amazing and is going to do wonderful things in her new area!  My new companion is named Sister Rew and I hear she is super funny and energetic!  I am excited to get to work with her in this beautiful area!  Also, that means I will be the designated driver for this next transfer so... I GET TO DRIVE THE TRUCK!!!  Oh boy, I'm so excited and yet terrified!  It is going to be great!

Funny Story Time:  For Halloween we had a big District Council since we couldn't be outside at night. So, all the sisters in my zone (there are 4 of us) got together and wore slacks, button up shirts, sunglasses, and we borrowed ties to wear to District Council. We all carpooled in our truck and blasted "Ye Elders of Israel" with the windows down.  The looks on the other missionaries' faces were priceless when they saw our "costumes".  We all had a really great laugh over it all and then we had a super amazing District Council!

This Week's Highlights:

-  As I mentioned in last week's email, our zone got to go to the Sacramento Temple and do a session!  It was such a tender and special experience for me!  I loved every second of being in the Lord's Holy House!  As we entered into the Celestial room, the Spirit was almost overwhelming and I was able to picture in my mind each of our friends in white, sitting in the Celestial Room.  I could even see some of our friends working as temple workers!  It was such a touching experience and I honestly couldn't keep from weeping.  I love the House of the Lord so much and I know that the temple will be able to bless the lives of our friends! 

-  Sister Durfee and I were able to finally visit with Mary and her family this week!  We had some wonderful members come with us and they connected really well with Mary and her mom!  We got to talk to Mary a little more about being baptized and she is still SO EXCITED to be baptized!  She even started talking to the member's daughter about her baptism and what it was like.  We were able to talk with Mary and her family about a tentative baptismal date for Mary on November 23rd.  We are so excited to be able to finally begin teaching Mary this week so that she can be baptized and be able to go do baptisms at the temple!

-  We were able to finally have a lesson with our friend named Steve!  Steve is super awesome and works in Law Enforcement.  He has had lessons with missionaries in the past but due to his busy work schedule, we weren't able to meet with him until this past week.  We went over the Plan of Salvation with him and he mentioned that he wants to go to the Celestial Kingdom!  When we asked him what he would be willing to do to get to the Celestial Kingdom, he said he needed to start coming to church and to be baptized.  We asked him if he would be baptized and he said that he wants to come to church first and learn more but then he said he would be baptized!  It was so cool!  

This past Sunday, we were able to attend an amazing Stake Conference!  It was so cool because our Mission President and his wife (President and Sister Hymas) were able to speak to the whole El Dorado Stake.  I loved when Sister Hymas was telling the story in the New Testament about the little lad who brought Jesus five loaves of bread and two fish and how it relates to all of us.  When we willing bring the Savior all we have, even when it is not much, He is able to take what we set at His feet and make it enough!  

I love you all so very much!  You are all in my thoughts and my prayers!  I hope you have an amazing day and a great week!

Lots of love,

Sister Ferrin

Mailing Info:
8267 Deseret Ave
Fair Oaks CA 95628
United States

Pictures of the Week!

1. El Dorado Zone Sisters at the Temple

2. El Dorado Zone at the Temple

3. We cute! (shout out the amazing elders who said we needed to have these)

4. Another shout out to the amazing Chick-Fil-A workers who gave us free ice cream

5.  District Council on Halloween... we don't even need candy to make us a little crazy

6.  Waiting for our car to be repaired

7.  Iconic missionary tag photo

8.  Isn't our area gorgeous?!