Hi!
So this week worked our butts off and we didn't have much to show for it. We hadn't taught any lessons until Saturday, where we finally caught Peter at home. We also taught a recent convert a lesson and another lesson to a couple. We also gave a talk at a baptism. It was a great day because we were literally running from place to place and I actually felt like I was a missionary.
When we taugh Peter, he was so excited to see us and he felt bad that his work was always calling him in. So we sat down and taught him a first lesson. He told us that he has been reading the Book of Mormon and hasn't found any contridictions between the Bible and BofM. We said that they complimant each other. He said, "Exactly!" That was probably the best lesson that I've had so far, not the way I taught but because the Spirit was there so strongly. We talked about Christ's apostles being killed and how Christ's authority was lost. He told us that he had never thought about it that way. We talked about prophets and how there was a prophet today. We showed him a picture of the prophet, Pres. Monson and he was amazed. He held the ensign in his hand like it was sacred and he said, "This is the prophet's picture and his apostles?" He was so excited! He said that he always knew that there should be prophets on the earth again. We talked about baptism and extended him a baptismal date. He fully accepted it. He told us that he had been baptized many times but he didn't feel any different. He still felt like the same person. When he said that, I could feel the spirit so strongly and without hesitation I told him that this baptism would be so much different. I could feel the love that the Savior had for him and it was so strong. We told the 1st vision and we asked how he felt. He said that he was a little jealous of Joseph because he got to talk to God. But he said that he knew that Joseph was a prophet. We were so happy after that lesson! He was excited to go to church the next day and he almost pleaded with us to get him a ride. So we set up a ride for him.
We waited patiently at the door but when his ride came to church he wasn't with him. We were so disappointed! The ride said that when they knocked on the door, they told him that he wasn't home. We've struggled and prayed so hard to try and get our investigators to church and Heavenly Father is stretching us to our limits. It is the "trial of our faith". We've been struggling so hard to find people and are having a hard time. But we keep working hard.
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
Monday, December 7
Monday, November 30
"Bear with Patience thine afflictions and I shall give thee success."
Hi!
This week has been another hard week. We are still working with Peter, the one I talked about in last week's email. He is really hard to get a hold of because he doesn't have a phone and he's work schedule is crazy. He was planning to coming to church yesterday and he even had his own ride set up but he never showed. That is the point we are trying to get to, which is to get an investigator to church. We've haven't been able to get one to church since I've been here. It is quite frustrating but we are keeping our heads up and trying to "bear our afflictions with patience."
We are teaching a young couple where the Elders cast out real evil spirits out of their home. We taught them a 1st lesson and committed them to baptism. They wanted to be baptized but wouldn't pick a date because they had a crazy schedule. Their son is having to go to the hospital all the time because he got sick and they are trying to figure out the cause. The husband also goes to the doctor's for treatment of his epilepsy. They didn't show up for church either.
So me and Sister Yancey have been praying hard to find someone who will keep their commitments and come to church. But Satan is still pushing us hard. We like to call ourselves the "golden investigator but won't come to church" whisperers because those are the only people we find. We meet them and they seem like they are so ready to accept the gospel and they believe it's true but won't come to church. We've had so many like that. But we keep telling Satan "to get off of my back".
On to a happier note, we got the whole day of Thanksgiving off! We got to watch two movies from an approved list. So we went to the church and made ourselves comfortable with a tv and snacks and enjoyed ourselves. But I've realized that I've been a missionary for a long time because I was relating everything in the movies to the gospel. We watched "Hercules" and I was thinking, "Um..this is kind of like the plan of salvation. First the fall of Adam from an immortal state, then our life on Earth as we try to follow God and prove ourselves on Earth and then we return to our Father's presence." It was weird. We then planned basketball for a couple of hours in the gym and had dinner with a member.
We also had zone conference this week and the focus was the Book of Mormon. The President had come across an amazing way to mark the BofM according to the lessons in PMG so one could find them really easy while in a lesson. We marked some scriptures at Zone Conference but I'm still going through the BofM marking things I could use in a lesson. I've come to realize how much information is in the BofM, how much it contains everything we teach and everything we need to gain salvation and to learn about the gospel. The Book of Mormon is so jammed packed with the gospel! I love it!
This week I've been studying about the Atonement the past couple of weeks because we have an investigator you feels that he's done so much wrong that there might not be a way to correct it. My love for the Savior continues to grow as I realize, more and more, what exactly the Atonement means for us. Christ came and suffered for our sins so that we could repent and be cleansed of our sins. He also suffered for our sorrows, heartaches, pains and afflictions so that He would know exactly how to help us. Because of the Atonement, He can heal us spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. I am forever indebted to Him and my Father in Heaven for that great act of mercy.
Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! The church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
This week has been another hard week. We are still working with Peter, the one I talked about in last week's email. He is really hard to get a hold of because he doesn't have a phone and he's work schedule is crazy. He was planning to coming to church yesterday and he even had his own ride set up but he never showed. That is the point we are trying to get to, which is to get an investigator to church. We've haven't been able to get one to church since I've been here. It is quite frustrating but we are keeping our heads up and trying to "bear our afflictions with patience."
We are teaching a young couple where the Elders cast out real evil spirits out of their home. We taught them a 1st lesson and committed them to baptism. They wanted to be baptized but wouldn't pick a date because they had a crazy schedule. Their son is having to go to the hospital all the time because he got sick and they are trying to figure out the cause. The husband also goes to the doctor's for treatment of his epilepsy. They didn't show up for church either.
So me and Sister Yancey have been praying hard to find someone who will keep their commitments and come to church. But Satan is still pushing us hard. We like to call ourselves the "golden investigator but won't come to church" whisperers because those are the only people we find. We meet them and they seem like they are so ready to accept the gospel and they believe it's true but won't come to church. We've had so many like that. But we keep telling Satan "to get off of my back".
On to a happier note, we got the whole day of Thanksgiving off! We got to watch two movies from an approved list. So we went to the church and made ourselves comfortable with a tv and snacks and enjoyed ourselves. But I've realized that I've been a missionary for a long time because I was relating everything in the movies to the gospel. We watched "Hercules" and I was thinking, "Um..this is kind of like the plan of salvation. First the fall of Adam from an immortal state, then our life on Earth as we try to follow God and prove ourselves on Earth and then we return to our Father's presence." It was weird. We then planned basketball for a couple of hours in the gym and had dinner with a member.
We also had zone conference this week and the focus was the Book of Mormon. The President had come across an amazing way to mark the BofM according to the lessons in PMG so one could find them really easy while in a lesson. We marked some scriptures at Zone Conference but I'm still going through the BofM marking things I could use in a lesson. I've come to realize how much information is in the BofM, how much it contains everything we teach and everything we need to gain salvation and to learn about the gospel. The Book of Mormon is so jammed packed with the gospel! I love it!
This week I've been studying about the Atonement the past couple of weeks because we have an investigator you feels that he's done so much wrong that there might not be a way to correct it. My love for the Savior continues to grow as I realize, more and more, what exactly the Atonement means for us. Christ came and suffered for our sins so that we could repent and be cleansed of our sins. He also suffered for our sorrows, heartaches, pains and afflictions so that He would know exactly how to help us. Because of the Atonement, He can heal us spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. I am forever indebted to Him and my Father in Heaven for that great act of mercy.
Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! The church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
Wednesday, November 25
Missionary work is a rollercoaster!
Hi!
Sorry about the letter last week. I was letting Satan bruise my heel. Last week was one of the hardest emotional weeks that I've ever gone through in my life. Something is coming and Satan doesn't want me to accomplish it.
My purpose is to baptize and I should EXPECT to baptize but if I don't then I shouldn't let Satan get to me. I will just punch him in the face next time and get back to working hard :)
During that hard week, we experienced an amazing miracle. We were tracting and we were walking past this house and this guy was just standing out on his porch. So we went up and talked to him. We easily fell into a discussion about the church and the Book of Mormon. We gave him a copy and scheduled a return appointment. When we came back the next day, he asked and asked us so many questions. But the amazing thing was that we could answer all of them and he agreed with our answers. Peter is is name, and he has been plagued with so many trials and heartaches in his life. He's had several of his friends die and he's tried to kill himself several times. But he said that God won't let him die because he feels like God has a purpose for him. His been in jail 32 times and he feels like he's done so much wrong that God couldn't forgive him. He loves the Bible and can quote from it. But the funny thing is that he hates the Catholic church and tells is family that they worship idols. He said that he's been to different churches seeking the truth but hasn't found it. So me and Sister Yancey testified to him that we have the truth. Then he said that he knows that this is true. (We haven't even taught him a whole discussion yet-amazing!) He said that when we were walking up to him the first time that he knew that there was something different and special about us. When we were walking up to him, he said that he felt peace and was really happy. When he said this, I just wanted to run down the street screaming how much I love God and the gospel. Peter so desperately needs the gospel and the Atonement in his life. I'm so blessed and grateful that I can be the means of teaching about our Savior to him. He might be on parole or probation because his only 38 years old and has been in jail 32 times. That would be disappointing but I'm still so happy that he can finally find the truth and can work towards being forgiven.
I love this work and this gospel. Even though this is the hardest thing that I've ever done, I know that is worth every second. I will work where ever the Lord wants me, either in Colorado or Mongolia.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love, Sister Sumsion
Sorry about the letter last week. I was letting Satan bruise my heel. Last week was one of the hardest emotional weeks that I've ever gone through in my life. Something is coming and Satan doesn't want me to accomplish it.
My purpose is to baptize and I should EXPECT to baptize but if I don't then I shouldn't let Satan get to me. I will just punch him in the face next time and get back to working hard :)
During that hard week, we experienced an amazing miracle. We were tracting and we were walking past this house and this guy was just standing out on his porch. So we went up and talked to him. We easily fell into a discussion about the church and the Book of Mormon. We gave him a copy and scheduled a return appointment. When we came back the next day, he asked and asked us so many questions. But the amazing thing was that we could answer all of them and he agreed with our answers. Peter is is name, and he has been plagued with so many trials and heartaches in his life. He's had several of his friends die and he's tried to kill himself several times. But he said that God won't let him die because he feels like God has a purpose for him. His been in jail 32 times and he feels like he's done so much wrong that God couldn't forgive him. He loves the Bible and can quote from it. But the funny thing is that he hates the Catholic church and tells is family that they worship idols. He said that he's been to different churches seeking the truth but hasn't found it. So me and Sister Yancey testified to him that we have the truth. Then he said that he knows that this is true. (We haven't even taught him a whole discussion yet-amazing!) He said that when we were walking up to him the first time that he knew that there was something different and special about us. When we were walking up to him, he said that he felt peace and was really happy. When he said this, I just wanted to run down the street screaming how much I love God and the gospel. Peter so desperately needs the gospel and the Atonement in his life. I'm so blessed and grateful that I can be the means of teaching about our Savior to him. He might be on parole or probation because his only 38 years old and has been in jail 32 times. That would be disappointing but I'm still so happy that he can finally find the truth and can work towards being forgiven.
I love this work and this gospel. Even though this is the hardest thing that I've ever done, I know that is worth every second. I will work where ever the Lord wants me, either in Colorado or Mongolia.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love, Sister Sumsion
Tuesday, November 17
Stayed in Pueblo!
Hi!
So I'm staying in Pueblo, all four sisters are, which surprised us all. But we are getting a new district leader this week.
This has been a hard week. It all started with Kelsey disappear off the face of the planet and then our new investigator Amy disapperring too. Kelsey has always answered her phone before and she was always home. But now she's never home and she doesn't answer the phone. We can't seem to get any potential investigators as we are tracting or ITLing and we hardly taught any lessons. Is the problem me? I worry that I'm not saying the right things because people have rejected us so hard this week. I try my best to be myself and follow the spirit. But I'm afraid that I'm not doing my best. The worst was after district meeting because everyone else is having success and it's looking bright for the rest of our district but our success is going south, fast. I try so hard not to base my success off of the stats but I've always graded myself by my stats. As a basketball player, the best was the one with the best stats, especially points. I know that is how the world bases success, by numbers, stats and money. But it is hard when even your zone leaders and district leader is telling us that we need to baptize, baptize and if we are not then we aren't working hard enough. Well, they didn't say that straight out.
I got a priesthood blessing from Elder Prior for comfort which greatly helped. The Lord told me that I'm experiencing trials so that I will be pushed to become my best. He also said that He was pleased with my efforts and the sacrifices I had made to come on a mission.
But this morning I was reading through my study journal and reading all the talks and firesides which I had attended when I was at the MTC. I what I got out of it was that it is up to us on how many people we baptize or how successful we are. I read that it is not decided in heaven on who you will baptize. But I always thought that was only to a certain point because God is in control and maybe we aren't baptizing because He wants to test us. But we need to keep working our hardest and then He will bless us but maybe not in the way we feel is right. But how do I know if I'm working my hardest? But then I've always heard that there are only certain people that I can baptize. So my emotions, feelings, and thoughts are torn different ways. But don't worry. I will keep pressing forward as I always have and will work to serve my God with all my heart, might, mind and strength.
My testimony of prayer has been strenghtened the past couple of days. During our interview, you told me to teach from the heart like I was teaching a friend so I've taken that to heart and have been praying for help to do that. I've also been praying about talking to people from the heart, to help get over my shyness. And I've started to see the change. When I try to teach what I feel, I teach better. The spirit is there more strongly. I know that I have a strong testimony and strong feelings of the gospel but I have a hard time putting them into words. So I've been growing as we are going through this rough patch.
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
So I'm staying in Pueblo, all four sisters are, which surprised us all. But we are getting a new district leader this week.
This has been a hard week. It all started with Kelsey disappear off the face of the planet and then our new investigator Amy disapperring too. Kelsey has always answered her phone before and she was always home. But now she's never home and she doesn't answer the phone. We can't seem to get any potential investigators as we are tracting or ITLing and we hardly taught any lessons. Is the problem me? I worry that I'm not saying the right things because people have rejected us so hard this week. I try my best to be myself and follow the spirit. But I'm afraid that I'm not doing my best. The worst was after district meeting because everyone else is having success and it's looking bright for the rest of our district but our success is going south, fast. I try so hard not to base my success off of the stats but I've always graded myself by my stats. As a basketball player, the best was the one with the best stats, especially points. I know that is how the world bases success, by numbers, stats and money. But it is hard when even your zone leaders and district leader is telling us that we need to baptize, baptize and if we are not then we aren't working hard enough. Well, they didn't say that straight out.
I got a priesthood blessing from Elder Prior for comfort which greatly helped. The Lord told me that I'm experiencing trials so that I will be pushed to become my best. He also said that He was pleased with my efforts and the sacrifices I had made to come on a mission.
But this morning I was reading through my study journal and reading all the talks and firesides which I had attended when I was at the MTC. I what I got out of it was that it is up to us on how many people we baptize or how successful we are. I read that it is not decided in heaven on who you will baptize. But I always thought that was only to a certain point because God is in control and maybe we aren't baptizing because He wants to test us. But we need to keep working our hardest and then He will bless us but maybe not in the way we feel is right. But how do I know if I'm working my hardest? But then I've always heard that there are only certain people that I can baptize. So my emotions, feelings, and thoughts are torn different ways. But don't worry. I will keep pressing forward as I always have and will work to serve my God with all my heart, might, mind and strength.
My testimony of prayer has been strenghtened the past couple of days. During our interview, you told me to teach from the heart like I was teaching a friend so I've taken that to heart and have been praying for help to do that. I've also been praying about talking to people from the heart, to help get over my shyness. And I've started to see the change. When I try to teach what I feel, I teach better. The spirit is there more strongly. I know that I have a strong testimony and strong feelings of the gospel but I have a hard time putting them into words. So I've been growing as we are going through this rough patch.
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
Monday, November 2
Kelsey has a Testimony!
Hi!
Last week we went to Kelsey's house and we decided to teach her the importance of Book of Mormon and going to church because we feel like the fire in her is dying because we hadn't taught her for almost two weeks because she had the swine flu. I was all pumped up, with the spirit of course, and I was feeling really bold. We asked her if she had been reading the Book of Mormon and she said that she hadn't had the time. We told her that we understood that it's hard to take time out of our busy schedules to read. Then I started to bear testimony of how important the Book of Mormon was. The Book of Mormon was written for our day and it contained all those precious truths that were lost during all those translations of the Bible. I then told her what exactly we do as missionaries. I said that we can't see our families, call them and we only get one hour to email them everyweek. We teach, preach and work all day long, seven days a week. I then told her that we do this because we know that the Book of Mormon is true. We know that this is Christ's church. We are out here to bring those blessings from the gospel to others because we want them to experience those blessings as well. I then told her that we are there teaching her because we love her. Man, I surprised myself by how bold and honest I was with her. I told her that I missed my family so much (I started to cry too) but I knew that I was doing an important thing. I started right into her eyes as I bore my testimony to her. I said that she should try to find at least five minutes a day to try and read it. I then went into the importance of the sacrament and I told her flat out, that she couldn't get baptized if she didn't come to church. The policy is that the investigator has to come to church at least twice before getting baptized. She seemed to grasp the importance of it and she her attitude towards us seemed to change. She was nice to us before but she started to act even nicer to us.
We taught her a few days later and she had been reading the book of Mormon. Yeah! We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her. I was praying the whole time that she would feel the spirit. We wanted to strengthen her faith in Joseph Smith and the restored gospel before teaching her the word of wisdom. Afterwards, we asked her what it meant to her to know that Christ's church is on the earth. She said that it is mindblowing to think about and she said that it will always feel like that. But she said that it is comforting to know that there is a prophet on the earth. She has a testimony! We were so excited because we know that she knows that this is Christ's church.
I thought that as a missionary that we would be able to see her testimony. But in reality we have to ask her what she believes for us to know. But she seems to be changing. The spirit in her home is different. Her spirit is different. She seems to be really changing. It's amazing!
My testimony in the Book of Mormon is growing so fast. I'm starting to realize that any concern or question that we have can be found in the Book of Mormon. My love for it has become so strong and I just love reading it. I know that God loves his children and wants them to be happy so He gave us the Book of Mormon which contains all the way that we can return to Him. It contains the fullness of the gospel and the way to reach true happiness.
Remember the church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
Last week we went to Kelsey's house and we decided to teach her the importance of Book of Mormon and going to church because we feel like the fire in her is dying because we hadn't taught her for almost two weeks because she had the swine flu. I was all pumped up, with the spirit of course, and I was feeling really bold. We asked her if she had been reading the Book of Mormon and she said that she hadn't had the time. We told her that we understood that it's hard to take time out of our busy schedules to read. Then I started to bear testimony of how important the Book of Mormon was. The Book of Mormon was written for our day and it contained all those precious truths that were lost during all those translations of the Bible. I then told her what exactly we do as missionaries. I said that we can't see our families, call them and we only get one hour to email them everyweek. We teach, preach and work all day long, seven days a week. I then told her that we do this because we know that the Book of Mormon is true. We know that this is Christ's church. We are out here to bring those blessings from the gospel to others because we want them to experience those blessings as well. I then told her that we are there teaching her because we love her. Man, I surprised myself by how bold and honest I was with her. I told her that I missed my family so much (I started to cry too) but I knew that I was doing an important thing. I started right into her eyes as I bore my testimony to her. I said that she should try to find at least five minutes a day to try and read it. I then went into the importance of the sacrament and I told her flat out, that she couldn't get baptized if she didn't come to church. The policy is that the investigator has to come to church at least twice before getting baptized. She seemed to grasp the importance of it and she her attitude towards us seemed to change. She was nice to us before but she started to act even nicer to us.
We taught her a few days later and she had been reading the book of Mormon. Yeah! We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her. I was praying the whole time that she would feel the spirit. We wanted to strengthen her faith in Joseph Smith and the restored gospel before teaching her the word of wisdom. Afterwards, we asked her what it meant to her to know that Christ's church is on the earth. She said that it is mindblowing to think about and she said that it will always feel like that. But she said that it is comforting to know that there is a prophet on the earth. She has a testimony! We were so excited because we know that she knows that this is Christ's church.
I thought that as a missionary that we would be able to see her testimony. But in reality we have to ask her what she believes for us to know. But she seems to be changing. The spirit in her home is different. Her spirit is different. She seems to be really changing. It's amazing!
My testimony in the Book of Mormon is growing so fast. I'm starting to realize that any concern or question that we have can be found in the Book of Mormon. My love for it has become so strong and I just love reading it. I know that God loves his children and wants them to be happy so He gave us the Book of Mormon which contains all the way that we can return to Him. It contains the fullness of the gospel and the way to reach true happiness.
Remember the church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
Monday, October 26
"Can I get baptized earlier because I might be going to jail."
Hi!
I'm still in Colorado. I'm loving it here and having a blast living with three other sisters. Sometimes it feels like a sleepover but don't worry we are still working really hard. They are struggling and having a hard time getting our visas and we (me and sis. Ellison) are afraid that if we are still here by the end of transfers (Nov. 7) that we won't be going to Mongolia. We'd only have a year and one month left of our mission.
Our whole mission is struggling right now in finding people to teach. Pueblo, where I'm at, is the hot spot and the place where everyone wants to go because one teaches a lot here. But that hasn't really been the case since I got here. Sis. Yancey said that before we arrived that she would be teaching 20 or more lessons a week. Now we are down to 5 lessons a week. It is hard to tract all the time without much success. I have to keep telling myself that I'm not doing anything wrong. I keep working hard and I'm obedient so I'm doing the best that I can. None of our investigators showed up for church. Bummer! Kelsey, the girl we've been working with, got really sick and we haven't taught her all week.
But there was a miracle this week! Our zone leaders called us on Tuesday to try and fire us up to have the faith to find. Me and Sister Yancey were all pumped that day. We went out to work that day having the mentality that we were going to find someone. So we went out that day to start tracking. As we were walking to where we wanted to track, a guy waved us over to talk. We thought that was really weird because people never do that. We talked to him on his porch and asked if he would like to learn more about our beliefs. He said yes and asked if we could teach him right there. We've taught him three times this week, the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and Word of Wisdom. We gave him a baptismal date of Nov. 8th and he told us that he wanted to be baptized earlier but we told him that he had to come to church at least twice and take all the lessons. He's read everything we've given him and he has prayed about it too. He said that he hasn't got a super strong answer but he feels that getting baptized is what God wants him to do. We almost fell out of our chairs when he said that. When we asked him to follow the word of wisdom (he smokes, drinks coffee) he said that he wanted to stop anyway and that he knows how bad it is for him. He started to change his life around five months ago by quiting drugs and alcohol. So he's been clean of those things for five months. The funny thing is that before we started the lesson on word of wisdom he said, "Instead of drinking coffee this morning, I prayed. My day has gone a lot better." He's in his early twenties and goes to culinary school, which surprised us. Also, after teaching him the word of wisdom. He told us that he should stop listening to the bad music he likes because he feels that it isn't good for his spirit. We looked at each other and thought "Who is this guy?" He then surprised us again by asking, "Is body piercings against the word of wisdom? (he has a nose ring)" Our mouths dropped open because he was on top of things and is wanting to do the right things without us saying it. We taught him last on Friday. He said that he was going to come to church but he didn't show and then he wasn't at home for our appointment on Sunday either. But we aren't going to give up on him yet (Bill). We hope he has a good reason for not coming to church. The problem that we are going to have with him is that he might have to go to jail. He was charged with a misdemeaner and is going to court on Monday so he might be put in jail for 60 days.
I've come to realize that what we are teaching people isn't taking away from their faith but building upon it. What we have is 10 times better than what they think is great. It can bring them closer to our Heavenly Father, Christ and they can feel the full extent of the Atonement through the gift of the Holy Ghost. The gospel and the plan of salvation just makes so much sense and it gives me wonderful peace and comfort to know why I'm here and what I'm doing on this earth. I wouldn't be able to get through the hard times without that knowledge, that I'm a daughter of God.
The church is true so keep the faith no matter what!
Love, Sister Sumsion
I'm still in Colorado. I'm loving it here and having a blast living with three other sisters. Sometimes it feels like a sleepover but don't worry we are still working really hard. They are struggling and having a hard time getting our visas and we (me and sis. Ellison) are afraid that if we are still here by the end of transfers (Nov. 7) that we won't be going to Mongolia. We'd only have a year and one month left of our mission.
Our whole mission is struggling right now in finding people to teach. Pueblo, where I'm at, is the hot spot and the place where everyone wants to go because one teaches a lot here. But that hasn't really been the case since I got here. Sis. Yancey said that before we arrived that she would be teaching 20 or more lessons a week. Now we are down to 5 lessons a week. It is hard to tract all the time without much success. I have to keep telling myself that I'm not doing anything wrong. I keep working hard and I'm obedient so I'm doing the best that I can. None of our investigators showed up for church. Bummer! Kelsey, the girl we've been working with, got really sick and we haven't taught her all week.
But there was a miracle this week! Our zone leaders called us on Tuesday to try and fire us up to have the faith to find. Me and Sister Yancey were all pumped that day. We went out to work that day having the mentality that we were going to find someone. So we went out that day to start tracking. As we were walking to where we wanted to track, a guy waved us over to talk. We thought that was really weird because people never do that. We talked to him on his porch and asked if he would like to learn more about our beliefs. He said yes and asked if we could teach him right there. We've taught him three times this week, the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and Word of Wisdom. We gave him a baptismal date of Nov. 8th and he told us that he wanted to be baptized earlier but we told him that he had to come to church at least twice and take all the lessons. He's read everything we've given him and he has prayed about it too. He said that he hasn't got a super strong answer but he feels that getting baptized is what God wants him to do. We almost fell out of our chairs when he said that. When we asked him to follow the word of wisdom (he smokes, drinks coffee) he said that he wanted to stop anyway and that he knows how bad it is for him. He started to change his life around five months ago by quiting drugs and alcohol. So he's been clean of those things for five months. The funny thing is that before we started the lesson on word of wisdom he said, "Instead of drinking coffee this morning, I prayed. My day has gone a lot better." He's in his early twenties and goes to culinary school, which surprised us. Also, after teaching him the word of wisdom. He told us that he should stop listening to the bad music he likes because he feels that it isn't good for his spirit. We looked at each other and thought "Who is this guy?" He then surprised us again by asking, "Is body piercings against the word of wisdom? (he has a nose ring)" Our mouths dropped open because he was on top of things and is wanting to do the right things without us saying it. We taught him last on Friday. He said that he was going to come to church but he didn't show and then he wasn't at home for our appointment on Sunday either. But we aren't going to give up on him yet (Bill). We hope he has a good reason for not coming to church. The problem that we are going to have with him is that he might have to go to jail. He was charged with a misdemeaner and is going to court on Monday so he might be put in jail for 60 days.
I've come to realize that what we are teaching people isn't taking away from their faith but building upon it. What we have is 10 times better than what they think is great. It can bring them closer to our Heavenly Father, Christ and they can feel the full extent of the Atonement through the gift of the Holy Ghost. The gospel and the plan of salvation just makes so much sense and it gives me wonderful peace and comfort to know why I'm here and what I'm doing on this earth. I wouldn't be able to get through the hard times without that knowledge, that I'm a daughter of God.
The church is true so keep the faith no matter what!
Love, Sister Sumsion
"Can I get baptized earlier because I might be going to jail."
Hi!
I'm still in Colorado. I'm loving it here and having a blast living with three other sisters. Sometimes it feels like a sleepover but don't worry we are still working really hard. They are struggling and having a hard time getting our visas and we (me and sis. Ellison) are afraid that if we are still here by the end of transfers (Nov. 7) that we won't be going to Mongolia. We'd only have a year and one month left of our mission.
Our whole mission is struggling right now in finding people to teach. Pueblo, where I'm at, is the hot spot and the place where everyone wants to go because one teaches a lot here. But that hasn't really been the case since I got here. Sis. Yancey said that before we arrived that she would be teaching 20 or more lessons a week. Now we are down to 5 lessons a week. It is hard to tract all the time without much success. I have to keep telling myself that I'm not doing anything wrong. I keep working hard and I'm obedient so I'm doing the best that I can. None of our investigators showed up for church. Bummer! Kelsey, the girl we've been working with, got really sick and we haven't taught her all week.
But there was a miracle this week! Our zone leaders called us on Tuesday to try and fire us up to have the faith to find. Me and Sister Yancey were all pumped that day. We went out to work that day having the mentality that we were going to find someone. So we went out that day to start tracking. As we were walking to where we wanted to track, a guy waved us over to talk. We thought that was really weird because people never do that. We talked to him on his porch and asked if he would like to learn more about our beliefs. He said yes and asked if we could teach him right there. We've taught him three times this week, the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and Word of Wisdom. We gave him a baptismal date of Nov. 8th and he told us that he wanted to be baptized earlier but we told him that he had to come to church at least twice and take all the lessons. He's read everything we've given him and he has prayed about it too. He said that he hasn't got a super strong answer but he feels that getting baptized is what God wants him to do. We almost fell out of our chairs when he said that. When we asked him to follow the word of wisdom (he smokes, drinks coffee) he said that he wanted to stop anyway and that he knows how bad it is for him. He started to change his life around five months ago by quiting drugs and alcohol. So he's been clean of those things for five months. The funny thing is that before we started the lesson on word of wisdom he said, "Instead of drinking coffee this morning, I prayed. My day has gone a lot better." He's in his early twenties and goes to culinary school, which surprised us. Also, after teaching him the word of wisdom. He told us that he should stop listening to the bad music he likes because he feels that it isn't good for his spirit. We looked at each other and thought "Who is this guy?" He then surprised us again by asking, "Is body piercings against the word of wisdom? (he has a nose ring)" Our mouths dropped open because he was on top of things and is wanting to do the right things without us saying it. We taught him last on Friday. He said that he was going to come to church but he didn't show and then he wasn't at home for our appointment on Sunday either. But we aren't going to give up on him yet (Bill). We hope he has a good reason for not coming to church. The problem that we are going to have with him is that he might have to go to jail. He was charged with a misdemeaner and is going to court on Monday so he might be put in jail for 60 days.
I've come to realize that what we are teaching people isn't taking away from their faith but building upon it. What we have is 10 times better than what they think is great. It can bring them closer to our Heavenly Father, Christ and they can feel the full extent of the Atonement through the gift of the Holy Ghost. The gospel and the plan of salvation just makes so much sense and it gives me wonderful peace and comfort to know why I'm here and what I'm doing on this earth. I wouldn't be able to get through the hard times without that knowledge, that I'm a daughter of God.
The church is true so keep the faith no matter what!
Love, Sister Sumsion
I'm still in Colorado. I'm loving it here and having a blast living with three other sisters. Sometimes it feels like a sleepover but don't worry we are still working really hard. They are struggling and having a hard time getting our visas and we (me and sis. Ellison) are afraid that if we are still here by the end of transfers (Nov. 7) that we won't be going to Mongolia. We'd only have a year and one month left of our mission.
Our whole mission is struggling right now in finding people to teach. Pueblo, where I'm at, is the hot spot and the place where everyone wants to go because one teaches a lot here. But that hasn't really been the case since I got here. Sis. Yancey said that before we arrived that she would be teaching 20 or more lessons a week. Now we are down to 5 lessons a week. It is hard to tract all the time without much success. I have to keep telling myself that I'm not doing anything wrong. I keep working hard and I'm obedient so I'm doing the best that I can. None of our investigators showed up for church. Bummer! Kelsey, the girl we've been working with, got really sick and we haven't taught her all week.
But there was a miracle this week! Our zone leaders called us on Tuesday to try and fire us up to have the faith to find. Me and Sister Yancey were all pumped that day. We went out to work that day having the mentality that we were going to find someone. So we went out that day to start tracking. As we were walking to where we wanted to track, a guy waved us over to talk. We thought that was really weird because people never do that. We talked to him on his porch and asked if he would like to learn more about our beliefs. He said yes and asked if we could teach him right there. We've taught him three times this week, the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and Word of Wisdom. We gave him a baptismal date of Nov. 8th and he told us that he wanted to be baptized earlier but we told him that he had to come to church at least twice and take all the lessons. He's read everything we've given him and he has prayed about it too. He said that he hasn't got a super strong answer but he feels that getting baptized is what God wants him to do. We almost fell out of our chairs when he said that. When we asked him to follow the word of wisdom (he smokes, drinks coffee) he said that he wanted to stop anyway and that he knows how bad it is for him. He started to change his life around five months ago by quiting drugs and alcohol. So he's been clean of those things for five months. The funny thing is that before we started the lesson on word of wisdom he said, "Instead of drinking coffee this morning, I prayed. My day has gone a lot better." He's in his early twenties and goes to culinary school, which surprised us. Also, after teaching him the word of wisdom. He told us that he should stop listening to the bad music he likes because he feels that it isn't good for his spirit. We looked at each other and thought "Who is this guy?" He then surprised us again by asking, "Is body piercings against the word of wisdom? (he has a nose ring)" Our mouths dropped open because he was on top of things and is wanting to do the right things without us saying it. We taught him last on Friday. He said that he was going to come to church but he didn't show and then he wasn't at home for our appointment on Sunday either. But we aren't going to give up on him yet (Bill). We hope he has a good reason for not coming to church. The problem that we are going to have with him is that he might have to go to jail. He was charged with a misdemeaner and is going to court on Monday so he might be put in jail for 60 days.
I've come to realize that what we are teaching people isn't taking away from their faith but building upon it. What we have is 10 times better than what they think is great. It can bring them closer to our Heavenly Father, Christ and they can feel the full extent of the Atonement through the gift of the Holy Ghost. The gospel and the plan of salvation just makes so much sense and it gives me wonderful peace and comfort to know why I'm here and what I'm doing on this earth. I wouldn't be able to get through the hard times without that knowledge, that I'm a daughter of God.
The church is true so keep the faith no matter what!
Love, Sister Sumsion
Monday, October 19
Missionary work is hard!! Who would have thought?
Hi!
This week has been tiring and it has seemed unsuccessful. We gave our investigator, Kelsey, who last week had the blessing from the elders, another baptismal date. We were so excited to extend her another date because she had an amazing experience with her blessing. We went to her house and were going to give her a date about two weeks away, which would have given her a chance to go to church twice, hear all the lessons and work out any other problems. She told us that she wanted to get baptized (Yeah!) but wanted it to be special to her. She wanted to do it around a holiday so near Thanksgiving. We were excited that she wanted to get baptized but a little disappointed. I'm afraid that Satan will work on her before she can get baptized and receive the strength of the Holy Ghost. We are praying about how to help her realize the importance of baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. We invited her to church and she was playing on coming yesterday but got sick and couldn't make it. It is a major disappointment when someone doesn't show up for church. Because you sit all through Sacrament meeting on the edge of your sit and look at everyone who comes through the doors. She didn't show up so we stopped by her house after church to see how she's doing. Her son, the one that received the blessing, is doing amazingly well. He is eating like crazy and isn't on a lot of medicine anymore. So that was a miracle and the priesthood does work. But she was really sick with the flu when we were over there. She felt bad that she couldn't make it.
Me and Sister Yancey have been thinking about how to help her. We want her to see how wonderful baptism is and the blessings one receives from it and the gift of the Holy Ghost. I think that her testimony of the restored gospel, especially in Joseph Smith is strong but I don't think she realizes what that means and how what it means that Christ's Church is on the earth and that it is lead and directed by him. So we've been praying about how to best help her.
I've been so exhausted this week. We've been biking and walking everywhere because we have no other investigators and everyone we talk to says that they aren't interested. Every night it takes me about five seconds to hit the pillow and I've been going to bed about 9:45 pm everynight. Sister Soldinger, whose been out 6 months, says that it gets worse. You begin to become spiritually exhausted and you feel tired and drained all the time. Somehow my body finds a way to keep going. I never realized how much work missionary work was on the body, mind and spirit.
The Lord's tender mercy for this week was from a scripture I read. Me and Sister Yancey can't get any new potential investigators, or any investigators for that matter, except for Kelsey. Sister Ellison and Sister Soldinger have been finding alot of potentials but then they never want to meet with them so they are always getting ditched. So we've been having a tough week. So I had been thinking about the struggles and trials that people go through and what missionaries go through. I was thinking about how trials or the trial of our faith comes before a blessing or some great event. So one morning while eating breakfast I picked up a Book of Mormon off our table and just turned to a random page. It opened up to Alma 21 about Aaron and the sons of Mosiah. Aaron is teaching the gospel in a city but they just argue with him and reject him. He goes to another city and is rejected. He goes to another city and is thrown in prison. While in prison he suffers (Alma 20:29). But after being released from prison, he goes back to work and continues preaching. Then in verse 17, the Lord blesses him and allows him to be the instrument in bringing many to the truth of the gospel. That scripture really stuck out to me. If I keep pushing forward through the sorrows, struggles, rejections, disappointments, trials and tribulations, the Lord will bless me. I don't know how He will bless me or when, but He will.
This week we got a new resident in our apartment. One afternoon, we were making lunch and all of a sudden, Sister Yancey and Sister Ellison yell bloody murder. It scared me so bad because I thought someone was dying. Then I realize that they saw a mouse. Then I started laughing my head off. Me and Sis. Soldinger going looking for it and were trying to catch it when it comes out of hiding again. Sis. Yancey sees it and runs around the kitchen like a chicken with her head cut off. It was soo funny! Sis. Ellison started screaming even though she didn't see it. So they made me set up a mouse trap and that night we caught it.
My testimony has grown so much during the four months I've been on a mission. My love for my Savior and for my Heavenly Father has grown so much. I see everything that they have done for me and have given me. They have done it out of love for me. When I try to comprend the love they have for me, I just can't do it because it is stronger than anything that I could imagine. They only thing that comes even remotely close is the love I have for my family. I would give up everything for them! That is just how my Savior is. He gave up everything for me. He suffered and died for me. His whole Earthly existence was to help me. There is nothing in this world that I could do to repay him and he knows that but he still did it anyway. The thing that he asks of me is to just follow him and to love as he would love.
I love you all!
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
This week has been tiring and it has seemed unsuccessful. We gave our investigator, Kelsey, who last week had the blessing from the elders, another baptismal date. We were so excited to extend her another date because she had an amazing experience with her blessing. We went to her house and were going to give her a date about two weeks away, which would have given her a chance to go to church twice, hear all the lessons and work out any other problems. She told us that she wanted to get baptized (Yeah!) but wanted it to be special to her. She wanted to do it around a holiday so near Thanksgiving. We were excited that she wanted to get baptized but a little disappointed. I'm afraid that Satan will work on her before she can get baptized and receive the strength of the Holy Ghost. We are praying about how to help her realize the importance of baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. We invited her to church and she was playing on coming yesterday but got sick and couldn't make it. It is a major disappointment when someone doesn't show up for church. Because you sit all through Sacrament meeting on the edge of your sit and look at everyone who comes through the doors. She didn't show up so we stopped by her house after church to see how she's doing. Her son, the one that received the blessing, is doing amazingly well. He is eating like crazy and isn't on a lot of medicine anymore. So that was a miracle and the priesthood does work. But she was really sick with the flu when we were over there. She felt bad that she couldn't make it.
Me and Sister Yancey have been thinking about how to help her. We want her to see how wonderful baptism is and the blessings one receives from it and the gift of the Holy Ghost. I think that her testimony of the restored gospel, especially in Joseph Smith is strong but I don't think she realizes what that means and how what it means that Christ's Church is on the earth and that it is lead and directed by him. So we've been praying about how to best help her.
I've been so exhausted this week. We've been biking and walking everywhere because we have no other investigators and everyone we talk to says that they aren't interested. Every night it takes me about five seconds to hit the pillow and I've been going to bed about 9:45 pm everynight. Sister Soldinger, whose been out 6 months, says that it gets worse. You begin to become spiritually exhausted and you feel tired and drained all the time. Somehow my body finds a way to keep going. I never realized how much work missionary work was on the body, mind and spirit.
The Lord's tender mercy for this week was from a scripture I read. Me and Sister Yancey can't get any new potential investigators, or any investigators for that matter, except for Kelsey. Sister Ellison and Sister Soldinger have been finding alot of potentials but then they never want to meet with them so they are always getting ditched. So we've been having a tough week. So I had been thinking about the struggles and trials that people go through and what missionaries go through. I was thinking about how trials or the trial of our faith comes before a blessing or some great event. So one morning while eating breakfast I picked up a Book of Mormon off our table and just turned to a random page. It opened up to Alma 21 about Aaron and the sons of Mosiah. Aaron is teaching the gospel in a city but they just argue with him and reject him. He goes to another city and is rejected. He goes to another city and is thrown in prison. While in prison he suffers (Alma 20:29). But after being released from prison, he goes back to work and continues preaching. Then in verse 17, the Lord blesses him and allows him to be the instrument in bringing many to the truth of the gospel. That scripture really stuck out to me. If I keep pushing forward through the sorrows, struggles, rejections, disappointments, trials and tribulations, the Lord will bless me. I don't know how He will bless me or when, but He will.
This week we got a new resident in our apartment. One afternoon, we were making lunch and all of a sudden, Sister Yancey and Sister Ellison yell bloody murder. It scared me so bad because I thought someone was dying. Then I realize that they saw a mouse. Then I started laughing my head off. Me and Sis. Soldinger going looking for it and were trying to catch it when it comes out of hiding again. Sis. Yancey sees it and runs around the kitchen like a chicken with her head cut off. It was soo funny! Sis. Ellison started screaming even though she didn't see it. So they made me set up a mouse trap and that night we caught it.
My testimony has grown so much during the four months I've been on a mission. My love for my Savior and for my Heavenly Father has grown so much. I see everything that they have done for me and have given me. They have done it out of love for me. When I try to comprend the love they have for me, I just can't do it because it is stronger than anything that I could imagine. They only thing that comes even remotely close is the love I have for my family. I would give up everything for them! That is just how my Savior is. He gave up everything for me. He suffered and died for me. His whole Earthly existence was to help me. There is nothing in this world that I could do to repay him and he knows that but he still did it anyway. The thing that he asks of me is to just follow him and to love as he would love.
I love you all!
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love Sister Sumsion
I'm loving Missionary work in Colorado!!
MIRACLE Stories:
We have a woman, named Kelsie, who we are working with. But recently one of her sons became really sick from a flu shot. She had to take him to the hospital and now he is on five different medications. So I called the other night to see how he was doing and I offered her son a blessing. She seemed very grateful for the offer and asked if we could come over tomorrow. I could feel that this was a chance for a big miracle and could be a great testimony builder for her. When we went over to her house the next day, her little boy seemed alot better and I felt a little disappointed. But as we talked, I found out that he was still having internal issues. She was super tired and stressed out because she was working so hard to comfort her child and to take care of him. When she said that, I thought of mentioning that she should get a blessing of comfort and strength. I mentioned that to her and she was up for it. While we sat at her house and was waiting for the Elders, nothing seemed to be going right. She was babysitting some of the neighborhood kids who kept getting into trouble outside and her little boy was really restless so I figured that he wouldn't sit still for the blessing. I kept thinking that this wasn't going to work. The Elders showed up and explained more about blessings. As they were giving the boy a blessing, I was praying my heart out that the spirit would come and touch her heart and that Elder Prior would speak through the spirit and that the kids outside wouldn't come in and interrupt. In the blessing, he gave a specific amount of time of when he would be healed. The spirit was there. After giving the boy a blessing, the Elders proceeded to give her a blessing. I once again started praying like crazy. Her little boy was quite and still for both blessings and the kids outside didn't interrupt. The Spirit was so strong there and Elder Prior was saying things in the blessing that only the spirit could have told him about her. It was a wonderful blessing. He told her that God was pleased with her desire to be a good mother, to follow Him and to find out the truth. After the blessing, she was crying and she seemed really touched. The Elders talked for a few minutes about what she felt. She said that before this blessing that she had doubts about the church but after the blessing it confirmed to her the truthfulness of our message. Me and Sis. Yancey were smiling so big! She then asked if she could say a prayer. She gave a wonderful prayer of thanksgiving and for help. She was so overcome with the Spirit that she suprised one of the Elders by giving him a hug. Elder Prior (our district leader) told her that they're not allowed to hug and so she felt really awkward. But after the Elders left, we talked to her. She said that she has never prayed in public before but she felt so grateful that she wanted to pray. She said that she had received blessings from some clergys before but their blessings hadn't really meant anything to her. We explained to her that this one was different because it was the actual power of Chirst that was given to Joseph Smith. We explained more about how blessings work, how the person giving the blessing tries to feel the spirit and tries to say what God wants them to say. After we left her apartment, me and Sis. Yancey turned to each other and started hugging each other and we couldn't stop smiling. Today we are going to recommit her to baptism. Now I don't want to leave until she is baptized. I didn't find her but I've taught her all the lessons so she would be my first baptism. She is an amazing woman who has a powerful testimony and faith.
Sis. Ellison got a new companion named Sis. Soldinger who has had alot of experience with working with members. She is all fired up about contacting inactives and doing member missionary work. So we are all excited to have her here.
We had Zone Conference this week. It was wonderful! We talked alot about teaching by the Spirit. I love this district and the zone and the mission president. I could be here forever! Well, not really.
Testimony: I've gained a stronger testimony of Priesthood power and the miracles it can bring. Not only can it heal people from sicknesses but it can heal hearts and faith. I know that God is there because He listened to my prayer that Kelsie (the one who received the blessing) would gain a testimony. He is wonderful to me and is always blessing me with tender mercies. It is wonderful to be on a mission and to see the miracles that happen everyday. The many hard days are worth that one amazing day!
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love, Sister Sumsion
We have a woman, named Kelsie, who we are working with. But recently one of her sons became really sick from a flu shot. She had to take him to the hospital and now he is on five different medications. So I called the other night to see how he was doing and I offered her son a blessing. She seemed very grateful for the offer and asked if we could come over tomorrow. I could feel that this was a chance for a big miracle and could be a great testimony builder for her. When we went over to her house the next day, her little boy seemed alot better and I felt a little disappointed. But as we talked, I found out that he was still having internal issues. She was super tired and stressed out because she was working so hard to comfort her child and to take care of him. When she said that, I thought of mentioning that she should get a blessing of comfort and strength. I mentioned that to her and she was up for it. While we sat at her house and was waiting for the Elders, nothing seemed to be going right. She was babysitting some of the neighborhood kids who kept getting into trouble outside and her little boy was really restless so I figured that he wouldn't sit still for the blessing. I kept thinking that this wasn't going to work. The Elders showed up and explained more about blessings. As they were giving the boy a blessing, I was praying my heart out that the spirit would come and touch her heart and that Elder Prior would speak through the spirit and that the kids outside wouldn't come in and interrupt. In the blessing, he gave a specific amount of time of when he would be healed. The spirit was there. After giving the boy a blessing, the Elders proceeded to give her a blessing. I once again started praying like crazy. Her little boy was quite and still for both blessings and the kids outside didn't interrupt. The Spirit was so strong there and Elder Prior was saying things in the blessing that only the spirit could have told him about her. It was a wonderful blessing. He told her that God was pleased with her desire to be a good mother, to follow Him and to find out the truth. After the blessing, she was crying and she seemed really touched. The Elders talked for a few minutes about what she felt. She said that before this blessing that she had doubts about the church but after the blessing it confirmed to her the truthfulness of our message. Me and Sis. Yancey were smiling so big! She then asked if she could say a prayer. She gave a wonderful prayer of thanksgiving and for help. She was so overcome with the Spirit that she suprised one of the Elders by giving him a hug. Elder Prior (our district leader) told her that they're not allowed to hug and so she felt really awkward. But after the Elders left, we talked to her. She said that she has never prayed in public before but she felt so grateful that she wanted to pray. She said that she had received blessings from some clergys before but their blessings hadn't really meant anything to her. We explained to her that this one was different because it was the actual power of Chirst that was given to Joseph Smith. We explained more about how blessings work, how the person giving the blessing tries to feel the spirit and tries to say what God wants them to say. After we left her apartment, me and Sis. Yancey turned to each other and started hugging each other and we couldn't stop smiling. Today we are going to recommit her to baptism. Now I don't want to leave until she is baptized. I didn't find her but I've taught her all the lessons so she would be my first baptism. She is an amazing woman who has a powerful testimony and faith.
Sis. Ellison got a new companion named Sis. Soldinger who has had alot of experience with working with members. She is all fired up about contacting inactives and doing member missionary work. So we are all excited to have her here.
We had Zone Conference this week. It was wonderful! We talked alot about teaching by the Spirit. I love this district and the zone and the mission president. I could be here forever! Well, not really.
Testimony: I've gained a stronger testimony of Priesthood power and the miracles it can bring. Not only can it heal people from sicknesses but it can heal hearts and faith. I know that God is there because He listened to my prayer that Kelsie (the one who received the blessing) would gain a testimony. He is wonderful to me and is always blessing me with tender mercies. It is wonderful to be on a mission and to see the miracles that happen everyday. The many hard days are worth that one amazing day!
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love, Sister Sumsion
Tuesday, October 6
I'm still alive......in Colorado
Sorry about the day delay. Transfers are on Wednesday so they moved P-day to Tuesday so people could use it for packing. Sister Downs is moving to a new area and another Sister is taking her place. My companion is still Sister Yancey which makes me happy. The longer we're together, the more we found out how alike we are. Luckily, she laughs at all my jocks.
Momma: I haven't got your letter yet because they were holding all the mail that goes to the mission office until transfers (which are on Wednesday). I also bought a coat the first day I got here because it was 40 degrees outside. It cost me 30 dollars. This friday it is suppose to snow. They have been giving us money to get food and supplies. The first day we got here it was 35 dollars and then we got 65 dollars yesterday. We will get some more money in two weeks.
This week has been alot better since I've gotten into the swing of things and becoming more comfortable in the Area. Sister Downs and Sister Ellison had a wonderful companion inventory, which concluded with dumping water all over Sis. Yancey and I. Sister Yancey wasn't to happy about that but we let it slide because they were bonding.
This week has been hard. Every appointment we made with potential investigators, investigators, members, recent converts and inactives, fell through! Every single one! So we spent alot of time tracting (which I don't like very much) and ITLing. I realized that no matter what you say, while tracting, people will give the same response. They seem to have an automatic response. I found this out when they give really different responses to what we said. Sometimes I'll say "Christ's church has been restored to the earth" and then they'll say "I'm Christian and I'm not interested". Okay...didn't you just hear me. CHRIST's church has been restored. Some people can be quite rude to us. When we contact people on the street, half the time they won't stop and talk to us so we have to follow them and talk to them at their break neck speed. Some won't even give us eye contact. The worst is when you can see a group of people about a block away. So you start walking to them and they see you coming! So then they scatter. Then your self-esteem is crushed because you think that you smell bad or look funny or something;) But then you get the really nice people who appreciate what we are doing, even though they don't believe in it. They stop and talk with us for a little bit. So I always thought that I had to say the right things to get people to let us in to teach them. But in reality, it's the Spirit that they feel and see when they talk to us which motivates them to want to know more.
Miracles stories: We were about to drop an investigator, named Bobby, after a week of trying to get a hold of him. He was the one we taught the first lesson to. We found him while we were tracting. We had called him earlier on Sunday but there was no answer. While we were ITLing in the park, we ran into Bobby. He seemed really excited to see us and apolgized that we couldn't get a hold of him. His phone had been shut off because he hadn't been paying the bill. He asked if we could try to set up an appointment for the next day. Sis. Yancey had felt prompted to go to that park. We wouldn't have ran into him if we hadn't gone to that park. But then we couldn't get a hold of him the next day. His phone was still off and he wasn't home. But it was still a miracle.
We did have a lesson yesterday with a single mother named Kelsie. She is 24 years old with two 3-year old boys. She has had a rough life but she has tremondous faith. She reads the Bible everyday to her boys and reads them the little kids bible stories. We taught her the first lesson a week ago. We stopped by her house a few days ago just to say hi which we ended up talking to her for 30 minutes. We then went to her house yesterday to teach her the second lesson. We asked her if she had read the portions of the Book of Mormon we left her. She said she had and she had prayed about them. She then told us that she feels that they are another Testament of Christ. She had always thought that it was Joseph Smith's words and writings. But now she believes that the BofM was saved and preserved. We taught her the plan of salvation and afterwards she told us that she feels that the plan fills in the holes that the Bible leaves. We were so excited when we left and we set up another appointment with her. Yeah!!
General Conference was wonderful and many of the talks were answers to my prayers. When Pres. Monson mentioned Mongolia, I knew that that was a reasurrance from God that He has not forgotten me in Colorado and that someday I will get to teach His children there. He is always answering my prayers and offering me comfort even though sometimes feel unworthy of His love. He will always be there for me, to lead and to guide me. He wants the best for me and gives me experiences to mold me into the person he knows that I can become.
Keep the faith! The church is true!
Love, Sister Sumsion
Momma: I haven't got your letter yet because they were holding all the mail that goes to the mission office until transfers (which are on Wednesday). I also bought a coat the first day I got here because it was 40 degrees outside. It cost me 30 dollars. This friday it is suppose to snow. They have been giving us money to get food and supplies. The first day we got here it was 35 dollars and then we got 65 dollars yesterday. We will get some more money in two weeks.
This week has been alot better since I've gotten into the swing of things and becoming more comfortable in the Area. Sister Downs and Sister Ellison had a wonderful companion inventory, which concluded with dumping water all over Sis. Yancey and I. Sister Yancey wasn't to happy about that but we let it slide because they were bonding.
This week has been hard. Every appointment we made with potential investigators, investigators, members, recent converts and inactives, fell through! Every single one! So we spent alot of time tracting (which I don't like very much) and ITLing. I realized that no matter what you say, while tracting, people will give the same response. They seem to have an automatic response. I found this out when they give really different responses to what we said. Sometimes I'll say "Christ's church has been restored to the earth" and then they'll say "I'm Christian and I'm not interested". Okay...didn't you just hear me. CHRIST's church has been restored. Some people can be quite rude to us. When we contact people on the street, half the time they won't stop and talk to us so we have to follow them and talk to them at their break neck speed. Some won't even give us eye contact. The worst is when you can see a group of people about a block away. So you start walking to them and they see you coming! So then they scatter. Then your self-esteem is crushed because you think that you smell bad or look funny or something;) But then you get the really nice people who appreciate what we are doing, even though they don't believe in it. They stop and talk with us for a little bit. So I always thought that I had to say the right things to get people to let us in to teach them. But in reality, it's the Spirit that they feel and see when they talk to us which motivates them to want to know more.
Miracles stories: We were about to drop an investigator, named Bobby, after a week of trying to get a hold of him. He was the one we taught the first lesson to. We found him while we were tracting. We had called him earlier on Sunday but there was no answer. While we were ITLing in the park, we ran into Bobby. He seemed really excited to see us and apolgized that we couldn't get a hold of him. His phone had been shut off because he hadn't been paying the bill. He asked if we could try to set up an appointment for the next day. Sis. Yancey had felt prompted to go to that park. We wouldn't have ran into him if we hadn't gone to that park. But then we couldn't get a hold of him the next day. His phone was still off and he wasn't home. But it was still a miracle.
We did have a lesson yesterday with a single mother named Kelsie. She is 24 years old with two 3-year old boys. She has had a rough life but she has tremondous faith. She reads the Bible everyday to her boys and reads them the little kids bible stories. We taught her the first lesson a week ago. We stopped by her house a few days ago just to say hi which we ended up talking to her for 30 minutes. We then went to her house yesterday to teach her the second lesson. We asked her if she had read the portions of the Book of Mormon we left her. She said she had and she had prayed about them. She then told us that she feels that they are another Testament of Christ. She had always thought that it was Joseph Smith's words and writings. But now she believes that the BofM was saved and preserved. We taught her the plan of salvation and afterwards she told us that she feels that the plan fills in the holes that the Bible leaves. We were so excited when we left and we set up another appointment with her. Yeah!!
General Conference was wonderful and many of the talks were answers to my prayers. When Pres. Monson mentioned Mongolia, I knew that that was a reasurrance from God that He has not forgotten me in Colorado and that someday I will get to teach His children there. He is always answering my prayers and offering me comfort even though sometimes feel unworthy of His love. He will always be there for me, to lead and to guide me. He wants the best for me and gives me experiences to mold me into the person he knows that I can become.
Keep the faith! The church is true!
Love, Sister Sumsion
Friday, September 18
So I guess I'm not going to Mongolia!
Hi Everybody!!
So last Thursday night we got our flight plans where it gives us the time of when we leave and through which airports we would be going through. So we were so excited!! That high didn't last very long because the next day the travel office told us that we were being re-assigned to somewhere in the USA until our visas come in. The mission president in Mongolia thinks that it is going to take longer than two weeks to get the visas so he told the MTC to re-assign us. We were pretty shocked but we knew it might be coming since we were warned two months ago.
But I think anyway that the visas could still come in because no one really knows their exact status until they get them in the mail. So me and my companion prayed hard and fasted yesterday that the visas will still come in. I know that through God anything is possible. If it is His will it can be done. We asked some of the other members in our district but they didn't feel very positive about the idea and they didn't want to fast with us. I don't want to pray and fast against the will of God but what if He is testing us. Faith is a very confusing thing sometimes but then it can be very simple. But I feel very peaceful about the whole situation with the visas. That either means that they will come in on time or that it is for a good reason that I'm getting re-assigned. Maybe there is someone in the USA that needs to hear my testimony or there is someone that needs my helping hand. We are all a little nervous about teaching in English because we have been practicing so hard in Mongolian. But we'll get over the fear soon enough. The postive thing about being re-assigned is that we will get phone passes and will be able to call our parents from the MTC to tell them our destinations. We'll get that information tomorrow. So MOM, keep your cell phone on you at all times today, tomorrow and Saturday. Another positive thing is that we can watch general conference in English. We're trying to make the best of our situations. We are just so excited to go to Mongolia that we don't want to put it off any longer.
Anyway, some other things was that one of the apostles came and spoke to us. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland came and talked about how his mission changed his life. He said that we should embrace everything thing about it. We should embrace the gospel, the people, the scriptures, the teaching, the hard times, the trials, the good times and the learning experiences. Everything that will happen to us on our mission will be for our benefit and can help us become the people that God wants us to become, to reach our full potential. He said that as a missionary, or in other words as a disciple of Christ we get to glimpse a little of what Christ went through. We can walk in His path by feeling, acting the way He did. By taking the rejection that He took, crying the tears that He cried, loving the people as He loves them, teaching as He would teach, serving others as He would serve them. He also told us that missions are hard and that we should embrace that because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation will never be easy. If it was hard for Him then it will be hard for us. If you want to be His disciple then the road of salvation always goes through the garden of Gethsemne. Every disciple is expected to carry a cross.
He also told us as missionaries and as members of the church we are in a battle against the wicked and against Satan. He said that we don't have guns, or swords to fight with. We just have our words or the words of the gospel. So he told us that we need to open our mouths and speak to everyone about the gospel. We cannot be shy when telling others about the blessings and comfort they can receive through the gospel. He told us that our missions is Game-Day. We have been prepared, we have practiced and practiced for years but now we must deliver. We must give it our all to the Lord because we are on His time. We must give all our heart, might, mind and strength so that when we get home and get off the plan then we should collapse. (So just be ready for that Mom ;)
Quote: "As you walk your various paths, walk with faith. Speak affimatively and cultivate on attitude of confidence. You have the capacity to do so. Your strength will give strength to others."
Prophet and President Gordon B. Hinckley
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love, Sister Sumsion
So last Thursday night we got our flight plans where it gives us the time of when we leave and through which airports we would be going through. So we were so excited!! That high didn't last very long because the next day the travel office told us that we were being re-assigned to somewhere in the USA until our visas come in. The mission president in Mongolia thinks that it is going to take longer than two weeks to get the visas so he told the MTC to re-assign us. We were pretty shocked but we knew it might be coming since we were warned two months ago.
But I think anyway that the visas could still come in because no one really knows their exact status until they get them in the mail. So me and my companion prayed hard and fasted yesterday that the visas will still come in. I know that through God anything is possible. If it is His will it can be done. We asked some of the other members in our district but they didn't feel very positive about the idea and they didn't want to fast with us. I don't want to pray and fast against the will of God but what if He is testing us. Faith is a very confusing thing sometimes but then it can be very simple. But I feel very peaceful about the whole situation with the visas. That either means that they will come in on time or that it is for a good reason that I'm getting re-assigned. Maybe there is someone in the USA that needs to hear my testimony or there is someone that needs my helping hand. We are all a little nervous about teaching in English because we have been practicing so hard in Mongolian. But we'll get over the fear soon enough. The postive thing about being re-assigned is that we will get phone passes and will be able to call our parents from the MTC to tell them our destinations. We'll get that information tomorrow. So MOM, keep your cell phone on you at all times today, tomorrow and Saturday. Another positive thing is that we can watch general conference in English. We're trying to make the best of our situations. We are just so excited to go to Mongolia that we don't want to put it off any longer.
Anyway, some other things was that one of the apostles came and spoke to us. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland came and talked about how his mission changed his life. He said that we should embrace everything thing about it. We should embrace the gospel, the people, the scriptures, the teaching, the hard times, the trials, the good times and the learning experiences. Everything that will happen to us on our mission will be for our benefit and can help us become the people that God wants us to become, to reach our full potential. He said that as a missionary, or in other words as a disciple of Christ we get to glimpse a little of what Christ went through. We can walk in His path by feeling, acting the way He did. By taking the rejection that He took, crying the tears that He cried, loving the people as He loves them, teaching as He would teach, serving others as He would serve them. He also told us that missions are hard and that we should embrace that because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation will never be easy. If it was hard for Him then it will be hard for us. If you want to be His disciple then the road of salvation always goes through the garden of Gethsemne. Every disciple is expected to carry a cross.
He also told us as missionaries and as members of the church we are in a battle against the wicked and against Satan. He said that we don't have guns, or swords to fight with. We just have our words or the words of the gospel. So he told us that we need to open our mouths and speak to everyone about the gospel. We cannot be shy when telling others about the blessings and comfort they can receive through the gospel. He told us that our missions is Game-Day. We have been prepared, we have practiced and practiced for years but now we must deliver. We must give it our all to the Lord because we are on His time. We must give all our heart, might, mind and strength so that when we get home and get off the plan then we should collapse. (So just be ready for that Mom ;)
Quote: "As you walk your various paths, walk with faith. Speak affimatively and cultivate on attitude of confidence. You have the capacity to do so. Your strength will give strength to others."
Prophet and President Gordon B. Hinckley
The church is true so keep the faith!
Love, Sister Sumsion
Saturday, September 12
Less than 14 days until departure!
Hey Everbody!!!
The time is flying at the MTC. This week we started our Speak Your Language challenge where we only speak Mongolian to everyone, even to the missionaries not learning Mongolian. We would tell them in Mongolian and then we could translate it into English. On Monday, that only lasted till after dinner. It is very hard and very frustrating to do especially with everyone in the MTC speaking English. My companion, Sister Ellison and Sister Staib were the only three going strong. I snapped about an hour after dinner. I guess the stress got to me because I was in a really hyper mood and I got my companion rolling with laughter. My companion was a little frustrated with everyone else who was speaking english instead of Mongolian. She had put in her planner to be more patience. Well, I thought she was trying to be more patient because I was driving her crazy. It crushed me! I stressed about until the next night where I asked her about it. She said that the teacher had told her to study patience because she would have companions in the field that would try her patience. Man, I should have asked her earlier! Communication is very important so never assume something.
Last week at the TRC there were so many volunteers!! There was about four volunteers for every companionship (six total companions). There was also a cute little Mongolian family with a three year old baby. She was so cute!!! When I saw that family I could feel what it will be like in Mongolian. I felt a love for them even though I did not know them. It was quite exciting to feel that way.
We started our progessing investigator this week. Where one of the teachers acts like someone who is investigating the church. We adjust the lessons based on his needs and problems. We make several appointments with him and get to know him (or the person he is pretending to be). So far we taught him about God, how the gospel can bless families, prayer and a little about the Holy Ghost. That's all we had time for and he was pretending to be a Buddist so we have to start out about who God is and how to pray. We won't talk about the Restoration or the Book of Mormon until next time we teach him.
When I got my mission call, I was happy that I was learning a new language. I thought that since I was learning a new language that I wouldn't cry when bearing my testimony when speaking that language. I always, always cry or choke up when talking about my feelings and my feelings about the gospel. Well, when we were teaching the progressing investigator, I was bearing my testimony about how God can help strengthen families and how my family has been strenghtened. Man, I was choking up and it made me happy that I was! I feel like I'm more sincere when I cry. I think others can see that the gospel means a lot to me when I show my true feelings.
This week I've been reading the Old Testament. I decided to read the story about Solomon and the two women who claimed the same child. In the beginning of 1 Kings 3, Solomon is praying for wisdom and knowledge to judge and rule the country righteously. In verses six through 9 is where he asks. In verses 11 through 14 is God's answer. When I read these verses it brought to mind how we should pray and how God answers our prayers. In verses 6 and 7, Solomon shows humility, faith and realizes that his strength comes from God and how loving God is towards him and his father. Then in verse 9, Solomon is not asking for himself but for the benefit of the Lord's people. God replies in verse 11 and says that he is pleased that he asks not for himself and that he doesn't ask for riches and wealth but for spiritual things and worthy things. Then in verse 12 he says that he will answer his prayer and give him what he desires. Then in verse 13 and 14 he says that he will give him even more blessings, blessings that he didn't even ask for. Then in verse 14 he says that if Solomon is righteous he can keep this blessings that he has given him. This is how God is. He wants to bless us and to help us. He gives us more than we deserve. He has always and will always give us more than we deserve. He has blessed us with a body and the opportunity to learn and to grow and to reach our fullest potential. He sent his son to die for our sins. How hard must it have been to watch his perfect, sinless son suffer all the sins, afflictions, sorrows and sufferings of the world! But still he did not stop for he loves us and was merciful enough to give us an opportunity to return to him. He is merciful to even those who don't follow him and keep his commandments in his plan of salvation. I love my Heavenly Father so much and Jesus Christ who both love me enough to be patient with me and my weaknesses. They have blessed me with a wonderful family and wonderful friends. They have blessed me with this gospel and with the Atonement. I get the chance to take this wonderful message to the people of Mongolia who have never heard of Jesus Christ or a Heavenly Father.
The church is true, God loves you so keep the faith!
Love, Sister Sumsion
The time is flying at the MTC. This week we started our Speak Your Language challenge where we only speak Mongolian to everyone, even to the missionaries not learning Mongolian. We would tell them in Mongolian and then we could translate it into English. On Monday, that only lasted till after dinner. It is very hard and very frustrating to do especially with everyone in the MTC speaking English. My companion, Sister Ellison and Sister Staib were the only three going strong. I snapped about an hour after dinner. I guess the stress got to me because I was in a really hyper mood and I got my companion rolling with laughter. My companion was a little frustrated with everyone else who was speaking english instead of Mongolian. She had put in her planner to be more patience. Well, I thought she was trying to be more patient because I was driving her crazy. It crushed me! I stressed about until the next night where I asked her about it. She said that the teacher had told her to study patience because she would have companions in the field that would try her patience. Man, I should have asked her earlier! Communication is very important so never assume something.
Last week at the TRC there were so many volunteers!! There was about four volunteers for every companionship (six total companions). There was also a cute little Mongolian family with a three year old baby. She was so cute!!! When I saw that family I could feel what it will be like in Mongolian. I felt a love for them even though I did not know them. It was quite exciting to feel that way.
We started our progessing investigator this week. Where one of the teachers acts like someone who is investigating the church. We adjust the lessons based on his needs and problems. We make several appointments with him and get to know him (or the person he is pretending to be). So far we taught him about God, how the gospel can bless families, prayer and a little about the Holy Ghost. That's all we had time for and he was pretending to be a Buddist so we have to start out about who God is and how to pray. We won't talk about the Restoration or the Book of Mormon until next time we teach him.
When I got my mission call, I was happy that I was learning a new language. I thought that since I was learning a new language that I wouldn't cry when bearing my testimony when speaking that language. I always, always cry or choke up when talking about my feelings and my feelings about the gospel. Well, when we were teaching the progressing investigator, I was bearing my testimony about how God can help strengthen families and how my family has been strenghtened. Man, I was choking up and it made me happy that I was! I feel like I'm more sincere when I cry. I think others can see that the gospel means a lot to me when I show my true feelings.
This week I've been reading the Old Testament. I decided to read the story about Solomon and the two women who claimed the same child. In the beginning of 1 Kings 3, Solomon is praying for wisdom and knowledge to judge and rule the country righteously. In verses six through 9 is where he asks. In verses 11 through 14 is God's answer. When I read these verses it brought to mind how we should pray and how God answers our prayers. In verses 6 and 7, Solomon shows humility, faith and realizes that his strength comes from God and how loving God is towards him and his father. Then in verse 9, Solomon is not asking for himself but for the benefit of the Lord's people. God replies in verse 11 and says that he is pleased that he asks not for himself and that he doesn't ask for riches and wealth but for spiritual things and worthy things. Then in verse 12 he says that he will answer his prayer and give him what he desires. Then in verse 13 and 14 he says that he will give him even more blessings, blessings that he didn't even ask for. Then in verse 14 he says that if Solomon is righteous he can keep this blessings that he has given him. This is how God is. He wants to bless us and to help us. He gives us more than we deserve. He has always and will always give us more than we deserve. He has blessed us with a body and the opportunity to learn and to grow and to reach our fullest potential. He sent his son to die for our sins. How hard must it have been to watch his perfect, sinless son suffer all the sins, afflictions, sorrows and sufferings of the world! But still he did not stop for he loves us and was merciful enough to give us an opportunity to return to him. He is merciful to even those who don't follow him and keep his commandments in his plan of salvation. I love my Heavenly Father so much and Jesus Christ who both love me enough to be patient with me and my weaknesses. They have blessed me with a wonderful family and wonderful friends. They have blessed me with this gospel and with the Atonement. I get the chance to take this wonderful message to the people of Mongolia who have never heard of Jesus Christ or a Heavenly Father.
The church is true, God loves you so keep the faith!
Love, Sister Sumsion
Only 3 weeks left!
Hi Everybody!!
The weeks are flying and I can't believe I leave in three weeks. Next week Monday we are only allowed to speak in Mongolian. We'll see how that goes since I only know gospel vocabulary. But our teachers tell us that it will prepare us greatly and we won't be as shocked when we get to Mongolia.
Last week at the TRC we taught the gospel which is faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. For some reason, I was really excited to teach that day even though I wasn't prepared more than normal. I bore my testimony all over the place during our lesson. The lesson went well but the poor investigator was really tired and I guess my slow Mongolian put him to sleep. He kept falling asleep throughout the whole lesson. So I guess it was just my luck.
We got a new teacher this week who got home from his mission two months ago. His accent is different and takes a little to get use to. But he is really patient with us and believes in us and sees great things. The MTC is hiring another Mongolian teacher so we'll have three! But we're not sure when he comes in.
We taught English for the last time this week and it is a great feeling to kneel in prayer with people from around the world. We taught a class with people from Tonga, Panama, Honduras and Cambodia. We taught them how to teach their investigators about what happens at a baptism. I was helping the two Cambodian sisters and they are sooo cute! One was explaining to the other, "You will then be immersed in the water for one minute." I told her that it was probably only a second. She realized her mistake but then she made a joke out of it. She said, "No, actually we'll baptize you for one hour because you have many sins and it will take along time to wash them away." They both burst out laughing and so did I. I love the internationals!
Last week we had a large group meeting where we talked about a missionaries purpose, which is to baptize. The teacher said that anyone can baptize. The capacity that we have to baptize will be directly related to our preparation, obedience and our ability to teach with the spirit. How many you baptize is not preordained, it is up to the missionary. Pres. Hinckley challenged the church to double the number of baptisms. That was back in 1999 and the numbers keep dropping. People have a misguided view of agency. You can influence people and how they use their agency. If you do a good job they have more of a chance of using their agency correctly. He asked us, "Does it make any difference on how we present the gospel, YES!!" If we don't teach with the Spirit then nothing will happen because the Spirit does the conversion. If the missionaries are disobedient, the Spirit cannot be there as they teach. The Lord has promised us that the field is white and ready to harvest and that there are people out there who are looking for the truth but do not know where to find it. If we ask for the Lord's help then He can prepare a way for us to find them. So DON'T go telling anyone that they are going to a place where it is hard to baptize. If they go on their mission thinking that they can't baptize then they won't. You must encourage them to work their hardest and to follow the Spirit and be obedient and they will baptize. The field is READY for harvest. It is not a time for planting seeds, it's a time for harvesting, we just have to find them.
Quotes of the day:
Elaine S. Dalton when she came and spoke to us:
"You must be willing to give up the life you have planned, in order to have the life that is waiting for you"
"We need to value the companionship of Holy Ghost that we will never let anything get in the way of losing that companionship."
"I can do nothing of myself and cannot even do hard things. But if I rely upon the Lord and His Atonement, I cannot only do the hard things but I can do ALL THINGS."
Proverbs 3:5-6
Sister Sumstion
The weeks are flying and I can't believe I leave in three weeks. Next week Monday we are only allowed to speak in Mongolian. We'll see how that goes since I only know gospel vocabulary. But our teachers tell us that it will prepare us greatly and we won't be as shocked when we get to Mongolia.
Last week at the TRC we taught the gospel which is faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. For some reason, I was really excited to teach that day even though I wasn't prepared more than normal. I bore my testimony all over the place during our lesson. The lesson went well but the poor investigator was really tired and I guess my slow Mongolian put him to sleep. He kept falling asleep throughout the whole lesson. So I guess it was just my luck.
We got a new teacher this week who got home from his mission two months ago. His accent is different and takes a little to get use to. But he is really patient with us and believes in us and sees great things. The MTC is hiring another Mongolian teacher so we'll have three! But we're not sure when he comes in.
We taught English for the last time this week and it is a great feeling to kneel in prayer with people from around the world. We taught a class with people from Tonga, Panama, Honduras and Cambodia. We taught them how to teach their investigators about what happens at a baptism. I was helping the two Cambodian sisters and they are sooo cute! One was explaining to the other, "You will then be immersed in the water for one minute." I told her that it was probably only a second. She realized her mistake but then she made a joke out of it. She said, "No, actually we'll baptize you for one hour because you have many sins and it will take along time to wash them away." They both burst out laughing and so did I. I love the internationals!
Last week we had a large group meeting where we talked about a missionaries purpose, which is to baptize. The teacher said that anyone can baptize. The capacity that we have to baptize will be directly related to our preparation, obedience and our ability to teach with the spirit. How many you baptize is not preordained, it is up to the missionary. Pres. Hinckley challenged the church to double the number of baptisms. That was back in 1999 and the numbers keep dropping. People have a misguided view of agency. You can influence people and how they use their agency. If you do a good job they have more of a chance of using their agency correctly. He asked us, "Does it make any difference on how we present the gospel, YES!!" If we don't teach with the Spirit then nothing will happen because the Spirit does the conversion. If the missionaries are disobedient, the Spirit cannot be there as they teach. The Lord has promised us that the field is white and ready to harvest and that there are people out there who are looking for the truth but do not know where to find it. If we ask for the Lord's help then He can prepare a way for us to find them. So DON'T go telling anyone that they are going to a place where it is hard to baptize. If they go on their mission thinking that they can't baptize then they won't. You must encourage them to work their hardest and to follow the Spirit and be obedient and they will baptize. The field is READY for harvest. It is not a time for planting seeds, it's a time for harvesting, we just have to find them.
Quotes of the day:
Elaine S. Dalton when she came and spoke to us:
"You must be willing to give up the life you have planned, in order to have the life that is waiting for you"
"We need to value the companionship of Holy Ghost that we will never let anything get in the way of losing that companionship."
"I can do nothing of myself and cannot even do hard things. But if I rely upon the Lord and His Atonement, I cannot only do the hard things but I can do ALL THINGS."
Proverbs 3:5-6
Sister Sumstion
Friday, August 28
4 Weeks Left in the MTC
Hi Everbody!
This week has been an interesting week especially since it has been filled with many ups and downs usually concerning Mongolian. We taught the third lesson again at the TRC and me and Sister Adams felt that it didn't go very well. No one felt prepared for the lesson since we had so many things going on that week. We had to observe an English class and then teach we then had to host for the new missionaries and so many other things were happening. Me and Sis. Adams had also tried a new way of studying. We tried to just study the vocabulary needed and not write out sentences so that we weren't memorizing a script. So that way we could practice making sentences in our head based on the vocabulary. That is a lot harder than it sounds and by Thursday we were very stressed. So we wrote down some sentences on Thursday and started memorizing.
All the volunteers ended up being male which for some reason is more intimadating since they aren't as nice to us beginners. We ended up teaching someone who teaches English to the Mongolians here. His name is Brother Gaberial. We asked a lot of questions about "how was church?" and "if he had questions from last week's lesson?" but of course we didn't understand anything he said and he had to repeat it a zillion times. Sometimes we just moved on and pretended that we understood. He said something about having to work instead of going to church and we never understood what he was saying about last week's lesson. I think I only understood the work thing was he used alot of hand motions. He asked alot of questions throughout the lesson especially about Repentance. I could only catch a few words of what he said and sometimes I didn't catch anything. I would always have to turn to my companion who caught on quicker and she would answer. I leave for Mongolia in four weeks and I can't even talk to people let alone understand them! In two weeks we are going to talk nothing but Mongolian!! We tried that for an hour and it is sooo hard! I don't know in vocabulary, only gospel vocabulary. I want to try and study other vocabulary more but I'm always preparing for my lesson. And half the time I forget the lesson we just taught because we move onto another lesson. I still have no idea how I'm going to become a returned missionary speaker from my present situation with Mongolian.
Anyways, back to the TRC. Later that night we ran into Bro. Gaberial as his class was out bearing their testimonies. We were outside doing language study. He came and talked to us about how we felt the lesson went. We said that we didn't feel that great about it. He then asked us how we measure our performances or the lessons. I don't remember what we said but he said that it is determined by the presence of the Holy Ghost. He said that as an investigator he could feel that we cared about him and wanted him to understand. He could feel the Spirit as we bore our testimonies in broken Mongolian and when we asked him to pray. It was very uplifting to get some feedback from the investigator. We just need to keep the focus that the investigator is what matters and if they feel the spirit.
We finally had an Apostle come speak at our devotional. We had Richard G. Scott, one of my favorites. He talked about feeling and following the promptings of the spirit. He gave us many examples from his life where following the spirit has saved his life. He also talked about prayer and how we shouldn't take that special privilege to talk to our Heavenly Father for granted. He blessed us as missionaries to have the gift of tongues and that we would be protected while we served. It was wonderful to hear his testimony of the living Christ and that he knows that he lives and loves all of us.
Here are some quotes and scriptures for the week:
"If you have struggles in your life don't, don't ever think that there is something wrong with you. Seeing your weaknesses means that you are moving closer to God" -Gordon B. Hinckley
"Those who bring sunshine to others cannot keep it from themselves"
"If you ever have negative feelings towards anyone try to remember their testimonies and their love for the Savior." -my district leader, Elder Burns
The Church is true and keep the faith!
Sister Sumsion
This week has been an interesting week especially since it has been filled with many ups and downs usually concerning Mongolian. We taught the third lesson again at the TRC and me and Sister Adams felt that it didn't go very well. No one felt prepared for the lesson since we had so many things going on that week. We had to observe an English class and then teach we then had to host for the new missionaries and so many other things were happening. Me and Sis. Adams had also tried a new way of studying. We tried to just study the vocabulary needed and not write out sentences so that we weren't memorizing a script. So that way we could practice making sentences in our head based on the vocabulary. That is a lot harder than it sounds and by Thursday we were very stressed. So we wrote down some sentences on Thursday and started memorizing.
All the volunteers ended up being male which for some reason is more intimadating since they aren't as nice to us beginners. We ended up teaching someone who teaches English to the Mongolians here. His name is Brother Gaberial. We asked a lot of questions about "how was church?" and "if he had questions from last week's lesson?" but of course we didn't understand anything he said and he had to repeat it a zillion times. Sometimes we just moved on and pretended that we understood. He said something about having to work instead of going to church and we never understood what he was saying about last week's lesson. I think I only understood the work thing was he used alot of hand motions. He asked alot of questions throughout the lesson especially about Repentance. I could only catch a few words of what he said and sometimes I didn't catch anything. I would always have to turn to my companion who caught on quicker and she would answer. I leave for Mongolia in four weeks and I can't even talk to people let alone understand them! In two weeks we are going to talk nothing but Mongolian!! We tried that for an hour and it is sooo hard! I don't know in vocabulary, only gospel vocabulary. I want to try and study other vocabulary more but I'm always preparing for my lesson. And half the time I forget the lesson we just taught because we move onto another lesson. I still have no idea how I'm going to become a returned missionary speaker from my present situation with Mongolian.
Anyways, back to the TRC. Later that night we ran into Bro. Gaberial as his class was out bearing their testimonies. We were outside doing language study. He came and talked to us about how we felt the lesson went. We said that we didn't feel that great about it. He then asked us how we measure our performances or the lessons. I don't remember what we said but he said that it is determined by the presence of the Holy Ghost. He said that as an investigator he could feel that we cared about him and wanted him to understand. He could feel the Spirit as we bore our testimonies in broken Mongolian and when we asked him to pray. It was very uplifting to get some feedback from the investigator. We just need to keep the focus that the investigator is what matters and if they feel the spirit.
We finally had an Apostle come speak at our devotional. We had Richard G. Scott, one of my favorites. He talked about feeling and following the promptings of the spirit. He gave us many examples from his life where following the spirit has saved his life. He also talked about prayer and how we shouldn't take that special privilege to talk to our Heavenly Father for granted. He blessed us as missionaries to have the gift of tongues and that we would be protected while we served. It was wonderful to hear his testimony of the living Christ and that he knows that he lives and loves all of us.
Here are some quotes and scriptures for the week:
"If you have struggles in your life don't, don't ever think that there is something wrong with you. Seeing your weaknesses means that you are moving closer to God" -Gordon B. Hinckley
"Those who bring sunshine to others cannot keep it from themselves"
"If you ever have negative feelings towards anyone try to remember their testimonies and their love for the Savior." -my district leader, Elder Burns
The Church is true and keep the faith!
Sister Sumsion
Tuesday, August 25
Half Way Through the MTC!
Hi everybody!
This week has been great! We started our English teaching training. In Mongolia, in order to obtain a visa, the missionaries have to teach english 12 hours a week. So this week we got about four hours of training and observed some of the ESL classes. The teacher in the class then assigned us a topic to teach the class. In the class we are in, (me, my companion and two other sisters) there were four Elders, one from Chile, one from the Marshal Islands, one from Honduras and one from Mainland China. So the Elders got a lot of one on one time practicing with us. I was paired up with the Chinese Elder and I asked about him how he joined the church. He said, in is very broken English, that a cousin introduced him to the church and he travelled to Hong Kong to be baptized. He has been a member for two years and his parents are not members. There are 10 people that are members in a small southern town in China. I was amazed that there are any members in China. He said that they don't have any church buildings but they meet at someone's house to have sacrament. Someday that mission will open up and it will be amazing! He is going to England on his mission. We taught the elders this week how to bear their testimonies in English and it was a great experience. I'm excited to teach English in Mongolia.
So this week at the RC our district set a goal to get 7 referrals, so to send missionaries to someone's house. Usually we have a hard time getting people to pick up there phones and we usually just get answering machines. But today we had a ton of inbound calls! When we got to the RC, the teacher who helps us out told us to hurry and get on the phone because inbound calls were coming in like crazy! Almost everyone calling was wanting a free Bible, so some of our Bible commercials must of been playing. After an 1 1/2 we had 41 referrals!! I don't know how we did it but it was a wonderful experience. I think we have become bolder in what we say and in bearing our testimonies of the church to people.
I talked to one lady who called in for a bible. After getting her information I asked her what prompted her to get a bible. Usually they just say, "I say the commercial and I need a new one." But this 50 year old lady said that her grandmother had died two years ago and it had really humbled her. She was now going back to God. Before I finish the story, I had told myself that I would ask or say anything that popped into my head because I always had a hard time thinking of things to say that's why I think I'm shy. So the first thought that popped into my head was to ask her if she misses her Grandma. I was a little afraid of asking that question because it sounds nosy but I asked it anyway. The lady said that she missed her grandmother so much and that she was really close to her. It was really hard on her to lose her grandma. I then testified to her how we believe that families can be together forever after death. I then asked her how that would make her feel if that was possible. She said that that would be wonderful! She loved her grandma and would love to see her again and live with her forever. I then mentioned the BofM and how it testifies of Jesus Christ and how it is companions with the Bible. I asked her if she would be interested. She said that she would love to learn more about different religions. I told her that missionaries in her area can come drop the Bible off, give her a Book of Mormon and tell her all about how families can be together forever. She seemed really excited and appriecative about it. It was wonderful to have that experience and to learn more about how to ask good questions and to listen to the promptings of the spirit. But I also talked to some really nice people who were really religious and seemed like they would be golden contacts but they weren't interested at the time. They told me that they could be interested in a few months.
Some funny translations from Mongolian is sugar. If it is directly translated from Monglian it means "Sandy Candy". If box is directly translated from Monglian it means "Love time". That made sense to us missionaries because we love our packages!
We had a great experience teaching at the TRC this week. We had so many volunteers that they had to pair up. I taught the girl I met at the capital when I went up there to help the Mongolian deligation. At one point I said in Mongolian, "We do remember the pre-mortal life." They played around with us and said "You remember the pre-mortal life because we don't." I then realized my mistake and corrected how I conjucated the verb. It was quite funny. But they asked a lot of questions and made it seem really real.
Sister Marta just graduated and is no longer teaching us. Sad day!
The church is true!
Sister Sumsion
This week has been great! We started our English teaching training. In Mongolia, in order to obtain a visa, the missionaries have to teach english 12 hours a week. So this week we got about four hours of training and observed some of the ESL classes. The teacher in the class then assigned us a topic to teach the class. In the class we are in, (me, my companion and two other sisters) there were four Elders, one from Chile, one from the Marshal Islands, one from Honduras and one from Mainland China. So the Elders got a lot of one on one time practicing with us. I was paired up with the Chinese Elder and I asked about him how he joined the church. He said, in is very broken English, that a cousin introduced him to the church and he travelled to Hong Kong to be baptized. He has been a member for two years and his parents are not members. There are 10 people that are members in a small southern town in China. I was amazed that there are any members in China. He said that they don't have any church buildings but they meet at someone's house to have sacrament. Someday that mission will open up and it will be amazing! He is going to England on his mission. We taught the elders this week how to bear their testimonies in English and it was a great experience. I'm excited to teach English in Mongolia.
So this week at the RC our district set a goal to get 7 referrals, so to send missionaries to someone's house. Usually we have a hard time getting people to pick up there phones and we usually just get answering machines. But today we had a ton of inbound calls! When we got to the RC, the teacher who helps us out told us to hurry and get on the phone because inbound calls were coming in like crazy! Almost everyone calling was wanting a free Bible, so some of our Bible commercials must of been playing. After an 1 1/2 we had 41 referrals!! I don't know how we did it but it was a wonderful experience. I think we have become bolder in what we say and in bearing our testimonies of the church to people.
I talked to one lady who called in for a bible. After getting her information I asked her what prompted her to get a bible. Usually they just say, "I say the commercial and I need a new one." But this 50 year old lady said that her grandmother had died two years ago and it had really humbled her. She was now going back to God. Before I finish the story, I had told myself that I would ask or say anything that popped into my head because I always had a hard time thinking of things to say that's why I think I'm shy. So the first thought that popped into my head was to ask her if she misses her Grandma. I was a little afraid of asking that question because it sounds nosy but I asked it anyway. The lady said that she missed her grandmother so much and that she was really close to her. It was really hard on her to lose her grandma. I then testified to her how we believe that families can be together forever after death. I then asked her how that would make her feel if that was possible. She said that that would be wonderful! She loved her grandma and would love to see her again and live with her forever. I then mentioned the BofM and how it testifies of Jesus Christ and how it is companions with the Bible. I asked her if she would be interested. She said that she would love to learn more about different religions. I told her that missionaries in her area can come drop the Bible off, give her a Book of Mormon and tell her all about how families can be together forever. She seemed really excited and appriecative about it. It was wonderful to have that experience and to learn more about how to ask good questions and to listen to the promptings of the spirit. But I also talked to some really nice people who were really religious and seemed like they would be golden contacts but they weren't interested at the time. They told me that they could be interested in a few months.
Some funny translations from Mongolian is sugar. If it is directly translated from Monglian it means "Sandy Candy". If box is directly translated from Monglian it means "Love time". That made sense to us missionaries because we love our packages!
We had a great experience teaching at the TRC this week. We had so many volunteers that they had to pair up. I taught the girl I met at the capital when I went up there to help the Mongolian deligation. At one point I said in Mongolian, "We do remember the pre-mortal life." They played around with us and said "You remember the pre-mortal life because we don't." I then realized my mistake and corrected how I conjucated the verb. It was quite funny. But they asked a lot of questions and made it seem really real.
Sister Marta just graduated and is no longer teaching us. Sad day!
The church is true!
Sister Sumsion
Thursday, August 13
Amber's 5th Week in MTC - I'm so excited to go to Mongolia!
Hi everybody!
This week has been really good especially when we taught the second lesson again at the TRC. We had switched sections from the week before so we had to use new vocabulary and learn different gospel subjects. This week me and my companion decided to focus more on the investigator, even though they were returned missionaries. We decided to try and make it as really as an experience as possible. So we prepared scriptures and questions that we could ask. We also resolved to bear testimony throughout the whole lesson. I also resolved to change my attitude about it and not think about my lack of language ability and to focus on the needs of the investigator. So before we started teaching we asked her about the first lesson and if she had any questions and then if she had read 3 Nephi 11 which we had committed to her to read. She started asking us questions which made it seem more like we were really teaching someone. But she had to talk slowly and had to do a little hand motions to help us figure out what she was saying in Mongolian. After we figured out what she was saying we wanted so badly to answer her but our language skills are lacking. We comminicated with her in our broken Mongolian. We taught her the lesson and her read scriptures that applied and then we would ask her if she understood, even though we knew if she had questions we would have to work really hard to understand. That lesson was an amazing experience! We could feel the Spirit even though we were slow in speaking and our language skills were poor. It comes to show that the investigator is the real focus of your work.
So Brother Cannon, our teacher, on vacation this past week to Mongolia. He came back with stories about the work there and the mission, and the mission president. It made our class so excited to go! We learned that we can openly say that we are missionaries so we don't have to wait for someone to ask us what we do. There are five companionships that are tracting everyday to see how it goes and the mission president has found that it has been really successful. The mission president has three programs: 10 contacts a day-where we will share a short message with someone on the street and ask if we can teach more, and then inviting the investigators and members to share the gospel with people they know and then each companionship is given five inactive families to visit everyweek. Because of that inactive families who are visited 300-500 more members have been coming to church. Also, over the past few years there has been 500-800 baptisms a year. There is at least one baptism every weekend at each baptismal font available. They predict that in 7 years there will be a temple. There are six American sisters there, so we are going to double it! Some other interesting facts are that 98% of Mongolian people can read and write. Mongolian women are very career oriented and very educated. My mongolian teacher (a woman) says that the Mongolian women are carrying Mongolia.
So all the stories that Brother Cannon was telling us was making us so excited! The only thing that scares me is the language. I know I won't be prepared when it comes for us to leave and I feel that I will struggle with the language in Mongolia. The grammar is pretty simple after you get use to the sentence structure but the pronounciation is the killer! I have a heard time speaking English somedays. I'm afraid that my quiet nature will keep me from speaking because I will say it wrong. It's going to be a goal of mine and my companion and Sister Marta have been very supportive and willing to help me overcome that weakness.
Quote of the day:
Neal A. Maxwell- "The more we adjust to this world, the less we are adjusted for the next world."
Scripture: Mosiah 7:33
The church is true and keep the faith!
Sister Sumsion
This week has been really good especially when we taught the second lesson again at the TRC. We had switched sections from the week before so we had to use new vocabulary and learn different gospel subjects. This week me and my companion decided to focus more on the investigator, even though they were returned missionaries. We decided to try and make it as really as an experience as possible. So we prepared scriptures and questions that we could ask. We also resolved to bear testimony throughout the whole lesson. I also resolved to change my attitude about it and not think about my lack of language ability and to focus on the needs of the investigator. So before we started teaching we asked her about the first lesson and if she had any questions and then if she had read 3 Nephi 11 which we had committed to her to read. She started asking us questions which made it seem more like we were really teaching someone. But she had to talk slowly and had to do a little hand motions to help us figure out what she was saying in Mongolian. After we figured out what she was saying we wanted so badly to answer her but our language skills are lacking. We comminicated with her in our broken Mongolian. We taught her the lesson and her read scriptures that applied and then we would ask her if she understood, even though we knew if she had questions we would have to work really hard to understand. That lesson was an amazing experience! We could feel the Spirit even though we were slow in speaking and our language skills were poor. It comes to show that the investigator is the real focus of your work.
So Brother Cannon, our teacher, on vacation this past week to Mongolia. He came back with stories about the work there and the mission, and the mission president. It made our class so excited to go! We learned that we can openly say that we are missionaries so we don't have to wait for someone to ask us what we do. There are five companionships that are tracting everyday to see how it goes and the mission president has found that it has been really successful. The mission president has three programs: 10 contacts a day-where we will share a short message with someone on the street and ask if we can teach more, and then inviting the investigators and members to share the gospel with people they know and then each companionship is given five inactive families to visit everyweek. Because of that inactive families who are visited 300-500 more members have been coming to church. Also, over the past few years there has been 500-800 baptisms a year. There is at least one baptism every weekend at each baptismal font available. They predict that in 7 years there will be a temple. There are six American sisters there, so we are going to double it! Some other interesting facts are that 98% of Mongolian people can read and write. Mongolian women are very career oriented and very educated. My mongolian teacher (a woman) says that the Mongolian women are carrying Mongolia.
So all the stories that Brother Cannon was telling us was making us so excited! The only thing that scares me is the language. I know I won't be prepared when it comes for us to leave and I feel that I will struggle with the language in Mongolia. The grammar is pretty simple after you get use to the sentence structure but the pronounciation is the killer! I have a heard time speaking English somedays. I'm afraid that my quiet nature will keep me from speaking because I will say it wrong. It's going to be a goal of mine and my companion and Sister Marta have been very supportive and willing to help me overcome that weakness.
Quote of the day:
Neal A. Maxwell- "The more we adjust to this world, the less we are adjusted for the next world."
Scripture: Mosiah 7:33
The church is true and keep the faith!
Sister Sumsion
Tuesday, August 11
1 Month - Mongolian is killing me!
Hi!!!
I can't believe that I've been here a month already. It feels like I've been here forever but then it feels like I just barely got here. We're starting to feel like the oldies of the MTC. Everytime we see new missionaries we think that they so cute. We say, "Oh, how cute the newbies!!" And then we smile at how lost they look there because we felt the same way.
This week has been going pretty well. Last Friday we taught in Mongolian to a volunteer. It was tough and not pretty. We spoke in primary langauge which made us feel quite foolish because our vocabulary is really limited. It was really slow going too. Me and my companion didn't even get through the entire lesson in 30 minutes, that's how slow it was. Memorizing and speeching the language is very difficult since the alphabet isn't even close to the english language so you can't really accociate mongolian words with english words.
This week at the RC was an amazing experience!!! Our district goal was to get 8 referrals in 1hr 45 minutes. Which means we send missionaries to someone's house. My goal was to bear testimony to at least five people. I also asked the Lord to let me get at least one referral during the time I was at the MTC. The Lord pleased me five minutes later with an inbound call from a man who saw one of the Church's commercials. He was calling to order a free Bible but he really wanted to talk about finding happiness in this life. The man sounded really depressed and was on the verge of tears while I was talking to him. I told him that God loved him and was mindful of his trials and tribulations. I told him that since Christ suffered and felt our pains he knows exactly what we are going through. I told him that this gospel has brought me happiness and peace during my times of need.
I asked him if he wanted the missionaries to come to his house, deliver the Bible and teach him about becoming happier. He thanked me while holding back tears. I prayed so hard last night that the missionaries will be able to get a hold of him and to help this man. I'm so grateful for being born into this gospel and for the joy it brings me.
So that was one referral and then the Lord blessed me again. I was making outbound calls and seeing if people had received their orders. Before I started, I decided to be creative when talking to people so it didn't sound like a script. I chose a scripture (Alma 7:11-12) and decided to read that to people who had ordered the Bible. People who order the Bible aren't really interested in the gospel they just want the free Bible. So I decided to read that scripture and try to get them to accept the Book of Mormon. Well, after figuring out a plan I started calling people. A called a lady in Ohio who had ordered the Bible. I asked her if she had received it and she said, "YES! I love the Bible." Not to sterotype but it was a nice, black woman. I then asked her if I could share a short message about Christ and to read her a scripture. I didn't tell her where the scripture was from until after reading it and then I bore my testimony of Christ and his Atonement. I asked her if she had heard of the BofM. She said that she had. But she didn't sound like she held anything against it. So I asked her if she would like a copy. She said, "Sure, I like learning about other religions." I asked her if she would like the missionaries to bring her a copy and share a message about Christ with her. She tried to give me an excuse of "I have four dogs and they don't like strangers." I wasn't going to let her get away that easily. So I said, "Well, we can send them over anyway and see if the dogs like the Elders." I know, it was pretty lame. But she said okay. It was really easy to talk to her and I didn't feel like a saleman but a friend talking to her over the phone. She talked about some missionaries she had met a few years ago. I asked, "Were they nice to you?" "Oh, yes, very nice." she said. "Good, they better be." We talked for a few more minutes before we hung up. Man, I felt so good!! I had boldly bore my testimony and boldly extended her an invitation. I felt so grateful for the Lord once again. I love being apart of missionary work!
My teacher Sister Marta from Mongolia is very blunt which is good for me. The class was doing individual interviews with her about how we were doing. Me and her talked about me being more quite in class and how I was trying to get over it because it is really hard to teach people the gospel when you won't speak to them. She asked me to try to extend myself in gospel discussions and during Monoglian class. Well, we went back to the class and started to do a short lesson from PMG. Usually she asks for thoughts and feelings about the lesson she shares but usually she controls the lesson so she bears her testimony and shares experiences. But this day, we read the section from PMG and then she said. "Sister Sumsion is going to lead our discussion today." My head popped up from what I was reading. Man, she doesn't lose anytime trying to get me to speak more. The sisters said I handled it beautifully but I felt a little uncomfortable but not too nervous. I'm so grateful for her and her diligence to make me better. If she keeps this up then I'll be talking to the whole world when I come back from my mission.
The church is true and remember to keep the faith.
Love, Sister Sumsion
I can't believe that I've been here a month already. It feels like I've been here forever but then it feels like I just barely got here. We're starting to feel like the oldies of the MTC. Everytime we see new missionaries we think that they so cute. We say, "Oh, how cute the newbies!!" And then we smile at how lost they look there because we felt the same way.
This week has been going pretty well. Last Friday we taught in Mongolian to a volunteer. It was tough and not pretty. We spoke in primary langauge which made us feel quite foolish because our vocabulary is really limited. It was really slow going too. Me and my companion didn't even get through the entire lesson in 30 minutes, that's how slow it was. Memorizing and speeching the language is very difficult since the alphabet isn't even close to the english language so you can't really accociate mongolian words with english words.
This week at the RC was an amazing experience!!! Our district goal was to get 8 referrals in 1hr 45 minutes. Which means we send missionaries to someone's house. My goal was to bear testimony to at least five people. I also asked the Lord to let me get at least one referral during the time I was at the MTC. The Lord pleased me five minutes later with an inbound call from a man who saw one of the Church's commercials. He was calling to order a free Bible but he really wanted to talk about finding happiness in this life. The man sounded really depressed and was on the verge of tears while I was talking to him. I told him that God loved him and was mindful of his trials and tribulations. I told him that since Christ suffered and felt our pains he knows exactly what we are going through. I told him that this gospel has brought me happiness and peace during my times of need.
I asked him if he wanted the missionaries to come to his house, deliver the Bible and teach him about becoming happier. He thanked me while holding back tears. I prayed so hard last night that the missionaries will be able to get a hold of him and to help this man. I'm so grateful for being born into this gospel and for the joy it brings me.
So that was one referral and then the Lord blessed me again. I was making outbound calls and seeing if people had received their orders. Before I started, I decided to be creative when talking to people so it didn't sound like a script. I chose a scripture (Alma 7:11-12) and decided to read that to people who had ordered the Bible. People who order the Bible aren't really interested in the gospel they just want the free Bible. So I decided to read that scripture and try to get them to accept the Book of Mormon. Well, after figuring out a plan I started calling people. A called a lady in Ohio who had ordered the Bible. I asked her if she had received it and she said, "YES! I love the Bible." Not to sterotype but it was a nice, black woman. I then asked her if I could share a short message about Christ and to read her a scripture. I didn't tell her where the scripture was from until after reading it and then I bore my testimony of Christ and his Atonement. I asked her if she had heard of the BofM. She said that she had. But she didn't sound like she held anything against it. So I asked her if she would like a copy. She said, "Sure, I like learning about other religions." I asked her if she would like the missionaries to bring her a copy and share a message about Christ with her. She tried to give me an excuse of "I have four dogs and they don't like strangers." I wasn't going to let her get away that easily. So I said, "Well, we can send them over anyway and see if the dogs like the Elders." I know, it was pretty lame. But she said okay. It was really easy to talk to her and I didn't feel like a saleman but a friend talking to her over the phone. She talked about some missionaries she had met a few years ago. I asked, "Were they nice to you?" "Oh, yes, very nice." she said. "Good, they better be." We talked for a few more minutes before we hung up. Man, I felt so good!! I had boldly bore my testimony and boldly extended her an invitation. I felt so grateful for the Lord once again. I love being apart of missionary work!
My teacher Sister Marta from Mongolia is very blunt which is good for me. The class was doing individual interviews with her about how we were doing. Me and her talked about me being more quite in class and how I was trying to get over it because it is really hard to teach people the gospel when you won't speak to them. She asked me to try to extend myself in gospel discussions and during Monoglian class. Well, we went back to the class and started to do a short lesson from PMG. Usually she asks for thoughts and feelings about the lesson she shares but usually she controls the lesson so she bears her testimony and shares experiences. But this day, we read the section from PMG and then she said. "Sister Sumsion is going to lead our discussion today." My head popped up from what I was reading. Man, she doesn't lose anytime trying to get me to speak more. The sisters said I handled it beautifully but I felt a little uncomfortable but not too nervous. I'm so grateful for her and her diligence to make me better. If she keeps this up then I'll be talking to the whole world when I come back from my mission.
The church is true and remember to keep the faith.
Love, Sister Sumsion
Thursday, July 30
Single digits BABY!!! (9 weeks left)
Hi everybody and my momma!
Life here is flying by. The days seem long but the weeks are going so quickly. But it seems like I'll be here FOREVER!! There were some missionaries in our branch that left a few days ago, and they came in the same day we did. That will happen four more times before we get to leave. So I thought I would share my schedule with you:
5am-wakeup because I need alot of Mongolian study time, but we're supposed to be up by 6:30am
7:45-Breakfast
8:15-Personal Study (scriptures, Preach My gospel)
9:15-Mongolian Class
11:00-Gym
12:30-Lunch
1:15-Comp. Study
2:15-Mongolian Class
5:30-Dinner
6:15-Language Study
7:15-Mongolian Class
9:00-Plan for the next day
10:30-Lights out!
So I thought that one could never fall asleep so early but on that scedule it is very easy. The days change a little bit and Sunday is a lot different because there is no class. We have a fireside on Sunday night and those are a blast! The speakers are laid back and it is in an informal setting. Also on Sunday is ice cream day, my favorite! Tuesday is the devotionals but we haven't had a apostle yet but we did have John Groberg last week. Wednesday we go to the Referall Center and on Thursday is P-day which is where we do laundry, personal study, comp. study, Temple, and class at night for a few hours. Friday we have a large group meeting for 2 hours where we talk about the gospel or some aspect of it. Saturday we do service in the morning. Usually we clean the bathrooms or vacuum. The MTC was really smart to do that because they don't have to hire as many janitors for that. The missionaries clean all the dorms and buildings. So that is what my schedule looks like. For gym, we have it with the elders in our branch and zone and some others. We are allowed to play with the elders in b-ball but girls can only guard girls and elders to elders so I pretty much play one-on-one and I can't find a girl who is good at b-ball. So I usually run, do the bike or weights. They have a small weight room but it's not to my satisfaction.
So last week we were supposed to teach our first lesson in mongolian. We show up at the TRC and there is no one there. My teacher realizes that it's Pioneer day and no one is coming in. We were so happy! But we have to teach tomorrow so it just it put off for a week.
The RC this week wasn't very exciting. No one called in and no one would answer their phones when we called out. Maybe next week.
Good news is that I'm over the cold and back to my normal self.
The food isn't bad here but they use the same menu every three weeks so we are going to see it four times. We can eat salads, wraps, sandwiches, soup and they usually have three main courses to choose from, and LOTS of desserts. I've chosen to only eat treats on Sunday when it's ICE CREAM DAY. On fast sunday, they don't cook or serve any food for breakfast or lunch and then everyone has dinner at the same time. It's going to be a madhouse! The food does start to get a little boring because it's cafeteria food and you can only get so good with that. It doesn't compare to homemade.
The interesting Mongolian fact for the day is that they LOVE free things. When they were ruled by the Soviets, they were given everything so they are use to it. My teacher said that they have to carry a ton of referall cards around because if they give it out to one person, everyone will want one. He said that he'll be talking to someone on the bus and give them a referall card. Someone will notice and they sneak a look at the missionaries and talk among themselves. Then they'll come up to him and ask for a card. And he can't just give a card to the parents but every person in the family has to get one. Some people will ask, "Can I have one for my kid?" and my teacher would think, "He's a 6-month old baby?! Why would he need a card?" but he would give him one anyway. Most of the time they don't read them but it makes it easier to give away. They don't like to give BofMs out in public because everyone would want one and most people wouldn't read it. I thought it was funny.
In our Large group meeting on Friday we talked about Faith in Christ and how our faith as a missionary can help someone else's to grow or strengthen. They showed a clip from Pres. Hinckley's talk of the three men who carried people across the Sweetwater River. They gave everything to serve the Lord and his children. The teacher then asked if we can have that same kind of service for the people we will serve. I thought about all the work I do in the MTC and how much I learn and what I learn will affect the people I'll teach. All my learning should be in the mindset that everything I do is for the People of Mongolia not me. I should work my hardest for those people. Because they are the ones that will be blessed by the gospel. I can change THEIR lives. This motivation will help me study better and work harder.
Sister Sumsion
Life here is flying by. The days seem long but the weeks are going so quickly. But it seems like I'll be here FOREVER!! There were some missionaries in our branch that left a few days ago, and they came in the same day we did. That will happen four more times before we get to leave. So I thought I would share my schedule with you:
5am-wakeup because I need alot of Mongolian study time, but we're supposed to be up by 6:30am
7:45-Breakfast
8:15-Personal Study (scriptures, Preach My gospel)
9:15-Mongolian Class
11:00-Gym
12:30-Lunch
1:15-Comp. Study
2:15-Mongolian Class
5:30-Dinner
6:15-Language Study
7:15-Mongolian Class
9:00-Plan for the next day
10:30-Lights out!
So I thought that one could never fall asleep so early but on that scedule it is very easy. The days change a little bit and Sunday is a lot different because there is no class. We have a fireside on Sunday night and those are a blast! The speakers are laid back and it is in an informal setting. Also on Sunday is ice cream day, my favorite! Tuesday is the devotionals but we haven't had a apostle yet but we did have John Groberg last week. Wednesday we go to the Referall Center and on Thursday is P-day which is where we do laundry, personal study, comp. study, Temple, and class at night for a few hours. Friday we have a large group meeting for 2 hours where we talk about the gospel or some aspect of it. Saturday we do service in the morning. Usually we clean the bathrooms or vacuum. The MTC was really smart to do that because they don't have to hire as many janitors for that. The missionaries clean all the dorms and buildings. So that is what my schedule looks like. For gym, we have it with the elders in our branch and zone and some others. We are allowed to play with the elders in b-ball but girls can only guard girls and elders to elders so I pretty much play one-on-one and I can't find a girl who is good at b-ball. So I usually run, do the bike or weights. They have a small weight room but it's not to my satisfaction.
So last week we were supposed to teach our first lesson in mongolian. We show up at the TRC and there is no one there. My teacher realizes that it's Pioneer day and no one is coming in. We were so happy! But we have to teach tomorrow so it just it put off for a week.
The RC this week wasn't very exciting. No one called in and no one would answer their phones when we called out. Maybe next week.
Good news is that I'm over the cold and back to my normal self.
The food isn't bad here but they use the same menu every three weeks so we are going to see it four times. We can eat salads, wraps, sandwiches, soup and they usually have three main courses to choose from, and LOTS of desserts. I've chosen to only eat treats on Sunday when it's ICE CREAM DAY. On fast sunday, they don't cook or serve any food for breakfast or lunch and then everyone has dinner at the same time. It's going to be a madhouse! The food does start to get a little boring because it's cafeteria food and you can only get so good with that. It doesn't compare to homemade.
The interesting Mongolian fact for the day is that they LOVE free things. When they were ruled by the Soviets, they were given everything so they are use to it. My teacher said that they have to carry a ton of referall cards around because if they give it out to one person, everyone will want one. He said that he'll be talking to someone on the bus and give them a referall card. Someone will notice and they sneak a look at the missionaries and talk among themselves. Then they'll come up to him and ask for a card. And he can't just give a card to the parents but every person in the family has to get one. Some people will ask, "Can I have one for my kid?" and my teacher would think, "He's a 6-month old baby?! Why would he need a card?" but he would give him one anyway. Most of the time they don't read them but it makes it easier to give away. They don't like to give BofMs out in public because everyone would want one and most people wouldn't read it. I thought it was funny.
In our Large group meeting on Friday we talked about Faith in Christ and how our faith as a missionary can help someone else's to grow or strengthen. They showed a clip from Pres. Hinckley's talk of the three men who carried people across the Sweetwater River. They gave everything to serve the Lord and his children. The teacher then asked if we can have that same kind of service for the people we will serve. I thought about all the work I do in the MTC and how much I learn and what I learn will affect the people I'll teach. All my learning should be in the mindset that everything I do is for the People of Mongolia not me. I should work my hardest for those people. Because they are the ones that will be blessed by the gospel. I can change THEIR lives. This motivation will help me study better and work harder.
Sister Sumsion
Thursday, July 23
AMBER'S 2ND WEEK IN THE MTC
Hi!
So I had been getting letters everyday until Monday, which was the first and only day so far that I haven't gotten an email. I was a little disappointed that I hadn't gotten anything. I know, that is so selfish of me when some of the sisters don't get any mail. Don't worry Dad, I still have time to read all the letters. I usually get my mail in the middle of the day but wait until after the day is over and we have an hour of time before bed. Carmen, Lizzie, the Uibels, Angela Merrick, Grandma Sumsion have written me. People have been very supportive of me and keep telling me to keep my chin up and press on!
Well, the first week was the hardest, which everyone tells me but after getting over that first week and going to the temple last Thursday has made all the difference. I'm use to the routine now and the work that is required, well, maybe not yet. It has been an awesome week! Me and my companion, Sister Adams hadn't really connected yet until after we did a session in the temple. I had prayed so hard for comfort and guidance to help me serve and love my companion, even though there is nothing wrong with her. But after that temple trip, I'm so open with her and she loves my dry sense of humor. She thought my handgun and pepperspray comment was funny;) We've bonded so well over the past week and also with the other sisters in our group.
Last Friday we did our first real lesson in the TRC, which is where we sit in a living room and teach an "investigator" (or volunteers). I was a little nervous for that which surprised me because I was expecting to be really nervous. But after we got in there and started teach, it seemed easy. We taught the first lesson on a non-christian background level. I didn't stumble over my words and I bore a strong testimony that of course involved crying. The spirit was so strong there! After we were done teaching we talked to the "investigator" (who had returned from a mission in Mongolia) and she said that was one of the best lessons she has had at the TRC. I was humbled by her comment because I knew the Spirit did the real teaching.
Yesterday, we went to the Call center again and I was very nervous because my last experience didn't go so well. But this time we took inbound calls from people who wanted to talk with us. My first caller was a 78-year old man from Rhode Island who had been a Jehovah Witness but didn't feel like that provided everything for him. We started talking and I told him that I could send him a free video and he said that he didn't have a player for it. I told him that I could send it with him anyway and he could find someone to watch it with. It was good with that idea and then he started asking me about the Second Coming and anti-christs. He was very knowledgeable of the scriptures but the amazing thing was I knew the scriptures that he was talking about and what they meant like "being born again" (baptism) and "the lion will lie down with the lamb" (second coming-peace). I invited him to take the missionary discussions but he didn't think that would be a good idea. So I invited him to church and gave him an address that he could go to. When I told him that the meeting was on Sunday, he said something about that being a pagan tradition. I told him that we worshipped on that day because of the creation being 6-days and the last day was a day of rest. He told me that we weren't sure on what day the day of rest was. It could be Saturday. My companion overheard my conversation and whispered to me about the resurrection being on a Sunday. So I told him that but then he said that it would have been a Monday because it was three days. Then I thought of a scripture of how it says that He will rise ON the third day. So I tell my companion and we both go flying through our scriptures to find it. I found one in Luke 24, i don't remember the verse. I read it to him and he was still confused. I said that the scriptures say specifically that he was died for a FULL three days. He then laughed and said that he would go along with me. He died on Friday, was dead Saturday and rose on the Sunday. He talked about Christmas and Easter being a man-made tradition. It seems that he still hung on to some of his Jehovah Witness' beliefs. After we were done talking for about 45 minutes about the second coming, marriage, Sunday worship, Christmas, the Restoration and etc. he thanked me for my time and said that he didn't really have anyone to talk with anymore. Sad! But that he felt a goodness from me. I don't know how you see that over the phone but I know how he felt it. I don't know if anything will come of it but I will never forget his name, Harold O'Leary from Providence Rhode Island. I'm so grateful for the Lord for that great opportunity to do missionary work and now I'm excited to teach. The church is true and stay True to the Faith!
Mom: Make sure to put this on the blog and email it to people.
Love Sister Amber Sumsion
Funny story: I have to write my Branch President every week
So I had been getting letters everyday until Monday, which was the first and only day so far that I haven't gotten an email. I was a little disappointed that I hadn't gotten anything. I know, that is so selfish of me when some of the sisters don't get any mail. Don't worry Dad, I still have time to read all the letters. I usually get my mail in the middle of the day but wait until after the day is over and we have an hour of time before bed. Carmen, Lizzie, the Uibels, Angela Merrick, Grandma Sumsion have written me. People have been very supportive of me and keep telling me to keep my chin up and press on!
Well, the first week was the hardest, which everyone tells me but after getting over that first week and going to the temple last Thursday has made all the difference. I'm use to the routine now and the work that is required, well, maybe not yet. It has been an awesome week! Me and my companion, Sister Adams hadn't really connected yet until after we did a session in the temple. I had prayed so hard for comfort and guidance to help me serve and love my companion, even though there is nothing wrong with her. But after that temple trip, I'm so open with her and she loves my dry sense of humor. She thought my handgun and pepperspray comment was funny;) We've bonded so well over the past week and also with the other sisters in our group.
Last Friday we did our first real lesson in the TRC, which is where we sit in a living room and teach an "investigator" (or volunteers). I was a little nervous for that which surprised me because I was expecting to be really nervous. But after we got in there and started teach, it seemed easy. We taught the first lesson on a non-christian background level. I didn't stumble over my words and I bore a strong testimony that of course involved crying. The spirit was so strong there! After we were done teaching we talked to the "investigator" (who had returned from a mission in Mongolia) and she said that was one of the best lessons she has had at the TRC. I was humbled by her comment because I knew the Spirit did the real teaching.
Yesterday, we went to the Call center again and I was very nervous because my last experience didn't go so well. But this time we took inbound calls from people who wanted to talk with us. My first caller was a 78-year old man from Rhode Island who had been a Jehovah Witness but didn't feel like that provided everything for him. We started talking and I told him that I could send him a free video and he said that he didn't have a player for it. I told him that I could send it with him anyway and he could find someone to watch it with. It was good with that idea and then he started asking me about the Second Coming and anti-christs. He was very knowledgeable of the scriptures but the amazing thing was I knew the scriptures that he was talking about and what they meant like "being born again" (baptism) and "the lion will lie down with the lamb" (second coming-peace). I invited him to take the missionary discussions but he didn't think that would be a good idea. So I invited him to church and gave him an address that he could go to. When I told him that the meeting was on Sunday, he said something about that being a pagan tradition. I told him that we worshipped on that day because of the creation being 6-days and the last day was a day of rest. He told me that we weren't sure on what day the day of rest was. It could be Saturday. My companion overheard my conversation and whispered to me about the resurrection being on a Sunday. So I told him that but then he said that it would have been a Monday because it was three days. Then I thought of a scripture of how it says that He will rise ON the third day. So I tell my companion and we both go flying through our scriptures to find it. I found one in Luke 24, i don't remember the verse. I read it to him and he was still confused. I said that the scriptures say specifically that he was died for a FULL three days. He then laughed and said that he would go along with me. He died on Friday, was dead Saturday and rose on the Sunday. He talked about Christmas and Easter being a man-made tradition. It seems that he still hung on to some of his Jehovah Witness' beliefs. After we were done talking for about 45 minutes about the second coming, marriage, Sunday worship, Christmas, the Restoration and etc. he thanked me for my time and said that he didn't really have anyone to talk with anymore. Sad! But that he felt a goodness from me. I don't know how you see that over the phone but I know how he felt it. I don't know if anything will come of it but I will never forget his name, Harold O'Leary from Providence Rhode Island. I'm so grateful for the Lord for that great opportunity to do missionary work and now I'm excited to teach. The church is true and stay True to the Faith!
Mom: Make sure to put this on the blog and email it to people.
Love Sister Amber Sumsion
Funny story: I have to write my Branch President every week
Saturday, July 18
Hi Everyone,
I'm so excited that it is P-day! I'm not allowed to write letters or emails on any other day. The first week has been a crazy roller coaster. First day I was on the verge of tears all day. Thursday and Friday were better because I was getting to know my sisters better. There is six sisters now and seven elders. The most sisters they've had going to Mongolia has been three. So we shattered that record out of the water. The first couple of days I wasn't really talkative but I decided that three months of being quiet was going to really stink so I decided to say whatever came to mind. On Friday, I had started to talk alot more but the ice breaker was my awesome movie quoting skills. I don't know how we got on this subject but Sister Turner (from Washington, an only child, adopted, and of polynesion ancestry who loves to laugh at everything, and never stops smiling and who is not my companion) was quoting one of her favorite lines from "She's the Man" and then I told her my favorite one, "Suck it up and be a Man!" Well, after I did that all of the Sisters burst out laughing. I still have the skills.
Saturday was the hardest day because there was so much classroom time where we learned Mongolian and our brains were starting to overload. After the afternoon class, our Mongolian group or district, went to dinner. I guess girls relieve their stress differently but we were laughing at everything and anything. It was awesome! And then you look at the other end of the table and the Elders all had a "I can't learn Mongolian, and I'm so depressed" face. The sisters all laughed about that too.
Sunday and p-day will probably become one of my favorite days because there is no class and on Sunday there is alot of spiritual activities like a fireside, church, district meetings, studying, etc. It was a great stress reliever. But over the first three days I was still thinking about my lack of teaching ability and my knowledge of the gospel. But my prayer was answered on Tuesday at the Devotional. A former 70s member spoke about missionary work and testimonies. It finally dawned on me that all we need is a testimony to preach the gospel. A testimony will bring the Spirit and the Spirit does the converting. The rest of teaching requires practice and study which I will have three months to do.
On Tuesday, me and my companion, Sister Adams (from Beaver, Utah; went to Utah State and is studying Economics; I'm about a foot taller than her; long brown hair) taught a short lesson to one of our Mongolian teachers, Brother Cannon. He told us that we will have to teach differently than we would a Catholic. The Mongolians know nothing about Christ and Buddha is their God. So we have to teach a primary-like lesson and define alot of words like Atonement, Prophet, Priesthood, Apostle. It went pretty well and I wasn't nervous which is a first but I stumbled over my words and cried when I read the First Vision in our lesson. I hope those tears come in handy when I teach to the Mongolians because it seems that I won't break the habit of crying everytime a say something spiritual.
Learning Mongolian has been hard but it amazing to see the Lord's hand in the work. My second day we learned the alphabet and by Sunday we could sound out words even though it would take longer. But after a week, we could sound out words faster and bear our testimonies in Mongolian. Next Friday, we're going to teach the first lesson in Mongolian. The Lord will have to show some miracles because that will be tough.
Yesterday we went to the RC where people call in about the commercials on TV and we ship them DVDs and Book of Mormons. Yesterday we made outgoing calls where we make sure people get their shipment. That was pretty frustrating because some people got angry at me because we kept calling or they weren't interested. We are asked by the MTC to try and bear our testimonies to them but I couldn't think on my feet on what to say next. It was quite frustrating and I still hate being that way.
(Mom my watch broke, I think it was one of the links, so I will ship it back to you and the other links that were taken off are in the envelope I gave you.)
Love you all,
Sister Amber Sumsion
I'm so excited that it is P-day! I'm not allowed to write letters or emails on any other day. The first week has been a crazy roller coaster. First day I was on the verge of tears all day. Thursday and Friday were better because I was getting to know my sisters better. There is six sisters now and seven elders. The most sisters they've had going to Mongolia has been three. So we shattered that record out of the water. The first couple of days I wasn't really talkative but I decided that three months of being quiet was going to really stink so I decided to say whatever came to mind. On Friday, I had started to talk alot more but the ice breaker was my awesome movie quoting skills. I don't know how we got on this subject but Sister Turner (from Washington, an only child, adopted, and of polynesion ancestry who loves to laugh at everything, and never stops smiling and who is not my companion) was quoting one of her favorite lines from "She's the Man" and then I told her my favorite one, "Suck it up and be a Man!" Well, after I did that all of the Sisters burst out laughing. I still have the skills.
Saturday was the hardest day because there was so much classroom time where we learned Mongolian and our brains were starting to overload. After the afternoon class, our Mongolian group or district, went to dinner. I guess girls relieve their stress differently but we were laughing at everything and anything. It was awesome! And then you look at the other end of the table and the Elders all had a "I can't learn Mongolian, and I'm so depressed" face. The sisters all laughed about that too.
Sunday and p-day will probably become one of my favorite days because there is no class and on Sunday there is alot of spiritual activities like a fireside, church, district meetings, studying, etc. It was a great stress reliever. But over the first three days I was still thinking about my lack of teaching ability and my knowledge of the gospel. But my prayer was answered on Tuesday at the Devotional. A former 70s member spoke about missionary work and testimonies. It finally dawned on me that all we need is a testimony to preach the gospel. A testimony will bring the Spirit and the Spirit does the converting. The rest of teaching requires practice and study which I will have three months to do.
On Tuesday, me and my companion, Sister Adams (from Beaver, Utah; went to Utah State and is studying Economics; I'm about a foot taller than her; long brown hair) taught a short lesson to one of our Mongolian teachers, Brother Cannon. He told us that we will have to teach differently than we would a Catholic. The Mongolians know nothing about Christ and Buddha is their God. So we have to teach a primary-like lesson and define alot of words like Atonement, Prophet, Priesthood, Apostle. It went pretty well and I wasn't nervous which is a first but I stumbled over my words and cried when I read the First Vision in our lesson. I hope those tears come in handy when I teach to the Mongolians because it seems that I won't break the habit of crying everytime a say something spiritual.
Learning Mongolian has been hard but it amazing to see the Lord's hand in the work. My second day we learned the alphabet and by Sunday we could sound out words even though it would take longer. But after a week, we could sound out words faster and bear our testimonies in Mongolian. Next Friday, we're going to teach the first lesson in Mongolian. The Lord will have to show some miracles because that will be tough.
Yesterday we went to the RC where people call in about the commercials on TV and we ship them DVDs and Book of Mormons. Yesterday we made outgoing calls where we make sure people get their shipment. That was pretty frustrating because some people got angry at me because we kept calling or they weren't interested. We are asked by the MTC to try and bear our testimonies to them but I couldn't think on my feet on what to say next. It was quite frustrating and I still hate being that way.
(Mom my watch broke, I think it was one of the links, so I will ship it back to you and the other links that were taken off are in the envelope I gave you.)
Love you all,
Sister Amber Sumsion
Monday, June 22
A Little About Mongolia and the Church
Mongolia, commonly known as the Land of Blue Skies, is located between Russia on the north and China on the south. It is a developing country, after having been under Soviet domination for nearly seventy years. Since 1990, after the Soviet Union fell, Mongolia has seen dramatic changes with new businesses, new products, new ideas and new government. Ulaanbaatar is the capital city with approximately one million people living either in ger (tent) districts or in apartments. The rest of the 2.9 million people live in the countryside — in small cities or out in open spaces.
The dominant religion in Mongolia is Buddhism, but Christian religions are taking hold. The membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing steadily, however it is relatively new to organized missionary work. The first missionaries actually began their service in September of 1992, prior to Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s dedication of the land to missionary work in 1993. There are now nearly 8,000 members in Mongolia. The total number of LDS-owned chapels in Mongolia is ten with two districts, twenty branches and now a new stake, as of June 2009. There are 170 young missionaries and 14 senior couples.
Missionaries are only allowed in Mongolia under the direction of Deseret International Charities, a foundation directed towards teaching English in schools, businesses and government offices. All missionaries are required to teach English 12 hours per week. One cannot mention the Church while teaching English, but if people ask about it outside the classroom, the missionaries may teach them.
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