4-26-2010

Overall it has been a pretty amazing week! We have a lesson with an older lady, Miss Brannen, who is in her early 80's and has a son that is a member and works for the Orlando temple. She has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Also, she calls herself a dry Mormon. we usually just drop by every now and then and share a little message, but nothing comes of it. On Tuesday night, we stopped by with Brother Hewitt. We started off talking about a living prophet, which led to baptism not sure how but the spirit took it there. We committed her to be baptized on June 3!!!! Her son is going to be out at that time so he will be able to do it! Now we just have to teach her all the lesson. It was a powerful lesson and it is amazing to see where it goes when the spirit guides.

We also had a really good less with a less active, Gloria Foster, who's in her early 60's. We talked all about coming back to church. She knows that she needs to get temple ready, because her mother is waiting for her to do her work. Sister Richan and I both felt the spirit penetrate our hearts and testified that her mother is waiting and she needs to come back and we want her back. Wow! It was powerful. I had been having a really bad day that day and was just not feeling right. I didn't feel like I was in a place where I could really be what the lord needed me to be. Even though, I was not feeling right, I was still working which allowed the Lord to testify to Gloria and me. It was just what I needed to make the rest of the day better. Also, she had 3 wolves, 2 timber and 1 British Colombian that were 4 and 5 months old. They were stinking cute the just mald us by licking us. It basically made my day after having such a great lesson. I got pictures that all send later.

We are super excited for a new investigator that we will be teaching tomorrow night. 2 weeks ago at church there was a lady that Sister Richan and I didn't recognize. We introduced ourselves, but didn't get a chance to find out any info. Well, at church that day the stake Sunday school president was speaking and he recognized her. He was an attorney in town and she was also an attorney in town. He told us if we knew her and we didn't have any info on her, I know kind embarrassing. He called us back later in the week with all of her info. On Sunday this pass week, she was there again! Sister Richan and I went over and introduces our selves. She is super interested in taking the discussion and invited us over for dinner and a lesson on Tuesday night. We talked to the Sunday school President and he said she called him and was wanting us to come twice a week to teach her! We are so excited! We have been working so so hard lately and feel like I am going no where. This experience makes it so all I want to do is work even harder, because blessing come but only after you do the work.

hope all is well! LOVE YOU!

love,

Sister Whipple

What Up!

Well it was a pretty busy week! We aren't sure how to get more people to teach, but were doing the best we can. We have set a goal to track everyday this week. It's not the most productive, but shows the lord that we're willing and really do want to work. We have been having some pretty good success working with less actives. It's a little easier for us to hunt down less actives seeing as over half of our ward is less active. If all the less actives were active we would have to split our ward. it is really crazy to Sister Richan and I how many less actives there are and most of them are women who have been offended. We were visiting with the Relief Society President and she listed about 4 or 5 women off the top of her head who were former Relief Society Presidents who were offended and are now less active. Its crazy, so we have been working hard on saving souls. We had some really good experiences with some less actives this week and several invited us back.
One really cool experience we had this week was with a former investigator, Terry. We had visited her several weeks ago. When we first started talking to us she was cold, angry, and annoyed that we were there. As we kept talking she softened up and by the end of the conversation she said we could come back. We stopped by again on Saturday and she said she had found her large print book of Mormon and she would like us to come over and teach her. We set up an appointment for next week. We are super excited, because when they were teaching her last she had a baptismal date and everything. It was when they got to the part about the word of wisdom and she wasn't about to have people tell her what she can and can't drink. Since they last taught her she has lost her daughter, she was disabled and had various health problems, and is taking care of an elderly uncle. She seemed really interested. We are super excited to teach her and we'll see what happens.
We also had a really powerful/fun lesson with Eddie this week. Sister Richan came up with a game in order to teach the lesson. Eddie does better with the lessons if he feels like everyone is involved and he isn't the center of attention. Well, we put together note cards with questions, statements, scriptures, and made a few commitment cards. we just went around and everyone would draw a card and read it. We had two members there with us so it went really well. Usually, Eddie won't read the scriptures or answer questions, but he was doing both of those. It was a huge break through. He is beginning to get comfortable with is and trust us. It was a really good lesson and the spirit was still there even when we were laughing.

We had zone conference this week super powerful as always! It was suppose to focus just on the atonement, but when you let the spirit guide that's not exactly what you end up with. We focused a lot on how do you do what we know and continue doing that or in other words how do you avoid the flashy beginning and fade out finish? We made a huge list and ended up deciding the simplest thing to do is just commit to act. It was a way good conference.I don't have enough time to talk about it so I am going to give you some power phrases from it:

"[the atonement] is simple to feel, impossible to explain and until it enters our heart it is not ours" -president Summerhayes

"live today well! Let yesterday be a vision of beauty and tomorrow a vision of hope" -president

"you don't have to creep up on change, just do it"

"Forget the past and keep moving"

"Their isn't any righteous dream or desire that you can't get through the atonement" -president

"Be happy! It will make a world of difference"

It was a really great conference. I love my mission president. It was powerful!


It was a good week. Sister Richan and I are working really hard. Doing the best we can. We love working!

LOVE,
SISTER WHIPPLE

April 5, 2010

Hey family,

Hope you all enjoyed conference. If you didn't get to watch it make the time to. I promise that an answer to your prayers was answered this weekend.

It was a crazy week and I loved it. We are working with several investigators right now. One of our teaching appointment that was most powerful to for me and Sister Richan was with our investigator, Eddie. Eddie is 19, mom is a recent convert (august last year). He is super shy and does really give us much to go on, but he is a sponge. He absorbs everything we teach him. He thinks about it and gets it. You always here the phase "searching for something" but it is never really that visible in people's live. In Eddie you can tell that he is truly searching for something. We had a really powerful lesson with him on Wednesday. We focused on the Jesus Christ and the resurrection. We talked about knowing Jesus Christ and that it is an individual process. You have to know him for yourself. Eddie never answers questions when we ask, but he did that night. I gave a powerful response. He is beginning to trust us which is huge.

Sister Richan and I had a powerful experience this week. We have gone by and visited a less active, Jackie , last week and had scheduled a teaching appointment for Tuesday. Jackie is struggling to put it lightly. She is trying to do the best she can with her two kids. We decided that we wanted to watch finding faith in Christ. The movie is very powerful. After it was over Jackie said she felt like she had been "persecuted by the spirit." We ask how so? She said she knows that she is making bad choices and that the she knows that she needs to change. We talked about the process of coming to know our savior. Jackie has a long hard road ahead of her to get where she wants to be. Its overwhelming for her. We simply said that it takes baby steps. All we want her to do is commit to say a prayer. She was super hesitant about committing, but knew that was what she needed to do. Then, she told us about how she has no food in the house to feed her kids. She asked who do I call to get help. Of course, we had no idea, so we said we make some calls. The relief society presidency ended up setting an appointment for her with Bishop. Jackie was stressed out because she felt like she couldn't ask for help because she doesn't go to church. She went to her interview. It was powerful. She said it reminder her of why she joined the church. the Bishop challenge her to do one thing...say one prayer a day! She committed to do it. We visited her a few days later and she had been praying. Then, on Saturday right before conference she called us. Sister Richan talked to her. She said she could hear the joy in her voice. Jackie thanked us for out genuine love for her. We really do love her. She wished she was surround by people like us and could hang out with us everyday. She felt the spirit through us. It was really powerful. Sister Richan and I were feeling down because we hadn't had "success." Jackie made us realize that we were where we needed to be and the spirit wanted us to be. At the end of the conversation, she said she had prayed that morning and planned to pray that night! On Sunday morning we both felt like we should invite Jackie to come to conference. She is concerned about people judging her, not being properly dressed, and not taking the sacrament. All of those concerns would not be a problem at conference. We showed up really confident she would come. She shut us down! On Sunday night, she called and told us of her awful day. She said she should have gone with us, because she would have had the spirit with her and could hang out with us all day. She said she turned away a blessing and promised (which she doesn't ever promise to do something unless she full intends to keep it) to never turns us away. it was powerful. we told her tomorrow is a day full of choices. She needs to start making choices just for herself and her kids. She told us she looked forward to reporting her good choices of Monday to us on Tuesday.

It is truly amazing to recognize when the spirit is working though you. Sister Richan and I are loving life and love being missionaries.

Conference was especially powerful. I ate up every second of it! I do have to say that Elder Holland is my boy. He just speaks with so much power and passion. His talk was bold and to the point. Also, one little moment I loved was when they read the members of the church, 13,...,..4 members. I like to think that the four on the end was the 4 new converts her in Lynn Haven, Florida. It was really cool, because Martha Hopkins was sitting next to me for Saturday morning session. It was really powerful to had President Monson welcome the new members of the church and have one right next to me and to have an investigator on the other side of sister Richan.

It was a week full of powerful experiences. I pray for you all the time (I have calluses on my knees which I didn't anticipate) and truly am grateful to have been blessed with a the family that I have. As I meet new people everyday my appreciation for my Heaven Father for putting me with my family grows. thank you for all the love support.

LOVE YOU!

Love,

Sister Whipple

PS: I love being a missionary, because at times I feel my name tag says tell me all your deepest darkest secrets. People at random are constantly pouring their souls to us and giving us too much information. I really do love it though. I just love being in the know. I guess the name Whiskers really will stick.