Lost & Found (9/15)

So much happened this week (and two days)! I don't even know where to start!

We had an awesome three-day training last week (which was why P-day was Monday). We had lessons from our mission president on being better missionaries... following the Spirit, using the Book of Mormon, asking inspired questions, etc. All week we've been trying to implement the things we've learned, and as a result have had some great teaching opportunities, where the Spirit was really strong!

During the training at lunch time each day we had an ice breaker activity... on the second day we had a paper airplane contest. Hermana Jones and I were favorites to win because both our dads work for Boeing. I'm proud to say I came in second for the entire zone... I built an airplane instead of a jet! :)

We seemed to get lost a lot more than usual this week... both times trying to find places that are not on our map. And both times we had pretty lame directions. The second time this week was yesterday and we were out in the middle of NOWHERE! Literally, picture the most vast desert/plain you can imagine... it was worse. The directions were to take a right after the bridge and follow the dirt road about 5 miles until you hit a house. We figured it couldn't be that hard...we just had to find the right turn-off. Well, apparently our definition of a bridge (a structure over a large body of water of gulf of land) was not accurate, and you have to know the area to know what they are talking about. The county road was not on any map or GPS and we had no cell phone service to call the family.

After driving around the same area looking for the road for almost an hour we finally found some random people to ask for better directions. Fortunately everyone in this area knows their neighbors (even when they are miles apart)... BUT they gave us the exact same directions, with a less than accurate description of the bridge.

We tried again, but still no luck, so we finally got out and tried to look if we could see a road better if we weren't driving... no, BUT we had one tiny little bar of service, so we were able to call the family, get a better landmark to go by and FINALLY made it to the appointment!

All the driving around, wasted time, and miles on our car were worth it because we had a great lesson. We had planned to teach the Restoration because we thought that the lady of the couple (Nita) was an investigator... she wasn't... but both her and her boyfriend (Mike) had been baptized at a young age, but had never really attended church. In fact, a month ago was the first sacrament meeting Mike had ever attended in his entire life, even though he is a member of the church.

So we started to teach the Restoration anyway, but only made it to talking about families, and Nita got excited because she said that's what she had been thinking about for the past couple days.... they have been talking about getting married in the temple! We decided to follow the detour and instead of finishing the Restoration, we read the Family Proclamation... they loved it, and we had a great discussion with them about their goals.

Side note: About half way through the lesson Aunt Gloria walked in... she is 85 years old, with long silver hair, and was wearing gray leggings, a red flannel shirt, and was carrying a walking stick. I wish I could describe her to you in a way that you would know exactly what I mean, but she was epic! I loved her, and the best part was her short term memory loss, which meant that she asked me where I was from at least 10 times, and told us "I'm nine of a ten litter" about half a dozen times. It was like talking to Dori from Finding Nemo... awesome!

Anyway, back to Mike and Nita. As I said they have never really attended church their entire lives, but the main reason they have come back is because they have had a solid home teacher that for years has made the trek out to their ranch every single month. Basically, they were lost, but because of the guidance of one man, they are starting to find their way.

Just as we were lost and had to rely on a call to "the source" to finally find our way, so it is with life. The difference is that the spiritual GPS and maps that we have will never fail us. The scriptures are a source of truth and will guide us in the right direction. We must always remember to "call" our Heavenly Father in sincere prayer. He will lead us, guide us, and walk beside us.

I also have to put in my plug for Home and Visiting Teaching... If this sweet couple did not have a solid home teacher there is NO way they would have EVER started coming to church again. As members of the church we have such an important duty on our way to find those other lost sheep who have wandered off the path. This family is an excellent example of how one dedicated servant of the Lord went WAY out of his way to help them come back, and now they are preparing to enter the temple... that's what it's all about!

Good luck on your way, and find those lost sheep!

Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

PICTURES:
TOP - Hermana Jones & I with our airplanes.
BOTTOM - Our whole zone after the training meeting.

Whirlwinds (8/31)

This has been a crazy crazy week... so many things going on!!!

First of all, I am sick! It is kind of annoying, but it's just a cold, but I'm on the uphill getting over it. There's definitely been something going around this valley... EVERYONE we see is either sick or getting sick. They say in a small town news travels fast, but apparently so do germs!

It is starting to feel like autumn weather, and I love it. There was a breeze on Sunday that just had that distinct hint of fall. (Side note: Springerville, Arizona is officially the windiest city in the United States - take that Chicago!). Anyway, the weather is still beautiful, even though I've been wearing sweaters more often recently. I'm not looking forward to the snow though, which they say can start in October. Hermana Jones the other day commented "I don't know how to drive in the snow." I replied "I don't know how to proselyte in the snow!!"

In other big news we had a baptism literally fall out of the sky this week. The Elders want us to pray for "baptisms from the sky" all the time, but usually I don't like that phrase because it seems to imply a lack of hard work. Anyway, we got a call Wednesday night about a lady, Wanda, coming up here from Queen Creek (my last area!) that wanted to be baptized this weekend. It was a very unique situation because she is 79 years old and has a terminal illness, so time was a sensitive issue. We met her on Thursday with our Stake President, taught her the lessons on Friday (we actually just reviewed - she had been taught most of them in the valley), she was baptized on Saturday, and confirmed on Sunday. It was kind of a whirlwind week for us trying to pull it all together, but we made it work. She had a TON of family there to support her, and her baptism ceremony was awesome. Everyone kept telling us what a wonderful job we did, but we didn't feel like we did anything!

On Saturday we also had the incredible opportunity to go down to Tempe to hear from Elder Hallstrom (of the Presidency of the Seventy) and Elder L. Tom Perry. We had to wake up at 3am to make it down there on time, but it was totally worth it. Elder Hallstrom talked about teaching and learning by the spirit, so that we can instruct and edify each other (D&C 43:8) He commented that we all need to repent for something... something that is keeping us from coming closer to our Heavenly Father, and we should use every meeting to help us do that (including Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School, RS/Priesthood, Home/Visiting Teaching, missionary lessons, etc.) There is no reason for us to be bored in any of these meetings, IF we have the Spirit. He involved us a lot during his talk, and at one point asked how many of us knew the very first word to the Doctrine and Covenants. A few people raised their hands, including myself, and he called on me to answer... fortunately I was right when I answered "Hearken". (Thank you Brother Hamilton for an awesome seminary lesson from ninth grade that I still remember!)

Elder Perry was so amazing to listen to as well. Before he started we all got to go up and greet him - it was so cool to shake the hand of an apostle of the Lord! The Spirit that was there really just confirms my testimony that he is a called, ordained, and sustained servant of the Lord. He spoke about the apostasy and restoration... it was basically the first lesson we teach to our investigators, only it was perfect. You would think it would be boring for us to hear the same thing again after we've heard it/teach it a hundred thousand times, but it wasn't! He used interesting scriptures and asked thought-provoking questions, and of course testified so strongly. I was certainly instructed and edified, and learned some new things I can incorporate into my teaching.

Let's see... I have so much to write, and not enough time!

Yesterday, Hermana Jones and I were studying repentance and talking about some of the needs of our investigators. We finished our discussion and I sighed and said "That's what it's all about!" So... that evolved into what we now call the "Repentance Pokey" It goes something like this:

You put your dirty hands in,
You take your clean hands out,
You put your dirty hands in,
And you work it all out.
You do the Repentance Pokey and you turn your heart around...
That's what it's all about!!

We pretty much thought it was hilarious, and thought it would be fun to use with primary kids, but I don't think Hermana Jones ever thought I would actually pull it out in a lesson, but I did! Last night we were teaching Ronnie about the gospel, and when we talked about repentance I told him about the song. I didn't sing it for him, but he (and all 6 of the other members who were there with us) absolutely loved it! Feel free to use it, but know that Hna. Jones and I are working on the copyright. :)

I have more to tell you, but we're really short on time... we're trying to get through here as quickly as possible since we're on our way to New Mexico. We're going as a district to eat Pie in a little town called Pietown! I'll send you pictures and give you more of an update next week!

Sorry if this one feels rushed. I still love you!

Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

Pictures - TOP - Wanda, in the middle, with a good portion of her family.

BOTTOM - Hermana Jones picking which cold medicine to use. She was sick first, but between the drugs she had, the drugs members gave us, and those she bought (as you can see) she's doing significantly better :)

Happy Labor Day (9/6)

This week went by pretty quick, but I guess it hasn't technically been a full week since I last wrote... we have three days worth of meetings this week (starting tomorrow) so they had to push our P-day back to today. We didn't realize it was Labor Day until a few days ago... The public library is closed, but fortunately we still get to email - a member let us into the Stake Family History Center.

So first of all Pietown update: There was a lot more anticipation than anything. It took way longer than expected (GPS said 50 miles; 45 minutes, but it was actually 77 miles and closer to 1 1/2 hours!). Anyway we got there and the pie shop was CLOSED! You can imagine our dismay, especially because we had all been fasting all day. (For blessings... nothing to do with pie :) Luckily, Hermana Jones' cousin lives in the area, so by some crazy coincidences (blessings?) we were able to get in touch with her and we went to her house for peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. It was quite the adventure, and slightly disappointing, but definitely a p-day we will never forget!

Our investigator Ronnie got baptized on Saturday! I haven't told you much about him, so here you go...

Ronnie is 18 years-old, just graduated from High School this year and is dating an LDS girl, Camrie. He first took the lessons in March, but got busy with a new job, and still being in school so he stopped meeting with the sisters. He called us a few weeks ago and told us he wanted to take the lessons... We were obviously pretty excited seeing as that NEVER happens! Anyway we scheduled an appointment to meet with him at Camrie's aunt's house. We showed up, but he didn't. When we talked to their family they were worried he might just be doing it for Camrie and wasn't really that interested (that's what they kind of thought before). They also told us where he was living (not our area, which meant we'd have to turn him over to the Elders anyway). We were also bummed that he hadn't at least let us know that he wasn't going to make it to the lesson.

Well, we finally got in touch with him (he had tried to call us to reschedule, but had our number wrong). We set up another appointment for the next day. Right away he asked us how many lessons there were before he could get baptized, and he said he had been thinking a lot about being baptized. We told him there are not set number, but we could set a date for his baptism and meet with him as often as necessary to prepare him for that important step. He agreed, and we decided on Sept. 4, less than two weeks from that day.

That night we taught him the first lesson, and it was AWESOME! The Spirit was super strong and he said we answered all his questions - he said everything we explained made perfect sense! Over the next two weeks we taught him the rest of the lessons, and he became more and more excited about each one. He told us that after every time he met with us he could not stop smiling! He also said when he opened the Book of Mormon to read he couldn't put it down! He was actually excited to keep his commitments, and when we committed him to live the word of wisdom and law of chastity he said "Heck yes!"

Basically, he was as golden as they come. His baptismal service was awesome, and the confirmation went well... he had a lot of support from friends and family. Yesterday fast and testimony meeting in his ward was ALL about missionary work. It seemed like the whole meeting was just for him - everyone that got up talked about how wonderful their mission experience was, or shared their conversion story, or raved about how exciting missionary work is in general. We are REALLY hoping that Ronnie decides to serve a mission when he is eligible in a year. We've mentioned it before and he said he's definitely thought about it in the past.

This whole situation was really a miracle... having someone so ready placed right onto our laps was such a blessing... definitely an answer to our prayers. The Lord loves us and He wants all of his children to have His gospel. I feel privileged to have been the one to teach Ronnie, and I know that he was truly prepared. It is the coolest thing to see how happy the gospel makes him, and all those who choose to accept and LIVE it.

Hope you all had a fabulous Labor Day and a fantastic week.

Much Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

This Week's Picture - (L-R) Me, Hermana Jones, Camrie & Ronnie

Cupcakes (8/24)

I love the people here! There are so many wonderful hometown folks - members and nonmembers alike, as well as many crazy people that we enjoy for entertainment... is that bad? Anyway, we talked to this sweet old lady the other day, Winnie, who is quite possibly insane, but also very lonely. She didn't want to talk to us at first, but once we got her going, she didn't stop! She told us all about her modeling career back east, and how recently she was looking at greeting cards at Safeway and saw herself on one of the cards... "I'm on an American Greeting!!" Anyway, she continued to detail her life story for us, and we're really not sure how much of it is true, but that's OK! After about 45 minutes we finally broke loose and went to talk to a recent convert in the same apartment complex. Winnie could still see us and called us back saying "I have cupcakes for you girls!" The funny part is that they were completely frozen, but it was so nice that she wanted to do something for us.

Yesterday was a miracle day! We had a meeting in Show Low in the morning, and then came back to Eagar to work for the rest of the day. Our first lesson was with Gary... he was a referral from a member a couple weeks ago, and we knew he was very interested in the church, but we had a hard time setting up an appointment with him because he just started a new job. Anyway, we taught him the Restoration last week and yesterday the Plan of Salvation. He mentioned he was very much looking forward to his baptism so we gave him a baptism date. All of us were excited, and it's awesome to see his understanding of how important that step is.

Then, later that night almost the same thing happened. We met with a young man named Ronnie for the first time (he has met with Sisters in the past, but also had scheduling conflicts because of work). He also mentioned baptism right away, and after we explained the Restoration to him we decided to pick a date for his baptism. Ronnie was adamant that it be as soon as possible, and we certainly weren't going to object. He's been coming to church, and reading the Book of Mormon, so he already really has a testimony; he knows he needs to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (which he's excited for) to continue to progress.

I am so amazed at the way the Lord prepares specific people and puts them in our path. Sometimes I struggle to understand what I'm doing differently in the times when we have less "success" - as far as I can see I'm working just as hard and being just as obedient. We do get blessings for our diligence and obedience, but it isn't only about us. Things happen on the Lord's timing and in His way. As long as we continue to do our part He will eventually bless us with the things we need.

He loves each and every one of His children, and for that reason has given us the gospel. It is amazing to see the effects it has in people's lives each and every day, and I am so grateful to have it in my own. I was studying in Enos this week, and found his experience (really his personal conversion) very interesting. We know that his father, Jacob, had faith that could not be shaken (Jacob 7:5). Enos had been taught by his father, but came to a point in his life that he couldn't rely on his father's testimony anymore. I think that's one of the reasons he went to pray, and did indeed have a testimony building experience where his own faith "began to be unshaken in the Lord" (Enos 1:11).

Each of us, even those who have been raised in the Church, has to have a personal conversion. We must each commune with our Heavenly Father on a personal level and he will grant us faith and a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. He will help us embrace the gospel, have a "change of heart", and give us the strength we need to LIVE our testimonies. The gospel of Jesus Christ truly changes lives and I am so grateful to be a part of helping people recognize that.

Thanks for all your support!

Love,

Hermana Ouellette

PICTURE CAPTION - can't see it very well, but these are our frozen cupcakes from Winnie. Also - that's my new companion, Hermana Jones.

Invite to the Party (8-17)

It has only been a couple of days since I last wrote, but it feels like a lot longer. Hermana Jones and I are enjoying working together, and I am loving introducing her to all the people (many of them very crazy) that we know. She is an English major, and wants to write books, so she is getting tons of ideas for characters. We laugh every night as we discuss our daily adventures and interactions with people.

One of our investigators, Mike, has progressed so much recently. Yesterday, he finally admitted that he pretty much knows the church is true... and he should by now... he's reading the Book of Mormon for the second time, and is also almost done with Doctrine & Covenants. Anyway, we have been inviting him to be baptized, but he said he feels he needs to stay at his church, and that maybe God just wants him to be an ally to the LDS Church from the outside. For some reason we can't get him to understand that if this really is the Lord's church, he needs to be a part of it.

We talked about how this is a missionary church and how he can be an ally to it even from within, and can (and should) help people as he says he wants to do. We used several analogies to try to get through to him, and one of them I really like was from a training we had with our mission president, President Howes. We were talking about our purpose as missionaries to "invite others to come unto Christ". I also recently read in 2 Nephi 25:23 how we "labor diligently to... persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ..." This is really what we do... all day every day. Anyway, President Howes put it this way:

Imagine you are planning an incredible party but as you start inviting people to it you tell them how awesome it will be, but then say you're actually not going to be there. "You should go to this party, I hear there will be great food and music, but I don't really want to go". How much stronger is the invitation when you say "I am having a party and it's going to be great and I and all my friends will be there so you should come too!!"... much more credible.

Brothers and Sisters, the gospel is the party! And you are all invited! And you are encouraged to invite others, but you have to be willing to come too! We have been called to invite people to the gospel of Jesus Christ but we have to be willing to live it ourselves. Our friends and family around us will have very little desire to accept the gospel, if they can not see that we are excited about it and have received many blessings because of it.

Maybe you are afraid to invite people to the party is because you're not sure of the details... what time it starts, where it's going to be held, etc. I think one of the reasons we are sometimes are hesitant to share the gospel is because we are afraid we don't know enough, or that we won't be able to answer people's questions. But that should not stop you from inviting people... take the opportunity to do what you need to to find out... study, research, ask! I promise the answers are there, and the more we understand, the more excited we become.

The scriptures invite us all the time with "Come unto Him" and we need to invite others to do the same. Hopefully Mike will soon understand this, and I'm sure as we continue to help him resolve his doubts he will want to "come". Make sure you are in the right place to be able to invite others, and I know you will enjoy the party even more :) The closer we are to Christ, the happier we are, and the greater influence we can have to help others come unto Him.

Love you all,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

PICTURE CAPTION - On the left is Becca, whose parents will not let her "come to the party". She is awesome, and we have had a great time teaching her with lots of her friends (one of them, Holly, is on the right). She is leaving for college this week, but has promised to continue meeting with missionaries there, and I know that when the time is right she will be baptized.

Transfer Week

Sorry for no entry yesterday... it was transfer week again. Sister Emrazian and I weren't planning on transferring, so we were kind of taken by surprise when we found out she was leaving. Tuesday was kind of a commotion day trying to get ready for Wednesday... (like "Saturday is a special day, the day we get ready for Sunday.....") We drove to St. John's Tuesday evening, spent the night there at a member's home, and then left Wednesday morning at 5 am for the valley. It was a looong day of driving, but it was a good one.

So, I have a new companion - Hermana Jones. That means there are two Spanish speaking sister missionaries up here, even though this is not technically a Spanish area. We have hardly any Hispanic investigators or potentials right now, so it's kind of frustrating for me, but apparently with two of us up here there is SOMEONE that we are meant to find and teach.

Fun fact: Sister Jones and I were born in the same hospital. Well, I'm just assuming it's the same one - she's from Renton, Washington, and that's where I was born... how many hospitals can there possible be? Also, her dad works for Boeing, just like mine, so it's fun to have that in common as well!

We met the sweetest family this week, the Torres family, and started teaching them English. They were all so excited to learn (parents and two teenagers - on boy and one girl) and we were really excited to teach them. It was so incredible to me to see how much they value education - so many people in the US take it for granted how much access they have to education. I was so impressed by how precious learning is to the Torres family, and how much it means to them. They were so appreciative of us. We taught them the alphabet, and after teaching, Sis. Emrazian and I sang the "A, B, C" song for them, and they loved it! Apparently they were shopping a few days later and found a doll that sang the alphabet song and bought it so they can remember.

We were planning on transitioning to teaching them the gospel - we had given them a copy of the Book of Mormon, but they have decided to return to Mexico. It's crazy how close we got to them in only a few days. They invited us to Mexico to stay with them after our missions, and when they come back to Eagar in October (we'll see if I'm still here then) we're going to start meeting with them again. Plus, we promised them the missionaries in Mexico will come visit them.

We had a booth at Eagar Daze (I wish I had a picture for you, but it's on Sister Emrazian's camera)... we had literature including free Books of Mormon, and pamphlets, etc. We talked to tons of people (mostly members) but there was one girl from Dallas, TX that came and talked to us and took a Book of Mormon. She was fairly young (teenager) but really seemed interested. She gave us her information so we can send missionaries to her house in Texas.

I'm so grateful for the worldwide organization of the church, and that when we meet someone that lives in another part of the world, we can make sure they still have the opportunity to learn about the gospel. Heavenly Father loves all of His children and wants them all to know of His love. It's so cool to me that there are 50,000+ young men and women doing the same thing I am all over the globe, ensuring that His purpose is fulfilled. The gospel is perfect, and the work will go forth!

Thank you for your love and support,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

I Believe in Christ

We got to do some more working with cows this week! Last night we were eating dinner with one of our ward mission leaders and his wife (the Penrod's - awesome family!) and he invited us to come over this morning and milk with him. So, we woke up early, got geared up and went over to milk ol' "Bessie" - that's really her name! We had fun (it was Sister Emrazian's first time), and to finish we went in and had home-made granola with fresh milk (from the day before so it would be cold) for breakfast! Last night at dinner we got to try the cheese Sister Penrod had made from the milk, and everything we had was just delicious! I love country life!

I just have a few other funny things I have to mention from this week. Both of them are funny things children have said to us...

Our apartment is right behind a family that has 10 kids, and often when we leave in the morning and walk through their yard there are children out there playing. They are always excited to see us, and say "Hi Sisters!" every time. One boy who is about 2, has started asking us where we are going, and every time we tell him we're going to work. Yesterday as we were leaving he asked us the same question and we gave him the same response and he just said "Again?!" We laughed and responded, "yes again!"... this is what we do all day every day! He told us he is going to be a missionary when he grows up... so I guess some day he'll understand.

The other situation was in a lesson with a less-active family with 3 kids - we were talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ and had taught them the first principles and ordinances with a bottle and a hard boiled egg - you have to get the egg (a person) into the bottle (the kingdom of God) through faith, repentance (peeling the egg), baptism by water (rinsing it off) and by fire (lighting a match and putting it into the bottle which sucks the egg in). Anyway, the kids loved it as they always do, and as we were reviewing the steps at the end of the lesson they answered faith... repentance... and then they got stuck so I started to prompt them with "ba...." and the four year old shouts "BATH PRISON!" Usually I can contain myself when something funny happens in a lesson, but I really just had to laugh for a good minute before I could pull myself together... it didn't help that my companion and the parents were laughing just as hard!

Well, enough of the funny things... onto the spiritual, I had some of those experiences this week too (just a few ;) that I wanted to share with you.

I have been thinking so much about the power of the Atonement, and some things happened on Sunday that make me think, and really helped me to understand some important principles of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

First of all, in Sacrament Meeting in the Spanish branch there was only one person there (apart from us, the American counselor, and the other English speakers who come as support... but for the sake of the example, ONE). Still the bread and water were still blessed and passed for this one man to partake. I thought about the significance of the Atonement, and how even if there were only one person that had lived on the earth, Christ would have still come to redeem that person's sins.

His love for us is infinite. I have come to love so many people here - our investigators, active and inactive members, and even people I talk to for a few small moments on the street. But the love that I have for each of them does not even compare to that of our Savior's for each of us. It is eternal, all-encompassing and literally incomprehensible.

As missionaries, we work so hard to help people come to understand the idea of His love. As Christ's representatives we become instruments in His hands to do His work on the earth. As such I believe we take upon ourselves some of the characteristics and feelings that he has for His children. I don't think people understand how much we care about them or more importantly how much our Savior cares about them, but the pain that we feel when someone rejects our (His) message is only a fraction of the pain He feels when someone rejects Him.

This is the second thing I learned this week as I thought about all the things we go through to bring the restored gospel to the lives of the people in this area. We labor so diligently all week, teaching, serving, helping, and inviting people closer to Christ. Sometimes, much of our effort is simply focused on the weekly goal of getting our investigators to church on Sunday. Each week it seems we work harder and harder to meet this goal, but again in the end each person has their agency and the decision to act is up to them. At the end of the week, I often feel how I imagine the Savior feels when His own children reject the invitation He offers to "come unto me". It hurts us to see the people who choose not to come (to Church, or more importantly unto Christ), but our suffering is NOTHING compared to His suffering. Having an idea of what He feels makes me want to work even harder to bring souls to Him.

To my family and friends and loved ones: I know that Jesus Christ has suffered infinitely for our sins, our afflictions, our pains, suffering and temptations, but we have to do our part to accept His help. We have to come and take His outstretched hand. The Atonement has already been performed and can be a very real power in our lives if we will only use it.

It is not enough to believe in Christ, but we have to believe Him. We have to follow His example, learn His words, and keep His commandments. I know that as we do these things we come closer to Him and can learn of the power of the Atonement and apply it in our lives; by so doing we are blessed. Believe in Christ, and believe Him.

Love always,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette