Tuesday, February 19, 2013

HAPPY (CANADIAN) FAMILY DAY!!!!!

(From Sheryl) We received a note from Janelle's Mission President, telling us her P-Day would be changed this week, from Monday to Tuesday, due to a Canadian holiday - FAMILY DAY!  Janelle asks the question (and I second it!)..."I wonder now why America doesn't have this splendid holiday.  Why not?" Hmmm....very good question, Jaybay!  :0)

Mum, Pops, Family and Friends!!!

Hey hey hey! Oh my goodness, may I just start off by apologizing to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day??!?! Oh man, I am so sorry. But I WAS thinking about you and how much I love you on that wonderful holiday!!! :) And to wish you yet another happy holiday...HAPPY FAMILY DAY!!! that's right! Here in good 'ol Canada, they actually have a family day! and how great is that??? I wonder now why America doesn't have this splendid holiday. why not? I mean, we celebrate mothers, fathers, and grandparents day, so why not the family as a whole, eh? So I am invoking it now, ready go. :) It was a great day for us, missionaries, because as we did some tracting, we found almost everyone home with their family!!! PRIME!:) We came in contact with a few less active families in our ward and actually got a new investigator out of it yesterday!! Her name is Sam, and she is the daughter of a less active mother who got baptized 2 years ago. she also lives with her 2 other sisters and her step-father who is not welcoming to the LDS church but, surprisingly, was kind to us. Sam is 15 and is excited to understand more of the Book of Mormon. She comes off as a bossy big sister but is such a softy!!!:) She LOVES God and is interested in learning more so we're rather excited to teach her!:)

As for your letter last week, mom, I apologize that I neglected to respond to many of the things you asked!! sowwy...:) so lemme do a few shoutouts to those I was informed about last week...ahem...
SHAILOR SMITH!!!! oh my goodness, sweetheart, congratulations on your call! Cleveland is a lucky area to be getting someone as INCREDIBLE as you!!!:) I am so proud of you and know you're going to be an UNSTOPPABLE missionary!:) missionary/cousin pen pals? yes, please! :) Congratulations!
FUTURE MISSIONARIES OF THE ALPINE 5TH WARD (or any who read this:))!!! um, you better let me know where you get called to, my youngens!:) I am so excited for you all and know that this is going to be an AWESOME experience for you! It is for me, for sure!!!:) and just in case you are anything like me in thinking that you're not ready or capable of being the missionary He needs you to be, take it from me: the Lord knows you and WILL help you. It's HIS mission, not yours, so He will not leave you alone, I can promise you that!!! You're simply an instrument in HIS hands, just work your hardest, open your mouth, and I promise you, He will prompt you on what words need to be spoken. I've been out here for only 1 transfer and I have seen it happen COUNTLESS times!!! It's an incredible experience and seriously, your fears are pointless because He helps you more than you can imagine. Put your trust and faith in Him and I promise you, it WILL work out! :) I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

I think it's bout that time to jump into...QUESTION TIME!!!


1.  What's the update on Lloyd?
He came to church on sunday and LOVED it!!!:) Come to find out later, he was answering questions in priesthood, too, without being asked!! and correctly, too!!!:) He's a golden one, that's for sure! He's still reading and praying but doesn't have an exact answer if it's true yet, but he's still working towards March 3rd! Thank you for your prayers on his behalf!!!
2.  Maria?
oh maria...we got a call from her son james on wednesday telling us she wants to stop taking the lessons. She feels its true but doesn't want to switch religions, so we don't think she truly understands it all right now. She'll be contacted in the future and we'll pray for her daily. She knows it's true, we can tell, but Satan is working very hard on her right now, so she just needs to sort it all out.
3.  Sheila?
Sheila is doing well. She was sick on sunday so she couldn't come to church but we taught her the Plan of Salvation this past week and she said it made sense, but she wanted to pray about it because afterlife is a very new idea for her. Of course, we understand that! So we're praying for her as well. She has another appointment this week and she is praying with her kids, so our next step is to try and get her kids involved in the lessons!:)
4.  Did you get your Valentine package?  (When?.....before or after Valentine's Day)?
sure did!!! we got it on the 15th, so the day after but boy, were we excited about the oreos!!!!:) thank you SOOOOOOO much! Canada's got NOTHING on American Oreos, lemme tell ya...!:) oh and I wish you had seen S. Messer and I try and put together that Valentines puzzle. We looked ridiculous...it took us a good 5 minutes to put together that preschool puzzle. good times...:)
5.  What did you do on Valentine's Day?
We had our weekly planning, contacted, had a dinner appointment with the Hindles-an elderly couple in our ward-and then celebrated the holiday with a homemade "red stuff found in a sister missionary apartment heart". oh! and our investigator, Lloyd, knew we were away from our families, so he sent us a picture that morning of a bouquet of flowers that said "Happy Valentines Day!" He's just so great!:) It was a great day, for sure!!!
6.  Funniest moment of the week...?
oh my goodness, do I have a story for you all!!! haha ok so at an appointment with a member last Tuesday, we had dinner with a widowed woman who lives with her 3 cats and 1 dog. as we're dishing out our ice cream, s. Richardson jumps up (and she's a slow moving elderly woman) and starts running through the house looking for something. S messer and I were incredibly confused until I smelled something awful burning. I immediately jumped up to help her look for what I thought was a fire until I realized that she's looking for her cat. Confused why she's looking for the cat in a time of a fire, her cat walks into the kitchen, it's whole side of fur shriveled and black. yes. the cat caught his fur on fire because of a candle sitting low on a table. the fire was out and he was fine because he himself didn't get hurt, just his fur, but as s. richardson was talking to the cat, s. messer and I were trying SOOOO hard not to laugh. the cat was already quite freaky looking but with half of its fur just singed and his eyes huge and the smell horrid, oh my goodness, it was so hard not to laugh!!! ah man...good times, eh?:)
7.  Most spiritual moment of the week?
Teaching our new investigator Shawn! :) He was a referral from the elders in our zone and we taught him the restoration on sunday. It was an incredible experience, as we could tell that he felt the Spirit as we taught him. It was hard to keep it in there, though, because his dogs kept coming in and interrupting, but for the most part, it was a great lesson, as the Spirit was definitely there. He says he will be baptized on March 17th if he knows it's true!!!:) He says he was baptized into the protestant faith 9 years ago but it didn't feel right, so if he feels this is right, he'd definitely want to be baptized!:) I LOVE how the Holy Ghost teaches, so simply and so powerfully!!!! How beautiful that feeling is!!!:)
8.  What did you do for Statutory Holiday (aka FAMILY DAY) yesterday?  
We celebrated our companionship family (and you guys, of course!:)) at a place called Harveys last night. It's like subway but burger style. and oh my goodness, so delicious!!!:) and the day, like up top, was spent contacting and visiting less actives and referrals we've received and finding Sam!!!:)
9.  Describe a normal day for a sister missionary in the Canada Toronto Mission...
well aside from the usual wake up, study, and eat, we put on a few layers to conquer the cold, we talk to EVERYONE on the street, ride buses a LOT :), visit the less-actives and investigators we have, find more investigators, and laugh and smile every moment! S. Messer and I play a game each day entitled "tell me a story bout...." and we fill in the blank with random words and then tell a memory of our lives. let's just say we've gotten to know each other VERY well over the past few weeks....:)
10.  And now for the question you've been waiting for....is there anything specific you'd like me to add to the package I'll be sending off later today???
oh dear....um....how about a surprise? we like surprises...:)

Well, my dearest people in the whole wide world, know that I LOVE every single one of you! Seriously, I have felt your prayers every day as I strive to work my hardest out here! Please know that I am not out here because I might think this gospel is true or that I think the Book of Mormon is a book full of clever ideas, but that I KNOW that this gospel is true!!! I KNOW that my Heavenly Father lives and loves me and you! I KNOW that life is hard work sometimes but that it is a small price to pay for the everlasting happiness that we can experience one day if we but keep God's commandments! I KNOW that timing is everything as we live each day, and that God knows what He's doing as He has His hand in EVERYDAY of our lives! I love this gospel SOOO much and wish the best for each of you this week! Keep that smile on your face, the Book of Mormon in your hands, a prayer in your heart and the Lord right in front of you and you will be INCREDIBLE!:)

Love you all now and forever!
Sister Janelle:)

Missionary Invitation #5: It being a week of love and family, tell someone you have been neglecting that you love them, truly and sincerely, as well as write a missionary you know! no, this is not an invitation for you to write me, I promise, so write someone that's not me, how's that?:) Bear them your testimony and share a little love and appreciation this week! Love and family, isn't it about...time?:)


1 comment:

  1. Love the family day idea! Loved your comment "it's His mission not yours" and His it is! The gospel makes so much sense the more I "live it" funny how we make life a problem when it doesn't have to be.... Solution is so simple Keep the Commandments! Wishing you a successful week Janelle as you endeavor to do His will :0) u ROCK!!!! I am headed to Boise this week to tend Jennifer's children as she and Ben vacation to Mexico. Looking forward to time there :0) love to you always, Aunt Lauren

    ReplyDelete