Mum, PahPea, Family and Friends!!
Hey hey hey! What a tremendous week filled with miracles, answered prayers, and inspiring words from our Father's Special Witnesses! How I LOVE General Conference so much!! I remember when the rest of the clan were on missions and they were talking about how General Conference was like Christmas morning for missionaries. um....TOTALLY IS! :) ah man, I love it so much! also, it made me giggle to hear all the snoring in the chapel during the last session, some got a bit tired....:)
There's just WAY too much to describe all that I learned from Conference, but one thing I loved hearing was President Uchtdorf talk about gratitude. ok, could we see a show of hands who had the "gratitude attitude" song stuck in there heads throughout the whole talk? I know most of the De Groot's did, that's for sure! :) I also loved Elder Cook talk about Family History. This work is something near and dear to my heart! :)
I could go on for eternity, but for now let's switch gears into QUESTION TIME, shall we? :)
1. Miss Peyton turns 4 on Wednesday! Any message for her?
Happy Birthday Miss P!!! my goodness, you are old! I hope you have a wonderful day filled with joy, family and food! The latter 2 are bound to bring the first! :) Love you dearly, sweetheart! Happy Birthday!
2. Do I dare ask if you took a picture of you and Sister Hansen wearing glasses?
sure did! see...sometimes I'm reliable! ;) yikes.... (and P.S. I look like Dorie!! haha)
3. How is our little friend, Bradley, doing?
Sadly, we are no longer able to meet with him. We were called by his father who told us he won't be attending church anymore. I'll be honest, it was a bit hard to hear that, but they said that we're still able to drop in every now and then to say hi, which is good. We're still on good terms, but Bradley is pretty sad. We went to see someone else in his building when Bradley and his father came out of the elevator, and poor Bradley looked so sad. When he saw us, his face lit up so happily, it was the sweetest thing in the world! He told us he was on his way to his Grandmother's church which he doesn't enjoy all that much. It was hard to see the concern in his eyes. He may only be 11, but he has such a powerful spirit within him. I was praying about him that night and then had a dream where he was telling us that he knows the church is true and that although he wasn't allowed to be baptized at that time, he'll find the church again in the future and make that covenant then. I felt such a peaceful assurance when I awoke that everything was going to work out, for it always does. I love that little boy so much and I'm so grateful that our Father in Heaven is aware of each one of us personally!
4. Sharlene, Sharaya and Sheldon?
Doing so well! Sharlene was able to attend General Conference yesterday, and said it was just like confession. We were a little confused because our perception of confession was nothing like conference...so we asked her to explain and she corrected herself and compared it to testimonies. wooh! That made more sense!! haha Sharaya was unable to come - she stayed home with Sheldon because he didn't sleep the whole night before, poor guy. They're planning on being baptized on the 20th! Super exciting!! :)
5. What is the coldest and warmest the weather got this past week?
coldest was about -7 (19* Fahrenheit) and warmest about 9 (48*F) Ahh, it was so wonderful!!! :)
6. Where did you watch General Conference?
in the wonderful Mississauga Chapel :)
7. Were you able to watch both sessions on Saturday and Sunday?
absolutely!
8. The Priesthood Session was also televised. Did the Sister Missionaries watch it? (If not, have you heard about it?)
no and not really
9. What was the single-most enlightening message you got out of Conference?
Agency is the gift that your Father in Heaven has given you, and it is truly tremendous. It gives us the ability to choose for ourselves. Choose our attitude. Choose our level of diligence. Choose our level of obedience. Choose who we follow. Choose our diligence of discipleship. It's all our choice. and that choice is joyful! Let us wake up each morning with the understanding that we control the outcome of each and everyday, Maybe not everything that happens during the day, but the outcome is surely up to us. The outcome is our choice. Let us choose to be faithful regardless of our circumstances, regardless of the opposition against us. for when we're following truth, opposition will ALWAYS accompany it. Stay strong and carry on. :)
10. Were their any "say, WHAT?!?" moments during Conference?
haha when the experience was shared about the trailer being lifted on top of the other trailer and then he said "life is not like this" haha loved it. :)
FINISH MY SENTENCE:
11. Did you know that....
Preach My Gospel's are really cheap at the distribution center? you should go get one. today. just saying. ;)
12. I've been so excited to tell you that....
I have a surprise for my family for Christmas and it was mentioned in General Conference. tee hee. I'll tell you sometime in the future. SO excited!!! :) OH! and I GOT THE CAR KEY BACK THAT I DROPPED DOWN THE ELEVATOR SHAFT ON CHRISTMAS!!! 3 months later! woohoo! :) so relieved. ah man. so. relieved.
13. My greatest "aha" moment happened when....
the understanding of agency flooded into my soul throughout all last week and into General Conference.
14. Sister Hansen and I....
Love this work so much, and love you all! thanks for all you do!!!
15. "Exchanges" this week included....
Sister Fisher in my old area, Etobicoke South and Hermana Martin in Black Creek North
16. I love it when.....
I go on exchange and I end up meeting a lady named Paula, who well...let me tell you our little meeting, shall I? ps. try not to freak out. :)
"Hi ma'am, how are you?" I asked.
"Doing well thanks, sorry I'm not really interested but I'll take a card." she responded.
"Awesome, here you are, also on...."
"NO WAY, YOU'RE MORMON??!!"
"um......yes. you know about Mormons?!"
"yeah! Back in the 60's we lived across from a very sweet family in Toronto that were missionaries."
"a family of missionaries? really? were they wearing nametags like us?"
"yeah, the parents did. The Monson family, little tommy and anne and another little one, they were so sweet!"
(**sidenote of my brain: wow hold up, WHAT???!!! the MONSON family?? you mean the prophet Monson family that served as a mission president here, yeah what???!?!!?!?!?!?! um, yeah hi, WhAT?!! ok, Sister De Groot chill, don't freak her out...ok. I'm calm. I'm cool.**)
"Oh really? That's so cool, did he ever give you a copy of the Book of Mormon or share our beliefs with you?"
"not with me, but he did give one to my sister, she actually told me he got pretty high in the church or something.."
"yeah, actually ma'am, he's been called as the Prophet of God on the Earth today"
"wow....that's....wow...."
"in fact, we get to see him this weekend......" and then I proceeded to invite her to conference and talked about what would happen and that she'd be able to see him and possibly "little" anne as well. SOO crazy!!! so yeah. I met President Monson's neighbor from back in the 60's. yeah wow. :) Fun times!! :) Not interested, but maybe one day! We'll just pass on the information to President Monson, let him know that his neighbor still remembers him and still lives in Etobicoke :) haha so cool!
17. When I read what the Johnson Family was planning to do to honor Alexis and Amanda, I felt.....
so much love for those two girls, and for the Johnson family on this wonderful opportunity! Just know that I'll be doing the same service up here in Mississauga, Ontario! I love you!!
18. In the mail this week, I received.....
um well, nothing yet! :)
19. A gift idea for my birthday next month is.....
wow I'm old next month...um...I dunno...maybe some updated pictures of the family? :)
20. This week I am especially grateful for...
-the joy that comes from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ
-hearing the words of God's chosen servants upon the Earth today
-having the opportunity to take WHATEVER people say and tie it to the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. truly, whatever they say. for example. this week, I talked with a man who was going off on basketball and what he has to eat to keep him fit. Then I say, "you know, spiritual things keep us fit too, let me tell you about them"...and then the restoration is easily tied in. so fun. :)
-being able to serve alongside Sister Hansen. she's just so great.
-serving the Lord. I truly love being a missionary!
Well, I'm off! I know that this work is the work of the Lord! I know that our Father in Heaven did, indeed, call again a prophet, Joseph Smith, to restore the Church of Jesus Christ back to the Earth and that President Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet of God on the Earth today. I know that the Book of Mormon and the Bible are scripture from our Father in Heaven. I love this work because it is true! I am a missionary each and every day because it is true! and I testify that each one of us, whether we're living now or those who have passed before us, have the opportunity to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a glorious truth! One in which I find joy in sharing each and every day! How do you find that joy? Let me know, for how GREAT is our calling!
Love for now and for ever,
Sister De Groot :)
Missionary Invitation: Remember how sometime last year I invited you all to buy a Preach My Gospel, well, I failed to follow up and stay true to using my invitations from that book, but I will do so from this point forward, so this week, go buy one! :) or look online and get excited, because I'll be using it lots and lots each week! :) Let's grow together shall we?! also...I sound like I'm from a Barney episode or something...yikes...:) Have a great week!
also. didn't mean to hide my nametag in this picture...I felt really bad, snap!
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| Here's my NAME TAG!!! :0) |
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