Open Your Mouth!

Hey Everyone! This week was REALLY fun! It was honestly the funnest week of my mission so far.

After p-day ended, we drove to Belleville for exchanges with our STLs. I got to exchange with my favorite STL, Sister Gousse, for the third time! We had so much fun and we found three new investigators! We always find so many new investigators and see so many miracles when we exchange! It's so much fun! 

On Wednesday, we had district meeting all the way in Kingston and we finally got to meet our new district! We have Elder Bedes as the district leader and then he's training Elder Hafen in Napanee, the Elders in Smiths Falls are Elder Olsen and Cofey, and then the senior missionaries in Smiths Falls, the Hatches are here too. We have an awesome district! We learned about prayer and how we can help our investigators receive answers to their prayers. It was super good! We spent tons of time in the car though the first few days. Monday we spent three hours driving to Belleville and back, Tuesday, we spent three hours driving to Belleville and back, and then Wednesday, we spent two hours driving to Kingston and back. I have never done so much driving in my life! 

Something interesting I learned in Preach My Gospel (pg. 110) is we have to always be reading the Book of Mormon to keep our testimonies strong. It says "many investigators either do not read the Book of Mormon or do not understand what they read. Those who do not read or understand the Book of Mormon will have difficulty receiving a witness that it is true." One of my previous district leaders told me once that we can also change that paragraph to fit our lives... "Many people do not read the Book of Mormon...Those who do not read the Book of Mormon will have difficultly retaining a witness that it is true." I can testify that studying from the Book of Mormon daily truly does make a difference in our lives, and if we don't study from its pages often, it will be impossible to retain our witness that it is true.

Anyway, the rest of the week went well. We didn't have too many lessons, but we had so much fun. At the beginning of last transfer, my mission president shared D&C 123:17 with me, and said I just need to choose to be happy, and leave the rest to the Lord. I worked really hard to do it this week, and it works! We had so much fun! 

On Saturday, the relief society sisters threw a baby shower for our investigator, Erin, and she loved it so much! She gave a little speech right before we ate some cake, and she said that her baby is a surprise and a miracle and she attributes it to her faith in the gospel! When members reach out to the people we're working with, it makes all the difference in their progression! After the baby shower, Erin came to the baptism of a little girl in our branch, and she said it was a good experience! She's doing so well and we love her so much!

Okay, last thing. My vision of what it means to open your mouth and talk to everyone has changed so much the past few days! When Elder Ballard came to our mission, he challenged each missionary to talk to ten people for five days outside of normal finding (like tracting and scheduled finding time) and working with members. This means, that as a companionship, we had to find twenty people everyday. Sister Gariki and I were nervous about that, because in an area our size, we sometimes struggle to find ten, but we just dove right in and we were able to talk with almost 150 people in five days! We were so crazy! We pulled the car over and talked to people through the window, if we saw someone walking, we'd park the car around the corner and then run to catch 'em, we'd cross the street and talk with people, and then this morning, we actually talked with someone in the grocery store. It was so much fun! Talking with everyone can be soooo awkward, but it's worth it!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

 

Sister Dille

 

Man, I'm grateful that I have a French companion, she made crepes!

Exchanges!!

One of our investigators put this door on his tree for the "keebler elves." We just decided to knock and see if they were interested...ya know, the gospel shall be declared to every creature!

 

ELDER BALLARD CAME TO OUR MISSION!

So I forgot to tell you all a crazy story that happened last Saturday while we were tracting. We knocked on this door and a guy named Bill opened it. He definitely had some crazy ideas, I'm tellin' ya. But the craziest idea by far came right as we were about to leave. He looked me right in the eye and said, "I'm sure you've been my mother in a previous life." I was like, aaaahhh! Run away, run away!!!!! 

Anyway, on a less creepy note, this week was so awesome! We found four new investigators, saw so many miracles, and really enjoyed the first week of the transfer. The highlight of the week though came at the end. ELDER BALLARD CAME TO OUR MISSION!!!!!

On Sunday morning, they broadcasted a multi-stake conference from Toronto and he spoke to all of the stakes and districts throughout Ontario. I received so many answers to my prayers and questions and it definitely strengthened my testimony of modern day prophets and apostles. How blessed we are to have such faithful disciples of Christ to guide us safely on the path back to our Heavenly Father! 

So I'll share really quickly another miracle I experienced. On Tuesday night, I put my flashdrive in pocket and we drove to a little village called Lyn to drop by some referrals and tract. When we came back to Brockville, I couldn't find my flash drive anywhere! It has all of my mission pictures, family pictures, and family videos on it, so I was pretty devastated. We searched the car multiple times, we called the member we went to visit in Lyn, I emptied my bag several times, prayed a ton, and checked my raincoat pocket about 50 times hoping it would magically show up in answer to my prayers (haha, I should've known better, prayers are answered through exercising our faith...). We decided to drive back to Lyn and check the ground in the area we tracted because we couldn't find it anywhere else. Anne-Marie (the lady we do service for) offered to come help us look. So off we went to Lyn. We checked everywhere, but couldn't find it. We got back to the car, and were putting our stuff in it, then Anne-Marie looks down, and finds my flash drive... IN THE CAR (same spot we had already checked many times!) I was so relieved! God answers our prayers; I've learned that over and over and over again on my mission!

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Sister Dille

We had a branch picnic on Saturday!

Not really sure what we're celebrating here... I think we just wanted to eat some junk

Sister Gariki made me some "dreams" to help us stay focused on our purpose.

The Hatches!

Week one is done...so we celebrated with ice cream!

I can't remember if I sent this one or not, but we celebrated six more weeks in Brockville by having some pie!

Six Month Birthday!

A new transfer has begun!!!! (My fifth one, ah!) We're both staying! By the time I finish up this transfer, I will have spent six months in Brockville. It's been amazing to watch this little branch progress these past four and a half months and I've come to love so many of them so much! If we follow the same pattern the missionaries before us have followed, this will be my last transfer here. It's crazy how quickly these past few months have gone by and the thought of moving to a different area is so weird because I've spent basically my whole mission here!

Last week flew by, but so many cool things happened! First, Wednesday was our "six month birthday" so we threw a little party for ourselves! We got Tiimbits, waffles with whipped cream, chocolate milk, and strawberries with cream cheese dip! We were super full after! It's kind of weird to think that we only have one year left!

Saturday was a really cool day for three reasons...

1. Three of our returning members went to the temple to do proxy baptisms! It's so amazing to help people go to the temple!

2. We had no lessons, so it left us with TONS of time to tract. We set a goal to knock on 100 doors and we did it! Most of the people we talked to were pretty nice too, which always helps. (With the exception of one lady who yelled, "get off my porch...NOW!" Haha). 

3. It rained and rained and rained some more! It was so nice to have a break from the heat and humidity! It's been unbelievable hot, so we were grateful for the change!

On Sunday, we both gave talks in Sacrament Meeting about the Restoration. Sister Gariki was so nervous about giving a talk in English on such short notice (we had about two days to get them ready), so she spent all this time studying and making lots of notes. Then, she got up to the pulpit and gave a beautiful talk without even looking at her notes once! The Spirit was so strong when she shared the first vision,  we both started crying. The gospel truly has been restored!

Sister Gariki showed me some really cool scriptures in D&C 98:1-3 the other day. I can't remember if I've shared them with you yet. When I read these scriptures, it really confirmed and strengthened my testimony of prayer. If there's one thing I've learned on my mission, it's that God truly does hear AND answer our prayers, but it's in His timing not ours. 

I love you all! Have a great week!

Love Ya!

Sister Dille 

     Saying goodbye to Sister Rhodes and Sister Brown at zone sports last Monday!

   This is Anne-Marie! She loves us so much she gave us TWO fudge sickles when we went to her house last Wednesday!

Happy birthday to us! Haha!

                                                        One of our lessons didn't show up, so we talked with                                                         people instead and took a picture by the river!

                                                                   This is us celebrating after we finished                                                                     knocking over 100 doors!! YEAH!!!!!

                                                       This is our branch mission leader and his wife, Brother                                                          and Sister Kelly (and their granddaughter, Shylah).

David & Goliath

What a week...where to begin!

On Tuesday night, we had a lesson with a new investigator named Yaeb'et (I can't remember if I already told you, but apparently, his name was given to him by an angel...) and it went really well. He really loved when we told him about the First Vision! It was super cool!

 

  On Wednesday, we walked into our apartment for lunch and it was so hot! It was cooler outside which is saying something since it was almost 100 degrees not including the humidity. We had a window AC unit sitting in one of the rooms, but the people who were supposed to come install it could never get down. We decided we would just do it ourselves, I mean, how hard can it be, right? Well, leave it to us to complicate even the simplest of tasks... We got it up in the window (we're in the basement so it's up a pretty good ways), got it all situated, and then realized that the cord wouldn't reach the outlet. No problem! We have an extension cord! Problem: the AC cord has three prongs, the extension cord has two holes. So we try to pull it out of the window, but because of the way it was situated, it wouldn't budge. So I pushed Sister Gariki through the window (the same one Sister Hunter and I jumped through my first transfer here when we locked ourselves out-so many adventures with this window), and she lifted the back end up so we could pull the air conditioner back in. I'm sure it was quite an entertaining site for everyone observing, haha. In the end, the air conditioner went in, and now our apartment's nice and cool!

On Thursday, we tried something new... Elder Ballard is coming to our mission on August 20th, and to prepare, we were encouraged to do several things. One of them was to read his talk called Open Your Mouth and Talk to Everyone. In his talk, he explained that "everyone" doesn't just mean the people you meet passing you on the street, it literally means EVERYONE! People sitting in their cars, on their porches, the cashiers at the grocery store, etc. So on Thursday, we had to get the oil changed in our car. We started to talking to the guy who did the payment at the end, and he was super cool! Today, when we bought our groceries, we talked with the cashier. The other day, a guy was sitting in his car with his window rolled down, so we talked to him too. It's definitely awkward, but I've come to realize that awkward moments are just part of being a missionary, haha. I'm always grateful we opened our mouths afterwards though.

Friday was my favorite day for two reasons...

1. We had zone council in the morning, and it was so amazing! The zone leaders gave one of the instructions on obedience to the mission vision and I felt the Spirit of repentance for sure encouraging me to obey more exactly. I have to give the Lord my best! We also talked about how we can be more unified as a zone in helping each other be more obedient. One of the things we decided to do was to call each other at 6:30 to make sure we're up and going. So at 6:30 every morning, the zone leaders call us up to make sure we're out of bed; it's pretty funny! 

2. We got a new car!!!! Our other one was over it's kilometer limit, so they pulled it and we have a new one! We're definitely not complaining. We decided that the car's name is Goliath and the GPS is David (haha, I know, I know, we're so clever...!) ;) The senior missionaries over the vehicles (the Ericksons) drove it up from Brampton and then we got to have dinner with them. It was so much fun!

On Saturday and Sunday, my testimony was strengthened of the importance of members in the work. We took members to two lessons we had, and they made all the difference. They answered our investigator's questions, they shared powerful testimonies, and they really helped the lessons to be successful. I don't think members realize the powerful effect they have on the people we teach. I have definitely seen how much of an impact members have on the work. If our members aren't involved, the work will not move forward. I want to encourage all of you to really be involved with the missionaries in your unit. It will make such a huge difference in the work. Go teaching with them, say hi to the people they bring to church, if you have them over for dinner, invite people to meet the missionaries. By small and simple things, great things are brought to pass! 

One final challenge, and then I'll let you go! Last Sunday, our branch president challenged each member to pick a date to invite someone to learn more about the gospel, and now I'm extending the same challenge to each of you; pick a date and invite someone to learn more. It doesn't have to be inviting them to take the discussions with the missionaries (although I'm sure the missionaries would be thrilled if you did), but it's just through simple ways like inviting them to ward/branch activities, inviting them to your house if you have the missionaries for dinner, invite them to your family home evening, offer to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting and invite your friends, invite them to read your favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon, give them a copy of The Family: A Proclamation to the World, invite them to do family history with you. I testify to you that as you invite your friends and family members to learn more about the gospel, you will be sharing the most precious and priceless gift we can offer. The Lord will help you! Open your mouth, and it will be filled!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

 

Sister Dille

 

 

The Ericksons!!! They're so cool!

The AC installation!

They do exists! I thought they only had them in Nanny McPhee!

This is us celebrating Goliath's arrival!

It's Kinder Egg Day! We get them the last p-day of every transfer and then we make a "transfer prediction" based on the toy. Honestly, we have no idea what our toys are... we're hoping it doesn't mean our next companions are going to be monsters;)

Sorry, one last picture! This is our zone at our last zone council!

 

 

CPR & Corn on the Cob!

Hello Everyone! Man, this week has been crazy, but I'll try to remember all the cool things that happened!

After p-day was over on Monday, we headed off to exchanges. I went to Oshawa with Sister Gousse this time, and it was so much fun! We taught a lot of lessons and we met a lot of cool people. During one of the lessons, the lady we were teaching had a REALLY hyper beagle. He was jumping all over the couch and all over me! I was trying to share my testimony with her while keeping him from licking my face too! It was an adventure, I tell ya! Oh, so crazy story! In my CNA class in high school, we learned how to catch people if they fall or pass out, and I was like, "I probably won't really need to use this for awhile." BUT, Sister Gousse and I were talking to an older guy named George on the street, and in the middle of our conversation, he passed out on us and I had to catch him and then lower him to the ground so he didn't hit his head. I was checking his pulse and respirations to make sure he wasn't dying. The whole time I was like, "please don't need CPR, please don't need CPR, I didn't bring my mask," haha.  It was so crazy! I didn't think I would have to pull out my EMT skills on my mission, but hey, ya never know! Man, it was so scary! Long story short, he lived, he just has hypotension. ;) I got to call Sister Hunter too since Sister Gousse and Crawford are her sister training leaders. It was fun! Exchanges are one of my favorite things we get to do!

On Wednesday, we found seven new investigators (all from Jamaica)! They work out at the same berry farm as Colin and Verrol (the investigators we found last week). We went back to teach them on Sunday night, and we talked about the Plan of Salvation. Unfortunately for us, they asked ALL the questions you hope investigators don't ask (like why do we have to have agency, what kind of fruit was it, why was it part of God's plan for them to partake of the fruit, etc.). Haha, we think they had it down by the time we left though.

Sister Gariki and I found eleven new investigators this week! I've never seen that many before! It was such an answer to my prayers! Our area was really struggling at the beginning of the transfer, and it was really hard to be patient and keep working when no progress was being made, but the Lord answered our prayers and we have people to work with again! It taught me a powerful lesson on patience. I learned that the Lord answers our prayers in His timing, not ours. All we can do is cheerfully go about the work and be patient with Him. 

I love you all so much! I know that God is real and I know that He hears and answers your prayers! Just be patient and have faith in His timing!

Love,

 

Sister Dille

 

EXCHANGES!!! (this was my eighth one!)

                Here's  my awesome district! The elders on the back are Elder Coffy (he's in his last transfer of training), Elder Bradford (he's a zone leader), Elder Dardon (he's Elder Coffy's trainer and our district leader), and Elder Lemon (the other zone leader).                           

This is Sister Gariki's first time trying corn on the cob! I taught her how to shuck it and everything! I'll turn her into a farmer by the end of the transfer, haha..