Fourth Floor, Last Door....

Hi Guys!

Happy birthday yesterday, Dad! I hope you ate a piece of cake for me, hahaha! :) 

This week was so great! We had so many blessings, that we were exhausted by the end of the week from all the happiness. ;) There were so many experiences where we saw small little miracles that reminded us that God is helping us in the work. 

We had zone conference this week in Oakville, and it was so good! The first part of the meeting was about the Doctrine of Christ. We talked a lot about repentance, and President Shields told us that coming on a mission is like coming to "Repentance U" (university). It's so true! On your mission, you really realize your sins and weaknesses, and you get opportunities everyday to repent, change, and improve. I realized this week, that this is the only time in my life that I'll be able to focus 100% on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can give all of our time to studying and applying His gospel. I'm so grateful for this time I have to focus on other people and learn how to live the Gospel. The second part of the meeting was all about music. We got a new senior couple in our mission, and one of them plays the piano beautifully. President Shields let him bear his testimony to us through playing a song, and it really brought the Spirit into the meeting. After that meeting, Sister Seegmiller and I decided we were going to be more picky about what we listen to, so we can have the Spirit to be with us more fully.

We have an amazing investigator named Tina, and we had two amazing miracles with her this week. On Tuesday night, we were on exchanges, and I was with Sister Rhodes in Mississauga. We were teaching Tina about the Word of Wisdom, and we were a bit nervous because it was the first big change she would have to make in her life. But it went so well. She told us she didn't have any problems with it. She said, "Baptism is something I really want to do, and I know that it's going to require some changes." Miracle! Miracle #2...on Friday night, Sister Seegmiller and I were teaching her about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, and again, she willingly accepted the commandment and committed to making the necessary changes so she can obey God's commandment. She's such a good example of having faith, and being willing to act upon it!

Our investigator Lisa got baptized on Saturday! It was such a good baptism; the Spirit was there! It was really cute, because she has an eight-year-old son who watched her get baptized, and as soon as she came up out of the water, he said, "when can I get baptized?" So now Dave is preparing to get baptized too. :) Later that day, we got to FaceTime into Peter's baptism back in Bowmanville. That was such a miracle for me. I felt the Spirit so strongly, and it was amazing. You can tell he's made changes to his life, and that it's brought him peace and happiness. It was probably my favorite memory of my mission so far! 

I got to work in a YSA unit for the first time this week. We went on exchanges with our Churchville East sisters, and so I went to Toronto with Sister Kim, a Korean sister. We got to go talk with people close to the York campus, and it was so much fun. We got to talk to a bunch of college kids about the gospel. After about an hour, we started walking back to the car. As we were walking, we saw a girl coming towards us. We got to talk with her, and she agreed to let the sisters come back on Sunday before general conference. It was like Elder Uchtdorf's Fourth Floor, Last Door story. 

Anyways, I'm going to run out of computer time if I don't wrap this thing up, but I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Sister Dille

I Love Diversity!!!!

Hi Guys!

Holy cow! I love my new area so much! It's so much fun!!!! The ward is amazing and it's so diverse, just like the city. You can walk down the hallway at church, and hear conversations in Tagolic, Spanish, Mandarin, English, and French all at the same time! It's so cool. I've met people from the Philippines, Ethiopia, China, Thailand, Nigeria, and a whole bunch of other places that I can't remember. 

Mississauga is huge! It's so much fun because there are always people we can talk with. I love the diversity. I never thought I'd say this, but I love being in the city, haha.

My new companion is awesome! She's from Orem, Utah! She's a diligent and obedient missionary, and she knows how to teach by the Spirit. I'm learning so much from her! 

We had a really cool experience yesterday afternoon. On Saturday, I was sick, so we had to come inside for a bit. I was in the bedroom taking a nap, and while I was asleep, Sister Seegmiller called 200 people! One of the people she called (Shina) said we could come and visit her. After church on Sunday, we went and taught her the Plan of Salvation, and it was such a good lesson! We were able to help her recognize the Holy Ghost and answer her questions about what happens after we die. She told us she had been wondering for four days where we go and who we go to when we die, and then we just happened to call her up. So cool!

I love you!

 

Sister Dille

Mississauga.....Here I Come!

Hi Guys!

Well, as usual, time is flying by. I'm in my last four transfers now! AHHHH! It's crazy how fast time goes.

We got to go see a less-active member this week that I've been trying to get in to see since I got here! She texted us and wanted us to do a primary lesson for her kids. We were so excited. We've been trying to reach out to her whenever we see her by offering to help, seeing how she's doing, etc. I've learned so much about how important it is to love people from her! Once she knew we loved her, she opened up! 

On Wednesday, we had the last district meeting of the transfer. :( For part of the meeting, we went out street contacting. Sister Barrow and I walked over to the gas station and started talking to this guy who was filling up his car with gas. (Mom, he just so happened to be driving a Sequoia!) We talked to a few more people at the bus stop, in the parking lot, on the sidewalk. It was a bit scary, but it was fun to try to talk to everyone, no matter where they were.

Sunday was a bit of a crazy day. One of the speakers got sick, so Sister Barrow and I got asked to speak. We threw some talks together, and voila! I was so nervous, but as soon as I stood up, I felt calm and knew exactly what to say. It was cool! Sister Goral and I played a violin duet, and we made it through! I was so nervous! My hands were shaking so badly I couldn't even vibrato, hahaha. We did singing time in nursery, and I have to say, I was having a hard time remembering all of the Primary songs. Good thing Sister Barrow has little siblings, so she knows them all. :) We taught Peter after church too, and he's almost done with the discussions. I'm so excited for him. His testimony is growing so much, and he's going to be such a powerful member of the Church! 

So Canada got cold again! There was one day this week where it was -30C! The other days have all been about -15 or -20. It's so cold! The wind just blows right through! Sister Barrow and I have now become experts in the art of layering. 

Speaking of Sister Barrow, she finished training! She's not a greenie anymore, hahaha. Last night was her last 12-Week Lesson. We had a little party to celebrate. :)

Well, I'm going to have to end this letter here because we are in a big hurry today! Last night at 9:00, President Shields called, and when President calls on transfer night, you know it's not good. I'm sad to report that I have been transferred. :( Sister Barrow will be staying in Bowmanville and a sister from Denmark will be coming in. Her name is Sister Jensen and she's really sweet. They both came out at the same time. My new companion is actually Sister Jensen's trainer. :) I'll be going with Sister Seegmiller to Mississauga. I've met Sister Seegmiller a few times, and she's really nice! Everyone says she's really sweet and happy. I'm pretty sure she's from Utah. She came out the transfer after me, so we're about the same "mission age." I'm really excited to go learn from her! Mississauga is in the Brampton zone, and it's right outside of Toronto. I'M GOING TO THE CITY! Pray for me.

I love you!

 

Sister Dille

 

 

This is the White Family

This is Jacqueline.  She's a former investigator we visit in the nursing home.

Our last district meeting.

The Ulloa Family

This is a family we are teaching.  Jeff and Lori! :)

The Leebody Family

Gauthier Family.  They made us Mexican food!  I've had Mexican food twice on my mission, and both times have been at their house.  Brother Gauthier owns a catering business, so it's always really good!

Here's Peter!!!!!

Brother Van Alebeek

Sister Gelvez

The Challenge Is My Answer!

Hi Guys!

I'm short on time today, so this will be a really quick email.

This week was really good. We had zone council on Friday and it was a really good meeting! I received an answer that I've been searching for for eight months! Last June, in our last zone conference with President Clayton (who will be speaking at this general conference! Woohoo! My mission president is speaking in general conference!) he left us a blessing that the desires of our hearts would be fulfilled on our missions. He told us, "I want you to go home and think very carefully about what you want. So I went home and thought for awhile about it, and one of the things I came up with was I want a really strong testimony of my Saviour. Since then though, I haven't been able to figure out how to develop a testimony of Him. In our meeting, they talked about a challenge that President and Sister Shields have just given to all of the missionaries. We've been challenged to read Jesus the Christ before the end of our missions. As they talked about it, I realized that the challenge is my answer. Our mission president promised that we will be able to understand our Saviour better as we read the book.

After zone council ended, we had interviews with our mission president (I only have four more left! AH) He promised me that if I would read it, I would have more peace, I would be more concerned about others, and I would develop a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. So I've made a plan to finish in the next six months. Wish me luck, haha!

In our interviews, President Shields was dropping hints to us about transfers. He was asking Sister Barrow if she knows the area well enough to handle it on her own. Then in my interview, he asked me how long I've been in the area. I told him 4 transfers, and he says, "Wow, you're about due for a transfer then!" NOOOOOO! So unless he changes his mind, this will be my last week in Bowmanville. :(

Peter set a baptismal date!!!! He's going to be baptized on March 25th! I'm so excited for him! We told him that transfers are coming up, so I might not be there, but I would try to get President's permission to come back for it if I leave. When he said the closing prayer, he prayed that I would be able to be there. It's so exciting when someone you teach accepts the gospel!

Well, I love you all! Have a good week!

Sister Dille

This is Brother Roman and Sister Solo...we had lunch with them on Saturday.

There's a holiday in England called Pancake Tuesday, so since Brother Fenton is English, and we happened to be at their house on the holiday, we got pineapple pancakes! Score!

These are the Spencer's and two of their grandkids, Dillon and Durrell.

Kinder egg day!

We bought each other a present, haha!