A Missionary's Tale......there & back again.
Serving the people in the Canada Toronto Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Monday, August 28, 2017
This Is My Last Letter Home...
Hey Guys!
Wow, I can't believe this is my last letter
home to you. We had a very exciting week here in good old Mississauga.
We think we're going to start up a zoo with all of the crazy animals
we've been encountering the past few days. We have a skunk who loves to
come hide under our landlord's cars, so when we get home at night, we
have to be super careful or he surprises us. We also have a rabid
squirrel who has decided that he's going to live on our roof (he's
nasty! His tail has lost all it's fur and it has jerky movements). It
likes to stand on top of the roof, stare into your soul, and scream at
you while you run for your life into the apartment. It really keeps life
exciting. This particular story is my personal favourite...I've wanted a
dog story my whole mission. You can't go home without a good story about
being chased by a dog. We were tracting in an apartment building and
there was one door that had a sign that read 'Beware of Dog.' We knocked
on the door and quickly found out why that sign was there. The door
opened and out came two really big doberman pinschers. They were barking,
scratching, growling, and snapping at us. I stood there, clutching my
Book of Mormon and praying probably harder than I think I ever have
before. Probably the most terrifying experience of my mission. On the
bright side, the owner of the dogs finally got them inside and we had a
really good conversation about the gospel with her, hahaha. Then to top
off our crazy week, pink eye has struck our apartment! We spent our
p-day in the doctors office and at the pharmacy, hahaha. Such a
wonderful time to get a contagious illness. =)
Super
exciting news! Sister Pat set a baptismal date! It's been so neat to
watch her faith grow over the past five months we've been teaching her.
She wouldn't accept a baptismal date for months. We tried helping her in
every way we knew how. Finally last Friday, we read Alma 32 with her
and talked about how we don't have to know everything before we act. She
accepted a date and is praying and fasting to get an answer about
whether it's right. I love seeing the gospel work in the lives of
others! It's been one of the most joyful experiences of my mission
watching her grow and live the gospel little by little.
I
can't believe how quickly the past 18 months have flown by. My mission
has been a sacred privilege for me. I have loved experiencing the power
of the Atonement in my life as well as in the lives of those I have
taught and served with. I remember hugging my family goodbye at the MTC
and wondering, "what am I doing?" I struggled through the MTC, trying to
learn how to teach and be a good missionary. Then we flew to Canada...I
remember being at the airport and seeing all of these signs that said
'washroom' (hahaha) and then stepping out into the February weather. It
was so cold and I felt so scared. The first thing my trainer took me to
do was street contacting and I hid behind her the whole time because I
was too terrified to open my mouth. That whole transfer I wondered,
"what am I doing?" I remember kneeling down to pray each night and
telling Heavenly Father, "I can't do this. I'm not going to make it
through my first six weeks let alone 18 months." But then the power of
the Atonement of Jesus Christ came in. He helped me change and learn to
love serving Him as a full-time missionary. "Yea, methought I saw, even
as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with
numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising
their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there." Alma 36:22. Just as
Alma longed to be in the presence of God once he had felt the effects
of the Saviour's Atonement in his life, I longed to be here serving the
Lord as I felt the effects of the Saviour's Atonement.
Canada
has become sacred ground to me. I love the people here more than I can
say and saying goodbye to them is more difficult than I ever imagined.
My mission has helped me learn to love other people and to love the
gospel. I have loved feeling the Saviour's love for others and being
able to serve them as He would. I have come to not just believe the
gospel is true, but to really feel and know it. My mission has been a
very humbling experience for me...I've learned how much I really need
Him in my life.
I testify that Jesus Christ
lives and that His Church has been established again on the earth
through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know we have a prophet on the earth
today and that the priesthood is on the earth again. Through that
priesthood power, our families can be together forever. I know that the
Book of Mormon is the word of God, and I know that God answers our
prayers. I will never regret my decision to serve a mission!
I love you all!
Sister Dille
Monday, August 21, 2017
Seeketh Not Her Own.....
Hey Guys!
This week went by so fast! I can't believe it's already week 6 of the transfer! I'm trying to remember what all happened...
Tuesday
was kind of a weird day...all of the departing missionaries went to
Brampton and we had a career orientation, a temple trip, dinner with the
Shields, and a testimony meeting. Some of the missionaries went home
early so they flew out the next morning, but the rest of us went back
out to work so it was kind of weird to have a day where we were supposed
to think about home, hahaha. It was a super good meeting though and I
loved the temple trip. The testimony meeting at the end was really neat
because we were all sitting in the same room we sat in when we first got
to the mission, sharing our testimonies. It was really cool that we all
made it, and I loved hearing about how our missions have strengthened
our conversion to the gospel.
I learned a
really cool lesson on charity this week. I've been studying it a lot
this transfer and I've been trying to develop it. While I was studying
one day, I read in Moroni 7:45-48. Verse 45 and 46 really stood out to
me. "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is
not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no
evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are
nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity,
which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail— " I've read that
scripture many times before, but it really hit me this time! I learned
some really neat things from some of the phrases I didn't understand
before.
Seeketh not her own = we're accepting of everyone, even when they're different from us.
Is not easily provoked = not easily angered/irritated.
All things must fail = (this part is the gospel according to S. Varty
and Dille, so it may not be 100% correct, haha) eventually, we won't
really need faith/hope anymore because we'll have a perfect knowledge
when we dwell with God, but we'll always need charity.
I was
also studying in 1 Corinthians 13 and I learned that even if we have
great knowledge, great faith, and do great works, we are nothing if we
don't have charity. It was such a cool study. I definitely know that
this scripture is true! I know that having charity helps us to hope and
endure all things! I've seen such a big difference in my life the past
week as I've tried to develop charity.
On Saturday,
after our English class, we gave a chapel tour to some of the students.
Seven out of the ten stayed, so that was pretty cool! At the end of the
tour, we asked if anyone would like to come to church with us. One of
the students, Saida, said she would like to come. (She's a really sweet
lady from India). Sunday morning rolled around and in came Saida to church! It was super cool! =)
Sister Varty and I had a goal to find three new investigators this week, so by the time Sunday
came, we had found two. After church, we sat down to plan and set the
goal to find one more. We only had about two hours to find though
because we had a lesson with an investigator, and we had to make up all
of our studies. After our lesson, we went out tracting in an area we
felt prompted to work in. We started knocking, determined to find a new
investigator. At about six or seven doors in, a Muslim couple named Ali
and Maha opened the door. We started talking with them a little bit (we
asked them where they were from and he goes, "the moon. And she's from
the sun.") They invited us in and we got to share the Book of Mormon
with them. It was really neat! In the end, they didn't become new
investigators, but they let us leave them a Book of Mormon, and we felt
like we were still successful even though we didn't hit our goal.
Okay, now for my favourite part of the week! So on Saturday, Sister Pat came to the baptism for Kamran and she seemed to like it. On Sunday
evening, we went to a lesson with her and she started telling us about
how she loved how calm he looked when he came up from the water. She
talked about how she felt a spirit of love and unity that she doesn't
really feel that much at other churches, and she talked about how she
felt an inner peace. THEN! She says, "I'm gonna baptize soon." I think
my jaw hit the floor and my heart rejoiced! We've been trying for months
to help her accept the invitation to be baptized! It was one of the
happiest lessons on my mission! Progress has been made! And now, she's
praying about a baptismal date!
I love you all!
Sister Dille
We went tracting with Brittany (One of the young women...she is awesome)! |
Pictures from our exchanges with the Hamilton Sister Training Leaders. |
Opening my last kinder egg! |
We went on a run this morning down by Lake Ontario! |
This is our new convert, Mark. |
Monday, August 14, 2017
WE FOUND A FAMILY....
Hi Everyone!
I'm going to apologize in advance, my keyboard isn't working very well. So as you can see by the por speling so far, it won't let me type in double leters. Hapy editing, Mom!!! :)
We had an amazing week here in good ol' Mississauga! We've been trying to work as hard as we can, talk to lots of people, be obedient, etc... On Thursday last week, we had zone conference and that was honestly the best zone conference of my mission (which is a good thing I guess, considering the fact that it was my last one). I learned a lot about the importance of setting goals and making plans, not just as a missionary, but for the rest of my life. (Blessings! The person beside me moved, so I have a functioning keyboard now!). We also talked a lot about the Plan of Salvation, and President Shields shared something with us that I thought was pretty neat. He told us that he thinks in the pre-earth life, we were probably involved in the planning of the Plan of Salvation to some degree. Isn't that cool! My favorite thing I learned though, was at the end. President showed us a video from the last mission president's training. Elder Oaks gave a talk about the sacrament that encouraged the mission presidents to teach their missionaries to appreciate the sacrament. He said that in some churches, they participate in communion where everybody eats an identical sized wafer. In our church, we partake of the sacrament, where the bread is broken in our presence. Each piece of bread is unique in shape and size, just like the individual who partakes of it has unique sins and needs. He taught us to conscientiously renew our covenants each time we take the sacrament and to be grateful as we partake. Isn't that cool?!
At zone conference, all the missionaries who are going home that transfer give their departing testimonies. It was a very spiritual experience for me to be able to get up and share what my mission has meant to me. It has really taught me that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can have a change of heart and we can receive strength to do things that were once impossible for us. The Savior really has become more of a reality to me the past 18 months. Being a missionary is a sacred privilege that should not be taken lightly. We have such a great responsibility to represent our Savior. It has been such a blessing to serve him as a missionary.
After zone conference, we went on exchanges with our Creditview sisters. I was in Mississauga with Sister Keeslar. While we were on exchanges, we found a family to teach! It was so cool! They are both Christians, but the denomination they belong to only exists in Syria, so they are looking for a spiritual group to join. I think we can for sure help them out with that! It was such a blessing!
On Sunday, four of our investigators came to church! One of them was a new investigator named Rajani. She is from India, but over the past several years, she has come to believe in Jesus Christ. She walked into church on Sunday morning, stayed for all three hours, and then we taught her later that night. It was such a tender mercy!
I wanted to share two things I learned in my studies this week.
1). On Thursday, I was studying the talk Our Father's Glorious Plan from general conference. This part really stuck out to me. "Another of the great blessings of my life has been to feel the closeness of heaven during those moments when I sit at the bedside of people as they pass away. Early one morning some years ago, I entered the hospital room of a faithful Latter-day Saint widow who had cancer. Two of her daughters were sitting with her. As I went to her bedside, I quickly discovered that she was no longer suffering, because she had just died. In that moment of death, the room was filled with peace. Her daughters had a sweet sadness, but their hearts were filled with faith. They knew that their mother was not gone but had returned home. Even in our moments of deepest grief, in the moments when time stands still and life seems so unfair, we can find comfort in our Savior because He suffered as well. It was a privilege for me to be in the room." As I read, it really strengthened my testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of eternal families. Death is not the end! Because of Jesus Christ, the grave has no victory and death has no sting!
2). First, can I just say that the Book of Mormon is so amazing! Wow! I don't know how I missed this before! I was reading in 1 Nephi 16, and as I read, I realized that so far, the Book of Mormon has been all about how Lehi's family deals with one trial after the other (like the effectual struggle in Mosiah 7:18 and the muddy creek story I shared a few months ago). I started comparing the different responses to the trials, and I put them in three main categories. A. Laman and Lemuel Level: Whenever something goes wrong, you immediately begin to murmur by your words and your attitude. B. Lehi Level: You're very faithful and want to obey, but sometimes murmur. C. Nephi Level: No matter what, you do not murmur. You trust the Lord and instead of just sitting around, waiting for your trial to end, you get up and act with the faith that solutions will come in God's timing. Our lives are like the first chapters of the Book of Mormon. There will always be challenges and trials to overcome which we cannot control. However, we can control our attitude. When we don't murmur, it is a sign of deep faith.
Wow, this email got really long! I love you all so much!
Sister Dille
I'm going to apologize in advance, my keyboard isn't working very well. So as you can see by the por speling so far, it won't let me type in double leters. Hapy editing, Mom!!! :)
We had an amazing week here in good ol' Mississauga! We've been trying to work as hard as we can, talk to lots of people, be obedient, etc... On Thursday last week, we had zone conference and that was honestly the best zone conference of my mission (which is a good thing I guess, considering the fact that it was my last one). I learned a lot about the importance of setting goals and making plans, not just as a missionary, but for the rest of my life. (Blessings! The person beside me moved, so I have a functioning keyboard now!). We also talked a lot about the Plan of Salvation, and President Shields shared something with us that I thought was pretty neat. He told us that he thinks in the pre-earth life, we were probably involved in the planning of the Plan of Salvation to some degree. Isn't that cool! My favorite thing I learned though, was at the end. President showed us a video from the last mission president's training. Elder Oaks gave a talk about the sacrament that encouraged the mission presidents to teach their missionaries to appreciate the sacrament. He said that in some churches, they participate in communion where everybody eats an identical sized wafer. In our church, we partake of the sacrament, where the bread is broken in our presence. Each piece of bread is unique in shape and size, just like the individual who partakes of it has unique sins and needs. He taught us to conscientiously renew our covenants each time we take the sacrament and to be grateful as we partake. Isn't that cool?!
At zone conference, all the missionaries who are going home that transfer give their departing testimonies. It was a very spiritual experience for me to be able to get up and share what my mission has meant to me. It has really taught me that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can have a change of heart and we can receive strength to do things that were once impossible for us. The Savior really has become more of a reality to me the past 18 months. Being a missionary is a sacred privilege that should not be taken lightly. We have such a great responsibility to represent our Savior. It has been such a blessing to serve him as a missionary.
After zone conference, we went on exchanges with our Creditview sisters. I was in Mississauga with Sister Keeslar. While we were on exchanges, we found a family to teach! It was so cool! They are both Christians, but the denomination they belong to only exists in Syria, so they are looking for a spiritual group to join. I think we can for sure help them out with that! It was such a blessing!
On Sunday, four of our investigators came to church! One of them was a new investigator named Rajani. She is from India, but over the past several years, she has come to believe in Jesus Christ. She walked into church on Sunday morning, stayed for all three hours, and then we taught her later that night. It was such a tender mercy!
I wanted to share two things I learned in my studies this week.
1). On Thursday, I was studying the talk Our Father's Glorious Plan from general conference. This part really stuck out to me. "Another of the great blessings of my life has been to feel the closeness of heaven during those moments when I sit at the bedside of people as they pass away. Early one morning some years ago, I entered the hospital room of a faithful Latter-day Saint widow who had cancer. Two of her daughters were sitting with her. As I went to her bedside, I quickly discovered that she was no longer suffering, because she had just died. In that moment of death, the room was filled with peace. Her daughters had a sweet sadness, but their hearts were filled with faith. They knew that their mother was not gone but had returned home. Even in our moments of deepest grief, in the moments when time stands still and life seems so unfair, we can find comfort in our Savior because He suffered as well. It was a privilege for me to be in the room." As I read, it really strengthened my testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of eternal families. Death is not the end! Because of Jesus Christ, the grave has no victory and death has no sting!
2). First, can I just say that the Book of Mormon is so amazing! Wow! I don't know how I missed this before! I was reading in 1 Nephi 16, and as I read, I realized that so far, the Book of Mormon has been all about how Lehi's family deals with one trial after the other (like the effectual struggle in Mosiah 7:18 and the muddy creek story I shared a few months ago). I started comparing the different responses to the trials, and I put them in three main categories. A. Laman and Lemuel Level: Whenever something goes wrong, you immediately begin to murmur by your words and your attitude. B. Lehi Level: You're very faithful and want to obey, but sometimes murmur. C. Nephi Level: No matter what, you do not murmur. You trust the Lord and instead of just sitting around, waiting for your trial to end, you get up and act with the faith that solutions will come in God's timing. Our lives are like the first chapters of the Book of Mormon. There will always be challenges and trials to overcome which we cannot control. However, we can control our attitude. When we don't murmur, it is a sign of deep faith.
Wow, this email got really long! I love you all so much!
Sister Dille
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
She Calls Us Her Little Daughters...
Hey Guys!
Wow, it's August! When did that happen?!
July just started. This week was such an amazing opportunity for Sister
Varty and I to learn patience and diligence. We've lost almost all of
our investigators, most of our appointments cancel or don't show up, and
for those of you who have served missions, you know that it's not
exactly the funnest situation to be in. It's been really good though
because both of us are learning patience and humility. Last night, we
were talking about it, and we decided that even though our area is not
doing very well, we can still make these last three weeks of the
transfer fun. We've both learned on our missions that the greatest joy
comes as we obey with exactness and have urgency about the work. We've
set goals and made plans to be exactly obedient and work super hard.
We're doing our best to talk to every person the Lord puts in our path.
(Haha, we've started talking to people through their car windows and
inviting them to church while we sit at stop lights. It's pretty
awkward, but it sure keeps the work exciting!) We both have so much more
energy and a renewed love for the work! =)
Last
night, we had such a good lesson with Sister Pat. (I love her...she
calls us her little daughters!) We taught her the Restoration again
because we really want to help her understand the priesthood authority.
While we taught, we both felt so much love for her! Because we felt so
much love, we were able to be very bold with her and we testified that
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the one true church
upon the earth. We promised her blessings and invited her to read and
pray. It was such a powerful lesson!
We had MLC
last Wednesday! It was my last one. =( It was such a good meeting
though! I love going to MLC because the Spirit is always so strong. It's
such a great opportunity to learn from other missionaries who are
trying so hard to do their best. I wanted to share one thing that really
stood out to me from what we learned. The assistants gave an
instruction about how we need to lead our missionaries in the Saviour's
Way. To help us understand our role as leaders, they shared the story
from the Bible when Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. We watched the
Bible Video and it was so powerful. Each time Peter answered the Lord,
he got more and more serious that he truly did love Him. The elders
taught us that Peter's responses represent our conversion. The first
'yes' was us at the beginning of our missions. We really want to tell
the Lord we love Him, but we're struggling to leave home behind and be
on our missions. By the time we end our mission, we should be on the
third 'yes' where we're deeply committed to obey and serve. They taught
us that our job as leaders is to help our missionaries when they want to
say 'yes' to the first 'do you love me,' but are still struggling to
obey. It was such a powerful lesson for me!
So now for the funny stories...
1.
Yesterday, we were walking down the street and we were trying to start a
conversation with this guy walking away. He wouldn't stop, so we just
said by and turned back around. As he walked away though, we noticed
that he just had this random snake in his hand walking through the
middle of the city. What?
2.
Haha, this is probably my most embarrassing moment of my whole mission.
Sister Varty and I went running this morning and it was a really good
run. We were keeping a pretty good pace and we both felt pretty good. We
turned a corner and I'm not quite sure what happened (maybe the side
walk was a bit uneven or something), but with I totally face planted on
the sidewalk! Right off of the highway! It was hilarious! I wish
somebody would've gotten it on camera. Wow, I'm so graceful.
I hope you all have a good week!
Love,
Sister Dille
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