The Squeeze is Worth the Juice

Whats up, whats up!!

So this week has been swell.. 

Studied lots this week, which I enjoy so much! Talked to a lot of people as well, it's always so fun to talk with people about our church, and what we do out here as missionaries. I have felt a sweet sweet spirit all week, and my love for the Gospel grows more and more.

We have a new investigator Karen, and she is the bomb. I love teaching her, she is so bubbly and fun. We read the introduction of The Book Of Mormon with her. I was happy to be able to tell her how much I love the book, it truly is such a divine book! She is coming to church with us Sunday, and I don't know who is more excited, me or her! 

Sunday the SUNSHINE was out! Hallelujah! I really do love the snow, and don't mind the cold too bad, but Sunday was the most beautiful day yet... until night when it started to snow again! We did lots of tracting in Manchester ME, which was beautiful. I felt like I was up in the mountains, just with no mountains. haha! Squirrels were running everywhere and all the birds were chirping and it was just such a pleasant day to be out! Made me excited for what is ahead. We ended to the night with dinner at Bishops house, and we had some dang good spaghetti. So that was way neat! 

I had an interview with President Stoker Yesterday, which those were great. :) I LOVED talking with him about the area and the missionary work that's going on. It was a good ole chat. He also asked about my family. Something he told me at the end of the interview was how he was amazed because he could feel the love that I have for all of you by the way I talked about you. All I could say is it's true my family is pretty wicked awesome. So I guess my point here is that I love you all so much, and my Mission President and his wife Sister Stoker are awesome. It amazes me how our President truly can show so much love and care to all the missionaries. I also got to meet their daughter Marisa that just got home from her mission, and she was way cool! It was a good day, and so uplifting to see them yesterday.

There is a quote I love from President Uchtdorf "We don't have to wait to cross the finish line to receive Gods blessings. In fact, the heavens begin to part and the blessings of heaven begin to distill upon us with the very first steps we take toward the light." I really loved that, thinking of life, and then relating it to running..and what a slow runner I am, (You think I would be fast with my long legs, but no!) Anyways I liked where it said "The First Step" that we try to come closer to Him He wants to bless us! Never forget how loved and blessed we are. I know that God has a certain plan for each of us, and all we need to do is take the first step to Him, and He'll reach out to us and bless us more than we can imagine.

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed with gratefulness! I'm grateful to be a missionary today, and I'm grateful to be able to help and serve others. I feel very very blessed for this Gospel, and how it is changing me! I know that if we stay close to The Lord, keep our faith strong in him, and truly convert ourselves to Christ, His Gospel, and His teachings that the squeeze is well worth the juice! Coming on my mission was the biggest act of Faith that I've made, but has paid off the most. I never thought I could love my Savior as much as I do now, He is my light in this life. The church is SO true. I know without a doubt, Jesus Is The Christ. I feel overly blessed to be in the New England area as a missionary. 

Love you all, with all of my heart . Xo

Sister Bee 

Just a little cold outside...

So much snow!

She said inside they had candles and it was like a mini house!

They drive over this pretty bridge every day.

Tracting away!

Raymond is in their ward and they went to visit him at the nursing home. She says he is so funny and so fun to talk to!

Getting good exercise with all of the hills they walk up!

A pretty night sky.

Sister B and C!

Not sure if they have room for much more snow!

'The cold never bothered me anyway!' We love our frozen Sister Bee!

Until next week...

Snow, Chickens, and a Rose!

MONDAY FEBRUARY 16

Its been a good week here in Augusta Maine :) 

Things are so busy and great as a missionary! 

We shoveled lots of snow this week and even got to help scrape off some roofs with snow on them which was super fun and exciting.

We talked to a lot of people and have some really great people to teach!! I can feel my testimony of This wonderful gospel grow more and more each day. I know that my Redeemer lives, and I very much know that he loves all of his children.

This week we had an appointment fall through, and we didn't really know what to do right afterwards. So we got in the car and prayed on where we should go. Both my companion and I felt like we should go visit a potential investigator named Tony. So we drove to her house. Once we got there she finally let us in.. we began to share the restoration with her, I felt the sweetest spirit come in to the room, and noticed she had begun to cry. I was so thankful she was feeling the same thing that I was. I was thankful I got to testify of Gods love for her, because I knew that was exactly what she needed that day. I was thankful that we were lead to her house to share the message with her. The restoration is so powerful, and I know without a doubt that Joseph Smith has restored the Gospel Of Jesus Christ on this earth again. I know that the church is true, and I'm very blessed to be part of it.

Tay holding an egg!

Chickens!

Elliot is the cutest and got the girls flowers for Valentines day!

Scraping snow off of the houses

Sister B and C were glad they didn't have to be grounded this week from the weather and could get out of their apartment.

This is our sweet sweet investigator Mary, Her baptism date is June 13th. She has the strongest desire to come closer to God, and to do better. This week she said that her mouth got loose and she said some naughty words and yelled, and right after she felt really bad and got down on her knees and prayed to be forgiven. It was so cool to hear that, and to know that she had been listening to us when we were teaching about repentance. I have such a strong testimony of the Atonement. I know that I am forever grateful for it. It's a beautiful thing to know we can be forgiven of our mistakes, I'm grateful for second chances, and that we can always try to be better and have the guilt off of our chest.. I'm thankful for Jesus Christ that has made ALL of this possible, and that it is possible for us all to become better and to become made whole again. My mind can't always comprehend how great our Savior is, and how He did it just for us. It is so cool to think even if we were the only person on this earth, Christ would have came down and prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and suffered all our our pains and sorrows just for us. We are so loved by God and his son, I know that through Jesus Christ we can be made whole again. I was reading a talk this morning from an Ensign from Robert D Hales. It was called "To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency." I really really liked it, we are so blessed to have a wonderful President of the Church, and a Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that are so in tune with God to help and strengthen us. In the talk he quoted a scripture from the doctrine and covenants in section 58 verse 42 "Behold who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more." I know that when we humbly ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart, we can be forgiven. We just have to believe in the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Accept the saviors Forgiveness, and then forgive yourself. Because of His sacrifice for you, He has the power to "remember them no more." Linking it back to the talk on agency, once we are forgiven we have our agency and we need to do out best to stay on the path, and do what is right. He said in his talk "rejoice in hope for the future." I know that because of our Savior that this is all possible. This truly is the Gospel of hope, happiness, and peace. 

I'm sorry this was such a short one. I really need to work on learning how to manage my email time better.. haha just know things are great here in Maine! I love this gospel with all my heart. I'm very grateful for this opportunity I have to serve. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and we can truly be instruments in his hands.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

Sister Bee

Ups and Downs- Tender Mercies

MONDAY FEBRUARY 9

heyyy o!

I love email Monday.. :) 

What a week, what a week! You know those weeks that you feel like you are on a wild wild roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs? This was definitely one of those weeks! 

At the end of each and every night I have a little book and I write down the tender mercies or miracles I saw in the day. It amazes me each and every day how much the Lords hand really is in our life when we think about it. It is also such a mood changer as well, any time I am having a hard time, or am not feeling like I have done any good I open that book up and it reminds me of all the miracles I have seen out here serving the Lord. 

This week we had to drop one of our investigators, cause we soon found out he is a little crazy.. Nice man, we just didn't feel like it'd be safe for Sisters to continue to teach him. Our other Investigator kept canceling on us cause she was sick. So we were down to having a hard time to find people to teach.. Friday night Sister Collins and I set a huge goal that on Saturday we'd go out and talk to 40 people and invite them to learn more about Jesus Christ. The promise from that is, usually out of every 10 people you talk to, you have one potential investigator. That day we prayed really hard and had a lot of faith that we could reach our goal. We worked so hard, and made our goal by talking with 40 of Gods children! And the promise was fulfilled, we ended that day finding 4 potential investigators. I know with the Lords help, he will help us fulfill any worthy goals we set, all we have to do is pray and have faith!! We ended our week with inviting 84 people to learn more about The Church, Jesus Christ, and how they could find more happiness in their life. Also from this we were lead to a man who has been searching for a church! He said he had prayed the night before and didn't know exactly how to... he asked if we could teach him how... we said of course! We had a dang good, and a very spiritual talk on the side of the road. He had just gone through a divorce with two kids, was kicked out and pretty much has nothing. He told us he would love to come to church, he didn't come yesterday because he didn't have any clean clothes to wear, but said he would aim for the next week. Such a kind man and he said he felt like we were a sign from God. He said he's seen us around and he also gets food from the food bank so has also seen us there, and he is very glad we came up to talk to him. I know that if we pray with a sincere heart and truly want to help, God will help us help his children. I'm forever grateful for these experiences i'm having out here, and I know God will direct us if we ask. 

We continue to meet with Elliot Kollman and teach him every Tuesday and Friday. More times than not I feel like he is teaching me! He is a man with a very sweet, pure, and strong testimony. We always joke around like we're family, I'm thankful that I have created a friendship with people out here, especially Elliot that will last forever. 

This week while tracting we knocked on a door that had a sticker on it that said "Only dragons are allowed inside" To be honest I was a little scared what was on the other side of the door. To my surprise when the door opened it was a nice man that invited us in to talk to him and his wife. We taught them about the restoration and got to talk to them a bit. Kindest people, with alot of Christ-like attributes that I could see in them in just that short half hour or so. They are foster parents and have A LOT on their plates. I don't know how they do what they do, but they said the situation they are in right now it would be extremely hard to go to church, but when things settle down they would love to check it out, because they know of some friends that were Mormons and then they met us. We're going to continue to go and visit them, but I was very thankful we were lead to their house this week.

I also had the neatest experience to go to the Young Women in Excellence and bear my testimony and give a little talk on how I got my medallion. I felt the spirit so strong, and it reminded me how grateful I am for the Young Women's program. I do know that it is a divine program, and Heavenly father loves his children so much, especially his Daughters! I will be forever grateful for that opportunity I had to share how important all the values are to me to all the girls and their parents. My heart is so full just thinking of how much God loves us. 

This week I had realized we didn't know our neighbors too well, so Sister Collins and I decided to make them brownies and go over and introduce ourselves. It was so fun to meet them! They had never heard of mormons before, or of missionaries! They were so surprised to see us and invited us in to talk and sit. After that I was reminded that there really a lot of people that need a visit from someone, and what a simple way to share the gospel!

Okay now I have to tell you about the moment I lost it... we knocked on the door this week, and it comes flying open with this very bigger boned man.. hahaha shirtless.. and hairy.. I had the hardest time keeping my cool, but I kindly and nicely told him who we are and invited him to learn. Sadly he said no, but I was happy I got my good laugh for the day. :)

We also got invited in and had a nice tour of a house with 13 cats and a big dog in there. We learned all of their names and left smelling, but it was totally worth it cause she took The Book Of Mormon, and promised she'd read it and give us a call after! 

Have a Happy Birthday This week mom :) And everyone have a good valentines day!! (Singles awareness day for me ;) haha but single and ready to mingle.... in 14 months of course!! ) 

Sorry this was a long one... but I had to share some of the neat miracles I saw this week. I know this church is very true,, and I know that one day every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ. Grateful for this gospel, I know it has changed my life forever. 

Love you all more than ever. xo

Sister Bee

SNOW..SNOW..SNOW! I don't thinks she'll ever complain about winters at home again :)

Cute companions!

Cool icicles!

She said you know you don't have many pictures to send home when you send home a picture of a bird :)

This is Maine! Actually a little warm for somedays there!

Attacking someone's door! She said it's these things that make being a missionary the best!

Always reppin' HOME!

Snow, Snow, and MORE Snow!

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

I've officially turned into a popsicle!! Haha

this week can be summed up in three words, SNOW SNOW SNOW!!

I'm sorry you guys have none in Utah :( That would make me really sad, cause I really love the snow.

We had 3 days this week that we were grounded and had to stay inside, and those made for some loonnng days! Haha but it's all good, we are out and about now, and it feels oh so good!! :)

So tracting in the negative degrees with wind chill is just miserable... I know thats a terrible way to put it, haha but i'm just being honest! I definitely just have to keep a prayer in my heart, and the Lord helps us through it! When some one invites us in, or lets us set up a return appointment it makes it all worth it! 

Its been kind of an uneventful week, but i'm so glad we got to email home today where yesterday we were snowed in!! Its always good to be updated :)

There was one day that I saw the Lords hand in everything. It is amazing if we look out for it! So we went out to go out for the day and had parked on the end. (big mistake) haha, the snow plow had covered our car with snow, and made it so we couldn't go anywhere!! So we had to get shovels and shovel the car out (in skirts, it was probably funny to watch). After we were done we were too tired to walk all the way from the parking lot back to our apartment so we just threw the shovels in the back of our car. Earlier that day I had picked out four people that had names on old missionary records that I wanted to go visit. I showed Sister Collins and she picked one of the names and started driving to the house. Once we found house we were looking for, house #23, we saw a little old lady shoveling her sidewalk, well trying to shovel her sidewalk. So we jumped out and offered her some help! She happily said she'd love some. She told us she was 80 years old and that this kind of stuff just hurts her, She also told us how she slipped on her steps on her way out earlier, she then went on to tell us that her husband usually shovels the walks but is very sick and inside. I felt extremely blessed that The Lord guided Sister Collins and I to someone who needed help! I know that when we are having a hard time, we can find happiness by serving others. 

Another awesome thing that happened this week, we meet with this awesome family who hasn't been to church in awhile. We got to meet their son this week for the first time, and he ended up showing up at church on Sunday. Which was super neat!

Hope you all enjoyed the super bowl! The only thing I was missing was family, food, and the half time. Haha! I'm just super glad the patriots won, serving here in New England, it definitely made a lot of the people I know happy! The Dawbins had us over for hamburgers and chocolate covered strawberries, which was really fun! 

The Church is very True. I love it with all my heart!! Have a great week :) Love you all, and so does your Heavenly Father!! He is so aware of all us, and wants to help us every step of the way through our life here on earth!!

I am so glad Brin is doing better!!

Sister Bee

You know it's cold when your name tag has frost on it!

Tay practicing her photography skills.. I love this picture!

Beautiful Augusta

`` 

This was after their first big storm, which was followed by two more!

Sister Austin took them to Texas Roadhouse! She said it was heavenly!!

Let it snow, let it snow!

Not very fun to tract in, but they are enduring and being blessed!

Who would have thought Lobster would become her favorite?!

Cute Sisters with Elliott who takes such great care of them!

Every Superbowl, Tay has been in charge of making chocolate covered strawberries. She usually tried to make them look like footballs, but gave up after they didn't turn out very well. Cute Karinna knew Taylie made them, and so she attempted them for dinner on Sunday, but ended up giving up like Taylie always did after a few! They still look dang good if you ask me! :) We are so lucky to have people who make these girls feel so loved!

We are so grateful Taylie has such loving members in her area, and a great companion! She is truly loving her mission and growing so much! She is an example to us all!