The latest letter from Mary! Also attached are some pictures she sent this week. 1st is Mary; 2nd Mary and her companion Sister Bobzien; 3rd & 4th - her MTC district - all those going to Armenia - Sis Bobzien, Elder Harrington, Elder Park, Elder Chojuacki and Mary; 5th her MTC badge; 6th- all these missionaries are leaving the same day - in 4 weeks! The ones not going to Armenia are going to Latvia; 7th - 3 roomies -Mary, Sis Bobzien and Sis Gallacher (going to Latvia); 8th Sis Missionaries - Mary, Sis Bobzien, Sis Hill, Sis Dondaldson (Indiana? I am not sure who they are or why they are in her pic!) and Sis Gallacher.
Enjoy!
Բարև ձէզ իմ ընտանիկը:
It is always so good to hear about things going on at home! And speaking of Steve and Julie-there was an english elder here a couple of weeks ago that has grandparents that are serving in Kenya-I'm sure they know them! And today in the temple, (we did initiatories and it was WONDERFUL), I was talking with one of the temple workers and she's from Thailand. I mentioned how grandma and grandpa served there and how they loved it-she was so cute, she said, "Everyone always does." She's been here since 1970 and she still has a beautiful accent.
Oh and yes-we are singing in conference for sure, we just started practicing today-I think we sing Saturday
Just one exciting with Հովո-Sat. when we taught him, we taught about fasting and how that can help us when we are seeking answers, and how it shows the extra effort to the Lord-we talked about all the things we fast for. At the end of the lesson he was just really frustrated, he said "I'm doing everything you ask me to do-I'm reading, praying, etc. And I'm just not feeling what you say I'll feel" We talked about it with him and Sis. Bobzien (she's so inspired) asked him if he was reading and praying because he REALLY wanted to know, or just because we asked him to. It got him thinking. So Monday, when we taught him, we had prepared to teach him all about doing things with real intent and what that means. We were just chatting and asked if he had any questions about what he read in the BOM. He said no, but then he proceeded to tell us what happened after we left on Sat. He expressed that he was just frustrated with not receiving an answer and he opened the BOM to where he had left off in 2 Nephi 31:13. He read that verse and felt the Holy Ghost-he said he knew that's what he needed to do and that he was willing to do whatever God asked him to do. We had already committed him to baptism, but he said "I really want to be baptized" It was SO NEAT! Afterwards, we were talking about how little we have to do with conversion, and how much the spirit does to convert people. It's not us by any means, not anything we say or do, but we are so blessed to be witnesses of those special experiences and to share with the people in their joy of knowing.
Yesterday for the devotional Elder Oaks and his wife came-they are amazing! Sis. Oaks talked about a few things, but one thing she said that I loved was "Jesus Christ stands by us in all that we do and we can be sure that He expects us to stand by one another"
Elder Oaks spoke a lot about how we can have the spirit with us always-he focused on the Sacrament and how often we forget that that is where we gain our power. If we take the sacrament worthily, regularly, and appropriately then we can be sure that the promise that we can always have His spirit with us is true. Yes, we have to live in accordance, but it starts with taking the Sacrament appropraitely. He also compared us to the Savior (WOW)-that we are doing something for others that they can not do for themselves. We are SO blessed!
Also, we talked a bit about the difference between feeling the Holy Ghost before baptism and having it after. How is is different? Why is it so important that we receive the Holy Ghost?
I am completely out of time-no Armenian today :( But I just want you to know how grateful I am for you and for all you do! I know this gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness! We are blessed beyond all measure to be apart of it! As I sat in the temple today I realized even more how much the gospel does for us. It's not that we just want people to be baptized, but that we want them to have all the blessings that come with the temple and that come from being apart of the gospel! I know Jesus Christ is our Savior-He loves us so much! He is our friend and we are His!
ձեզ շատ եմ սիրում
սերով
քույր Բրադբենթ
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