Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Transfers again!

Hello All!

Well the transfer is here again! It's been another 6 weeks. Our District here is changing a lot. All 8 of us are going to Charlotte tomorrow. Well actually Elder Ibarra isn't. He's just going to Ashboro to be a District Leader half way through the transfer because the District Leader there is leaving half way through the transfer. But the rest of us 7 are heading down to Charlotte. Our apartment right now is a total mess! Because one of us is packing. Can you guess who is leaving?

Well if you said me... You... Are...





WRONG!

I'm staying to K-ville for another transfer! At least!

We got anti-ed this week. Not fun. We totally got set up by this guy. But I remained calm and just bore pure testimony. Afterward Sister Reading and I got blessings from the Elders. Which made me feel so much better. And I realized, also as I reread my Patriarchal Blessing, that the Priesthood is restored. It is the power of God on Earth. Elder Hughes, while giving me my blessing said something that I needed to hear and only God would know that I needed it said that way. I know that the Priesthood is restored and that it is the power of God here on the Earth.

That night we watched Elder Holland's Testimony of the Book of Mormon (found on lds.org). He mentions Ether 12, so the next morning I read Ether 12. Verses 23-28, and 36-38 really hit me personally. People will mock the Book of Mormon, they will try to find fault with it. But you can't deny the power behind it when you read it. If you read it to find fault, guess what? That's what you'll get, but if you read it to find truth, to find God's word, you will! I can promise you, because I have. Just because someone doesn't accept my testimony of the Book of Mormon doesn't mean it's wrong or doesn't put the blame on me. I've done all I can. Now it is their choice to choose to accept or reject my testimony. But I am found spotless at the last day.

That was Saturday I read those verses, and during the day, well do I have a story for you! We biked to an area we haven't been in before. As we were locking us our bikes to a sign next to someone's house, a lady came out. First off - missionary friends has this ever happened to you?

She came out with two cups of ice water and lemon. She then talks to us about how she likes her church, but she loves what we are doing. She tells us how she is a singer for her church and sings for us. She also says that anyone who argues or tries to pull you down has "forgotten who they are and whom they are" meaning we are Children of God. As we're talking she's like "do you have a few minutes we can listen to my songs?" So we go inside, listen to some songs (she's sings like Jenny Phillips songs, same type of music). Then she looks at my shoes (I'm wearing my boots) and says "Those can't be comfortable to bike in, what's your shoe size?" Then she proceeds to go to the other room and get two pairs of shoes. Which she gives to me. One white pair, one brown. The brown ones were $150! But she was taking them to goodwill anyway. So that was the highlight of my week! :) oh and we shared with her the "Child of God" video. It was so good! She even started singing along to the chorus!

I love and miss y'all!

- Sister Miriah Loosle -
2 Nephi 2:8 -- it is our duty to share the Gospel! So Share it! :)

Monday, April 21, 2014

Happy Easter! :D

Dear Fam and Friends!

A lot happened this week, so I'll go day by day again.

Monday - We had a Zone Activity in High Point. We went bowling and played Chair Soccer at the Church Building. It was really fun, until the next day when I was sore! We had a great lesson with the McNeill's and Sister Idol. We read 3 Nephi 18 and talked about the sacrament and how we are renewing our baptismal covenants every week. When Sister Idol took us home she let us go through her "Goodwill" pile in the back of her car. If I'm completely honest, for a 69 year old she has a REALLY GOOD STYLE! I got a few *cough 10* shirts, and a couple cardigans :P but hey a girl needs new clothes once in a while, and they were free!

Tuesday - We went the the Bishop's Storehouse in the Colfax area (really it's in Greensboro City). That's always fun! Well when we got home, I did not feel good! My stomach was upset all day after that, so we didn't do much. BUT! Christy, the Elders investigator, wanted us to call her, because she needed someone she could better relate to. She's so great! So we taught her about the Atonement and Book of Mormon over the phone. THEN! At about 8:30ishPM we decide to go get the mail. Mind you the temperature had dropped from 70 to 40 or lower in matter of a couple hours. Well I bundle up and look like a homeless person, because I don't feel well and I'm sick! I'm still wearing a skirt, but I put on sweats underneath and a huge jacket, a couple of layers actually. So I don't look "dignified". But I don't care at this point, we're going to the mailbox and back. Well of course there's someone else getting their mail. I don't feel like talking, but the missionary in me, and the nice person I am, just says hi and how are you? Well then we actually start talking! And it turns out he wants to get back into church, because his dad was a pastor and died a couple of years ago. But he works on Sundays. So he said, "Y'all can bring me the word!" Of course we can! So right there, as is look homeless, we teach a 6 minute restoration. And give him a Book of Mormon. Oh and his name is Mark Anthony, no not the famous one, that'd be neat though. So we're excited to teach him again this week.

Wednesday - We got the CAR! We started teaching Leighann again. And on Wednesday we taught a fantastic lesson on the restoration! She was really into it. She's 12 and is just so spiritual. She wants to learn more about Christ so she can share her knowledge with others. We invited her to be Baptized on May 17th and she's excited for it. She doesn't completely understand it yet, but I'm confident that she'll learn and grow and be a wonderful Young Woman.

Thursday - Zone Conference! I got called on Wednesday afternoon asking if I'd sing with a group. Sure! I love singing! :) so we had to be at Zone Conference at 8:07AM, which means we had it get up at 5:45. Gah! I don't know how I got less than 8 hours of sleep for 5 years. Anyway! We sang "How Firm A Foundation" verses 1, 2, and 7. Zone Conference was fantastic! I learned so much! And I love seeing President and Sister Craven! I got a package from Celeste! :) Thank you! I'll send a card when I have time!

Friday - It was alright. We saw Sister Youngs and showed her the Because of Him video. If you haven't seen it! Go to my Facebook right now and watch it! And then share it!  Oh we spend an hour in the hospital again! Our district leader said that should be a key indicator for us! Kelly was in the hospital. She had pneumonia. She's so sweet though and so strong. She was suppose to get out yesterday, but she had to stay at least one more night, maybe two, we shall see.

Saturday - Mariztella has her farewell! I can't believe she's leaving for her mission.   I don't know if I told you, but she's going to California Sacramento, Spanish Speaking. She's from the Philippines and speaks Tagalog and English, so she's learning Spanish in the Mexico MTC. She got her call a month ago and is leaving in two days! I'm glad I had four months, even if they were super long! And she gave such a great talk! I remember that like it was yesterday, and forever ago. 10 months had gone in the blink of an eye.

Sunday - HAPPY EASTER! :) I love Easter! I think it's my favorite holiday, because everything is so bright and colorful and everyone is cheery and thinking of Jesus! The Because of Him video that the Church produced was so good. Seriously everyone needs to see it. It's on Easter.mormon.org and lds.org. So go now! And then tell me your thoughts! I love the Atonement. It's such a beautiful thing to consider. What the Savior did for you personally. I wish I could just show you my brain so you could see how I feel and my thoughts on it. Everything was focused on the Savior yesterday, which was so perfect! The talks were on the Atonement and they were so good. The music that the choir and musical numbers were just perfect! Gah! I hope everyone had a great Easter Program. In Sunday School we talked about Faith in Jesus Christ. I was asked to share a personal experience on faith. There's a lot, but this is the one I shared:

"When I was just a couple of months out on my mission, I got an email from my dad. In it he told me he had been laid off from a job. My mom had quit her job at the beginning of the year, so my family went to no income. When I first read the email, I didn't know what to do. I thought maybe I could go home and work, to help my parents out. The faith my parents have in Jesus Christ and the covenants they've made amazes me still. After emailing my dad and talking to him about it and also talking to my mission president, I realized that I needs to stay out here, because they were receiving so many more blessings because of it. But the story doesn't end there. Because faith is active. My parents started putting resumes and applications everywhere they could, actively putting their faith to the test, that as they did their part, God would do His. I know my parents are being blessed because of it. Because of their Faith In Christ."

Then Relief Society was on The Significance of The Sacrament. Here are some questions to ponder (and share if you'd like):

  • How do you prepare for the sacrament?
  • What does the sacrament mean to you?

I have a testimony of the sacrament and it's purifying power. It's is a renewal of our covenants that we made at baptism. And if we go to the sacrament table with a broken heart and contrite spirit, taking our sins, guilts, shames, weaknesses, and whatnots, Christ can make us whole again.

Well our Christlike Attribute study is "over", not really because we're all working on them continually. But here are my thoughts on Obedience:

Obedience is Key! Really everything falls into obedience. When we are obedient we have Faith, hope, charity, virtue, patience, we want to gain more knowledge, and be more humble. And most of all when we are obedient we are being diligent. Obedience is central to all the Christlike Attributes. My talk I prepared for Zone Conference was on Obedience, based on Elder Hales talk, "If Ye Love Me, Keep my Commandments". I also really loved the last question in the scripture study on Obedience, about the Army of Helaman. It's gives the references Alma 56:24-28 and Alma 57:21-27. I've always loved the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors and their faith and obedience to their leaders and parents. It was with "exactness", because of their "exceeding great faith". Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles.

As I've been studying these last 9 weeks, I've learned so much about all of the Christlike Attributes. One of the greatest things is at they are all connected. They intertwine of beautiful, sometimes it's hard to tell them apart, or just work on one. Because I've seen as I've worked on one, others improve as well.

Love,
Sister Loosle

- Sister Miriah Loosle -
2 Nephi 2:8 -- it is our duty to share the Gospel! So Share it! :)


This is Baby Joy. She is so cute! And one reason I can't wait
to get home is to hold babies again! :P

My Easter Outfit and Easter Basket from the Polus'

Beautiful North Carolina Spring! And well me :P

Monday, April 14, 2014

The Diet of an Every Day Missionary

Dear family and friends,

This week has been so fantastic! On Tuesday we saw Ella and she committed to be baptized so she started praying about April 19 and April 26. When we went back on Thursday, we walked in and she told us she wanted to be baptized on the 19th! That's this week! However she didn't come to church yesterday, so were thinking it might be moved back to the 26th. But we are seeing her tonight so we shall see! Pray for us! She is so prepared either way.

That's our most exciting news so now to the not so exciting news.

On Friday we found a new investigator named Teresa. She is a ball of fire! We talked her the first half of the restoration and then she had to go to an appointment but we are so excited to continue to teach her. She went to the hospital yesterday so we were unable to meet. But we are scheduled to meet her this week and we're excited to see her progress. When we first knocked on her door on Friday, she let us right in before we even introduced ourselves. We started talking to her about her life and about her family. And then she brought up she has a faith in Jesus Christ and how it's helped her throughout her life. So then we introduce the message that we share about the restoration. She loved every bit of it that we shared with her. She accepted a book of Mormon and we had the return appointment for yesterday, but she had gone to the hospital for little blood pressure and wasn't able to meet. But this week we will see miracles!

So the subject has to do with the Member MTC that we put on. The missionaries in Kernersville and Colfax got together with our ward mission leaders and put it on. Each set of missionaries presented a new way to share the gospel. We will be getting a copy of the entire performance and I'd love to share it with y'all on my return home. But a quick overview of the 4 sections:

  1. Everyday Mormon Language This was mine and Sister Reading part. We talked about how we as members sometime avoid using words like "ward, stake, relief society, etc" in conversations with non-members. But in reality if we use them, people will ask us what they mean and we can have a gospel related conversation everyday!
  2. We Succeed When We Invite! Our success doesn't count on wether or not someone accepts the invitation to take the missionary lessons, gets baptized, and stays active. Our success is in the invitation. Because when we don't invite, we are taking away their agency to choose. So invite!
  3. We Need to Be Needed Everyone needs to be needed, but have you ever thought about asking a non-member to help with your calling or activity? I thought of my mother, who asks her friend Michelle to help interpret in church. It's a great way to friendship, fellowship, and introduce people to the church.
  4. Set A Date!

*see attached picture for more details.* Set a date to have someone in your home to be taught by the missionaries.

On Saturday the ward had an Easter Egg hunt/pot luck in the grove, it reminds me of the little area where Sunset valley does our Memorial Day breakfast, only this one had a pavilion over more tables and a swing set, and a grave yard. Fun fact, this is probably the only, or one of the only LDS church buildings with a graveyard. Most other churches have them, but not. LDS.

Church yesterday was great as always. In Relief Society we did lesson 7, because that's what the teacher prepared! But it was still so good! We talked about Joseph and Hyrum Smith and how we can learn from their relationship with each other and their other siblings. That is how we should treat our siblings and sisters in the gospel.

- Sister Miriah Loosle -
2 Nephi 2:8 -- it is our duty to share the Gospel! So Share it! :)


Monday, April 7, 2014

"One Should Not Roam Through Garbage!"

Familia and Amigos,

Who knew April would be here so fast, and with April comes conference! Conference is a great spiritual rejuvenation! If you haven't seen ALL the sessions, they are already putting them up on lds.org, so go! :)

This week was so great! Mostly the second half of the week, so we'll talk about that!

We went on exchanges with Sister Nelson and Sister Nielson. Yup, they're companions. Sister Nielson came to Kernersville with me and we had a great time! We met some less-actives we haven't gotten a hold of before. And found some new investigators. Some solid and others not so much.

Zone Meeting was Friday, so this weekend was just a spiritual high all-day, e'ery-day! The Assistance were there and one of them, Elder Steed, sat in on my role play. It was nerve racking, but he had some great insights.

We also saw Kaitlyn, with Sister Wagner and Katherine, who's Kaitlyn age (the only girl at church). It was great! We taught the 10 commandment with hand-signs. I'll have to show y'all when I get home.
Then we saw Ella and committed her to be Baptized! She's 10, moms a member, dad's not. But she has the strongest testimony ever! Well we asked her when she thought she could be ready, "today, Tomorrow, next week, next month, a year?" And she said, "next week". Well all of us were in shock, so we were like, "how about you pray about it." Which her parents liked. So she's Rating about the 12th and the 19th.

Now CONFERENCE! Where to even begin? I loved everything! I think the first session is my favorite overall. But I loved everything! My favorite quotes, as you can see, is from Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis. But I loved everything!

So not a lot happened that you all don't already know about. So... Sorry this is a short email! But I'm replying to everyone else's emails too! :)

Love you! Miss you!

- Sister Miriah Loosle -
2 Nephi 2:8 -- it is our duty to share the Gospel! So Share it! :)
Picture is the Sisters in my District! :)