Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Sissy


Isn't this neat?  I love emails from members who know my girls!  This email made my day!  Sissy looks GREAT!!!




Just wanted to let you know that your missionary is being taken care of.  She is doing such good work in our Ward and is definitely a great asset to the work being done here. She serves with a spirit of love and caring for those she teaches.  Thank you so much for sharing her with us for a time. Let us know if there is anything we can do to make her mission better.

Brenda Hassell

ONE LOVE (Belize AND El Salvador)

So.....

A lot happened this week, but I really only just want to say that I love it here. This place.......was meant for me. I can't imagine my life without the people here, the experiences I have had, or the knowledge that I have gained. The mission is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I am SO grateful that the Lord knew I needed to come here.

Trust in the Lord. He knows what we need, who we need, and when we need it (them). Sometimes we may question or may doubt, but He has the eternal perspective and knows what will make us reach our potential.

If we allow the Atonement to enter our lives and become personal for each of our problems, doubts, or challenges, THAT is when we will see as He sees. THAT is when we will love as He loves. THAT is when His joy will fill our hearts until they feel as if they will burst at the seams! Being a missionary is the best because I get to feel that love each and every day.

Learn about the Atonement. Pray for understanding and that it will bless your life with more LOVE this week. And share those blessings and that love with all who cross your path. As you do so, it can only multiply.

I love my Savior. I love El Salvador. I love Belize. And I love this gospel and the chance I have as a missionary to share it every day. I know that His Atonement is real and is the only thing that can make us truly happy.

Thanks for your love, prayers, and support. I pray for you all as well!

Love Always,

Hermana McCulloch

Arrival in the Georgia Macon Mission

The Elder on your right is Charlie's friend from High School, Micah Lloyd.


This is just a short note to let you know that your missionary arrived in the Georgia Macon Mission safely.  Today is such a long day for them that I will be sending out only a group photo today.  You will receive an individual photo of your missionary with President and Sister Cottle on Wednesday.  Everyone was in good spirits and anxious for dinner since they had been up since about 3 am already.  Tomorrow they will find out where they are assigned and who their first companion in the field will be.  But for now…
Good night,


Sister Westbrook
Secretary
Georgia Macon Mission

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Have the best day of your entire life!

Well Happy Thursday!!!
Just to say the MTC is really fun...  I am learning so much from my teacher. 
The crazy thing is one of my teachers I saw in my last area!!! 
Well I hope things are going well for you. 

The cool thing is I am in a Trio again!!! That is Super funny!!! Sister Walker and Sister Pilimai!!! 
Also I was a senior Companion for a week!!! 
It was super amazing!!! 
Well the weather has been pretty cool!!!! 

Well just to say I love when we get to have Gym time. That means I can run and run. 
they other day I ran 3 miles!!! it felt so good!!! 

Well also one of my member lessons was Sister Kallie McCulloch's teacher.... 
She was super nice and very thoughtful... 

I got to say people who say the mtc is awful are wrong. It is the best experience you can ever get!!! 
 

Well I hope you are enjoying your week!!!!
also the Character of Christ talk by Elder Bednar is the best!!! I learned so much from it!! 

If you haven't watched it yet you should!!! It has a very powerful message. 

The cool thing that my companions and I did is that we got to watch our district teach their lessons with out them even knowing.
we got to use the mirror rooms and see how they did. 
It was a great learning experience for our own selves. And how we can apply it to ourselves. 
Can't wait  for monday!!!  I will be in Georgia and meeting my new companion!!!!

Love YOU!!! 
Well have a wonderful day!! 

Have the best day of your entire life!!!!!!    

Monday, May 18, 2015

Sister Bitty Bug at the MTC

I got a letter from Charlie today.  She is doing great and enjoying the MTC.  She didn't email today so I'm guessing today isn't her p-day.  She is serving in a trio and loving it.  One of her friends from High School, Micah Lloyd, entered the MTC on the same day and is also headed to the Georgia Macon Mission.  She has also been reunited with several girls from North Sanpete: Emily Johansen and Maurine Oldroyd (another Fountain Green girl).
There will be 4 Sister missionaries traveling to the Georgia Macon Mission and 1 elder and 2 elders headed to the Georgia Atlanta North Mission.  Charlie is VERY excited.  She leaves on Monday.

Her address at the MTC is:  Sister CharLynn McCulloch
                                             May 25    GA-MAC
                                             2007 N 900 E   Unit 96
                                             Provo, Utah 84602

She thinks it's funny that she's just a few blocks from her Uncle Seth and Aunt Tina

Getting from Point A to Point B...Kallie

It has been a pretty exhilarating week! I had the opportunity to speak in Spanish a little bit! It was just so great, scary but it turned out amazing! Story will be mentioned later on. :) 

I don't know how to explain it but having Sister Messagee leave was hard. I didn't know how close we were until she drove away and I was given a new Companion. It was hard to adjust! I miss her, She was defiantly a blessing in my life and helped me grow closer to my Heavenly Father! 

So...The new companion, she is from Kasirum Utah, has 10 siblings (Half-Siblings and Step Siblings) So they all don't count as 10 from one family. she is pretty great! We get along great and have a lot in common. 

This week has been pretty great! We have been able to see many people and I have been able to share the gospel and my testimony with many many people! I wasn't really opened in talking but after the 12 weeks were over I have talked so much and been open up to everyone! I have noticed my testimony developing and being strengthened by everyone I talk to and every time I open my mouth. 

We had a Spanish Book of Mormon in our apartment that I saw at the beginning of my mission and I told myself that one day I am going to place this Book of Mormon to someone that wants it. Sister Christensen and I were looking through our Former Investigators and we stopped by to say hello to him and he wasn't there but,  his mom answered the door and only spoke Spanish, I could only say a few words here and there to her and she told us to come back the next day, so later we went back and she was there again, her husband was as well (he spoke a little English) and we were able to share the gospel with them and I talked a little bit in Spanish and placed the Book of Mormon with her! She said she will read it and we can come back again later! It was a great experience!


Story of the Week:
-Sister Christensen and I were heading to an appointment and decided that we were going to brush our teeth before we left because we just ate lunch. I was putting on my shoes and walked into the bathroom to grab my toothbrush, well It wasn't there and I turn to my companion and there it was in HER mouth! My jaw dropped and in a panic I blurted out "MY TOOTHBRUSH" she looked down and she said oops, I thought it was mine. My head was spinning, what was I going to do? I asked another question.. I said "are you still going to use that? She said no and threw it away and gave me a new one. Victory has been restored. I have a toothbrush again! :D 

Quote of the Week:
"First doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith, We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace, and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."  IF we put our faith in Christ and not worry about the circumstances that we are going through then we have no need to worry. Our faith will get us through it all! 

Scripture of the Week:
 Alma 34:31- Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore if ye will repent and harden not your heart, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you!  
- No matter what happens or what course we are taking, where we are now is where we are suppose to be, it is what God wants us to do and the way he wants us to accomplish that task. 

I love ya'll so much! Thank you for the prayers and helping me keep myself going each day! 

Thank you for the examples you are in my life :) 

Sister Kallie  
Kallie and Sister Messegee

Kallie and Sister Christensen

Lovin Me Some Miracles...Lonnie in El Salvador

Okay..... So first off.....there was a MIRACLE in Belmopan this past weekend! My old comp, Sister Richins was at a multi-zone with President and Sister Hintze and the assistants challenged them to find those investigators that we have taught for a LONG time that are just holding on to something and not making that decision to be baptized. She went and visited one of my dearest friends (very much like a sister to me) and invited her to be baptized that night, like the APs invited them to do. And you know what happened? She did it. She was baptized! Sister Hintze shared a little about that story at the multi-zone (I had heard nothing of this until then) and the tears just started streaming down my face. I love that gyal so much and the fact that she backed down from that decision right before I left for El Salvador broke my heart. As I saw the photo Sister Richins sent me this week, I read it with the biggest smile on my face!


This week has been such a great one and so....with that said, here goes my weekly excerpt from the letter to President:

"This week was yet again full of miracles, this time, however, with less actives and recent converts. (With our investigators, too, but mostly with our assigned MARC. :D) We were able to bring A LOT of them to church this Sunday! I was so happy to see each of them walk in the door.

So. We met for the first time a recent convert this week who is ALWAYS working. She had called late at night on Tuesday (like 11:20ish), but I was SOOO out of it. I had scheduled an appointment with her because it was her day off at 6:30 in that moment. The only problem was that I scheduled it during the middle of correlation. So....as the day went on, we tried to get ahold of her, with no success. So I was freaking out! Well we rushed to correlation so that we could get in and get out to get to our lesson with Carolina and then to the last lesson of the day. It was just.....CRAZY. So what ended up happening is that correlation was cancelled. So then, amidst me freaking out (we were already late to Carolina's and STILL had to run back up to our area....), it turned out that SHE SHOWED UP! She knew that we had a meeting at the church, so she came so she could meet us. Then we went and ate some pupusuas as we got to know her a little. She ended up not coming to church, buuuut we're working on it. This week for sure, we will get her! :)

Next MA--a lady named Marta. Her grandson is two and had a terrible infection for two weeks and was not eating food. At all. Just water and juice occasionally. That was one (of her various) excuses for not coming. Well we asked the elders to come and give him a blessing. We passed by Saturday night to see how he was doing and she said he was fine! He had started to eat again and both she, her daughter, and the grandson came to church the next day! 

And then the last MA miracle happened last night! We had been trying to find this Familia Mira in the whole three weeks that we have been here, but they never answer or they just hide from us.... So what ended up happening is last Sunday we had knocked on their door and talked to the five-year old son. The mom was ignoring us and said she didn't want to see us. So the boy said to come back next Sunday (yesterday). Well I had completely forgotten about that. We had passed by several times during the week and....nothing. Last night, we were on our way to an investigator's house, when we passed by (completely led by the Spirit! Our plans had put us in a different area of the colonia at that time....), Hermana Alsdorf suggested that we stop and see if they were there (the lights were on). So we knocked. AND THEY LET US IN!!!! And then, even more miraculously, the father told us that he didn't want anything else with the Church. He had decided that almost a year ago (for various reasons), but that the missionaries always came. The thing is, is that the missionaries would listen to them, hear his doubts, and then never come back to answer them. I think it had to do with the missionaries always getting changed.... :) So anyway, he said that because Luis (the son), told us to come back next Sunday (yesterday), that if we came, they would let us in and come back to church. But if not, they wouldn't do anything.

We, obviously, had no idea about that! And yet, Heavenly Father did and was able to guide us by His Spirit to find that family and to testify of His Omniscience and His infinite love for them. I know He cares for them and He wants them to have the fulness of His blessings again in their lives. Just like He does with EVERYONE.

We had so many other wonderful experiences with less actives and recent converts, but there is never enough time to write about them all in an email (or in my journal for that matter--which is another thing I need to repent about!)....

We also had a really cool experience with a new investigator this week named Antonio. He is 18 years old and reminds me a little of my little brother, Jack. Anywho, Hna. Alsdorf had found him on interchanges and then I later talked to him on the street and he said we could come back to visit. The first visit--he had read nothing from the Restoration pamphlet, but he committed to be baptized on the 6th (AND to come to church), but the fact that he didn't read made me skeptical about it all.... So then we went back a few days later, he STILL hadn't read the rest of the pamphlet. In fact, he had lost it. So here my companion is, SO excited about this baptismal date we had and I was worried that....it wasn't going to work out. But at the end of that lesson about the Restoration, he opened up and said he had questions. He was just.....looking for that guidance and for that happiness in his life. Well....I finished writing my testimony in the Libro de Mormòn that we were going to give him and then I testified that he now had that guidance and happiness in his hands. All he had to do was open it up, read it, and pray to know if it was true. And then to apply what he learned of course! And you know what happened, President? He came to church the next day. AND had read the Introduction like we invited him to do. (All in less than 24 hours....) 

I am so humbled at all of the people we are seeing every day here, President. These people that we are talking with? We NEED to meet them and share this message with them. And it has to be Hna. Alsdorf and I. Together. God knows each of His children. I come to realize that as I read from the Book of Mormon, but also as I continue in His service as a missionary here in the Colonia Santa Eugenia. I KNOW that I am where I need to be. And I am so grateful for everything that has happened in my life to get me here."
I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that Heavenly Father loves us and is aware of us. I invite you all to pray and ask for that knowledge yourselves. He will answer you. Because He wants you to know that He cares.

I love you, all. I pray for you always and I am so grateful to have such a support from such wonderful people. Keep smiling and finding ways to share the gospel with all of God's children that He places in your paths this week!

Love Always,

Hna. McCulloch (Still holding on to "Sistah M."....)
   
                                  Sister Richins with one of Lonnie's dearest friends  aka  "Miracle"