Hello Family and Friends! I love you all so much and that is why you are on this email! :) Just know that when I say I pray for you all each night I really do. I love you all and care about you so much. There is not a day that I don't think about you all and pray that you are being faithful and that you are happy. I just felt like I should start this email telling you all that I love you, and that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. He knows everything that we should be doing in our life and when we sincerely pray and ask him for help or guidance he will answer us. And we need to act on that message. Sometimes we may not understand why, but he does. And Proverbs 3:5-7 tells us "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths." I know that this is true. He will guide us.
Niagara Falls is so beautiful. The first time I went we just looked at the falls and didn't take much thought to go and look at Clifton Hill. That is a BIG shopping, games, and so much more street that is by the falls. I felt like I was in Disneyland because of all the people and the music. It was really strange. While we were there we had a couple different families come up to us and tell us that they were Mormon! It was so fun seeing happy families together. They all were going to go to the Pageant in Palmyra. The gospel blesses families. I know that it is what has kept my family together. I love being a witness of the sealing power in the temples. I get to teach people everyday that if my family endures to the end we will be united eternally. But, back to the falls..It is so beautiful there. In The Living Christ it says, "and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters." I think that the sound and power of Niagara Falls is a wonderful way to describe the way the Saviors voice was when he appeared to Joseph Smith. Something that I LOVE to think about is how Joseph Smith preached the Gospel in the same places that I am. I LOVE MY MISSION!!!
K is an amazing investigator! Last week I mentioned the story of how we would do anything to find a new investigator. And then we found one as we were walking across the cross walk? Well, this is him!!! I was on exchanges when Sister B and Sister R taught him about the Restoration. So I don't think I would do a very good job at explaining the lesson. But he wanted to learn more so it had to have been a spiritual one! But, this last week we taught him the Plan of Salvation. (Side note Friday night I decided I wanted to memorize the Family Proclamation to the World. So I started! I got to the bottom of the first column and I am so grateful for the knowledge and understanding of God's plan it has brought to me.) While we were teaching him the Plan of Salvation, he would stop and tell us that he really "digs" what we were teaching. He LOVES the idea of the potential we all have to become like Heavenly Father and he told us that it really makes sense to him what we are teaching. As we were teaching about our purpose of our life on earth, Sister Bell invited him to be baptized!! He really had to think about it and told us that he was not saying no but that he was not saying yes. He wanted to know more about baptism and was thrilled when we told him we would teach him more about it when we visited him next. The spirit was so strong as Sister Bell testified about the Atonement. He told us that he would pray to ask God if it was true. He has a hard time asking God for help because he doesn't believe he will answer him. He told us he feels like God sent us here and left us alone to figure things out. We shared a scripture from Mormon 9 about believing that God is a God of miracles. He changed his attitude on scriptures and prayer! And told us he was excited to receive an answer. We taught about Family History and Temples and again he told us "I really dig what you teach." Then we taught him about the Kingdoms of Glory. He told us he loves Mormons. He loves everything we teach and that alot of his favorite music groups, authors, and people in general are LDS. K texted us the next day and told us that he really wanted to take his Book of Mormon reading seriously. IT was such an amazing lesson. I have a testimony of the Plan of Salvation. I know that God has a plan for us all and that his Gospel which teaches us about his plan was changed during the Great Apostasy. Because of the Restoration, Joseph Smith was able to translate the Book of Mormon to teach us the simple doctrines of this divine plan. I know that Families are central to this plan and that because Mom and Dad chose to be sealed in the temple we are living this plan! The Gospel is true. God loves us.
This week we had skills and interviews with President and Sister Clayton. I am so grateful for the inspiration they both receive on how to help their missionaries. I have so many things that I need to work on in my life to become a better disciple of Christ! I have come to realize that we can never just stay in one spot. We need to continue to move forward. This last week I really reflected on a specific attribute that I know that I am lousy at. I have been praying and studying on how to develop this attribute. As I met with both Sister and President Clayton they gave me similar advice on the same topic! They had no idea that I was trying to work on that but, Heavenly Father did. He answers us through other people. After our interviews Sister B and I got to go on our exchanges! I was with Sister C! She is such a wonderful example of a consecrated missionary. We have a lot in common! She did DYW and Rotary Youth. She LOVES PMG, and we had a long discussion on our favorite sections. We talked about fun things like weddings and cute baby names (While we were trying to sleep of course) cause fun! And she just was the perfect Sister Training Leader for me at this point in my mission. At the close of exchanges we set goals. She, just like President and Sister Clayton, knew exactly what I needed. She challenged me to study and apply the attribute in my life. Since the exchange and interview I had, I have been trying to apply charity so much more in my mission work and life. I love the idea in PMG, in charity, saying. "Charity is the pure love of Christ." I have a testimony that this is true. But I think that the first thing that we need to do to have charity in our life can simply be shown by slightly changing the phrase. "Charity is the pure love IN Christ." I know that as we go to Heavenly Father with a weakness we ever so desire to be a strength, and we humble ourselves, He will change us through his son Jesus Christ. As we show that we have love for our Savior, we will change to become like him. I am grateful for the charity I feel from reading and coming to know my Savior. I pray that people can feel that same love through me.
I love you.
Sister Chelson
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