10/22/14

Family,

     This week has been a good week! We had a wonderful lesson with Frank and the elders on Thursday, but we feel that he is not progressing towards baptism like he should.  He goes to church every week and reads the Book of Mormon every day and has been taught everything but is not wanting to get baptized still...so we kind of decided that we are going to ease off a little bit and see if it helps him.  

     Oh, and this was quite fun; Thursday we were filmed for a commercial!! haha the AP's asked us if we would do it, but we didn't really know what it was going to entail......well, it was way intense and hard core!  They took 4 companionships and some elders in the SLC mission and took us down into the recording studio that they have in the Conference Center. Bright lights, HUGE cameras, and equipment everywhere!  They are making a commercial for scholarships for the returned missionaries who attend LDS Business College. Anyway, so they recorded all of us (several times) signing “Called to Serve”.  Then they did the filming part and afterwards combined the 2 shoots.  They took lots of professional pictures.........we all felt like movie stars, hahah! So, it should be playing in about a month and they are going to send a copy home to me! It was really fun and we all felt really really special! 

    This entire week I have been trying to call Jamah but have not been able to get a hold of him.  I know this sounds terrible, but it is just the truth.......I was worried he died of ebola, so I called the Branch President.  Thankfully Jamah had just lost his phone so wasn't answering my calls!  I did finally get a hold of him Tuesday and he is doing awesome!  He is receiving the Melchezidek priesthood this week and I am so happy for him! 

    We have also received a lot of new investigators this week, which is exciting because I can leave Sister Sonku with lots of people to teach! We have had lots of good experiences this week together, and met several people from South Africa. I love when Sister Sonku sees people from her state or that served in her home mission because then they speak to each other in Xhosa and I love listening to her speak it! 

    I am going to miss her so much; she is wonderful!  She is a great missionary and a wonderful person.  She has helped and taught me so much.  It will be sad to say good bye to her, but it will be ok.  And we have a lot of things happening this week.  Sunday at Music and the Spoken Word our entire “departing class” will be recognized and then have a meeting to discuss and give advice to the sisters who will be going outbound.  We also have to check out with the mission President Sunday night as well.  Then Tuesday we are meeting with the Temple President at 8 and then attending the 10:00 session and then taking a billion pictures after I am sure. Then we’ll have our departing lunch at Tucanos (thanks to me) along with our little testimony meeting there too!! Then I have my departing interview right after lunch with President.  I love him so much.  Since he’s been the mission president he instituted a planning diagram for our week and for our transfer, that we use now when we have weekly planning. Well, we got a letter this week from President, and he said that he wanted us to make the same chart; but for the 1st year AFTER our missions.  I have put a lot of time and prayer into this, and it has been so fun and good to make it.  It has made me really think about I want to do when I get back and the goals I have. I do know that I want to continue to progress spiritually.  Anyway, we need to them in by Friday; and then he will review them and go over them with us on our departing interview.  I am so excited to hear what advice he’ll give me!  I truly love him and will miss him so much.

    And I love all of you too!  I am so grateful for all the support and love my family and friends have given me during my mission.  I am so grateful for the opportunity and experience I’ve had to be a full time missionary.  It has been such a blessing.  And now I will be seeing all of you in 1 week!  Don't forget to pick me up at the airport!  

I could write what I have learned my entire mission but it would take forever, so here is just a little testimony:

    My mission means everything to me.  This last 18 months has changed me and helped me understand the plan God has for me and who I am as a daughter of God. I’ve learned to love as the Savior loved, and to see God's children and the potential they have.  I love the people I have met on my mission.  Doing everything I could to serve them brought me so much joy; but I think the most valuable lesson I learned was that if I follow the will of my Heavenly Father it will bring the most happiness.  I learned this early on my mission.......I had set high expectations and goals for myself that I wanted to accomplish each transfer and I was NEVER happy because I was never reaching those expectations. I remember going to one of the Assistants and asking for advice. What she said changed my whole perspective, and I think it will help me for the rest of my life.  She said, "Sister Marsh, if you set your expectations lower than God's expectations, you will never be happy or satisfied; but you will also never be happy or satisfied if your expectations are higher that God's.  They need to be the SAME as His."   

    The moment I changed my expectations to His, I was happy.  Whether it was the assignment I was given, or the companion.......I knew that it was God's will for me and I accepted it and made the best of it.  I have learned I will be happy if I follow God's will and to do His work the way HE wants it done. 

    I am forever grateful for the experiences I had, and for the opportunity to serve the Lord and preach His gospel.  My life will never be the same and I will be forever grateful for the testimony I have gained being here.  Like it says in Alma 26:16 ,"I will glory in the Lord.  I will rejoice for my joy is full, I will praise my God forever.  Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Ye, who can say too much of His great power and of His mercy and of His long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."

    I love this gospel and it is perfect and blesses my life in so many ways.  I know that it has been restored by His servant Joseph Smith and I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and was needed to be brought forth to complete and fulfill the Restoration. I testify that Jesus is the Christ.  He died for me and for each of you.  He never forgets us and has our lives manifested on His body. (1 Nephi 21:16) I love Him and am grateful for the sacrifice He made for me, that gives me the chance to be perfected in Him.  He lives today.  He is aware of me and is in the details of my life.  He is involved in His work and I have felt His help and the help of His angels, especially Matty, during my time here.  His work is the most important thing we could do in our live here on earth.  I love this gospel.

    The work is bigger than I am, I am blessed to be a part of it.  The work isn't better because of me, I am better because of the work.  I didn't do anyone a favor by going on a mission, the favors were done to me, by allowing me to go. 

The church is true.

For the last time,

           Sister Mindy Marsh

10/15/14

Family,

     Another week has gone by! I can't believe I only have one more week to email before I am home....that is freaky!!!  This week has been full of surprises! Lots of things we did not plan for but lots of miracles.  God is sooo good and he blesses us soo much!

     Friday I got to see mom and dad!  I was so excited to see you and it was fun to have lunch with you! We were walking around Temple Square and Sister Sonku and I have this little game we like to play about guessing all the black people and where they are from... we talk to EVERY black person that we see, anyway we stopped this lady and she was from South Africa.  Her and Sister Sonku knew some of the same people so that was fun.  We talked to her for quite a while and then we were like ok we need to go and we start walking to the South and I was like, "Sister Sonku look how cute that African family is and their 2 kids!?" Well we got closer and it is our investigator FRANK!  I was sooo excited to see him! He was with his cousin and her 2 kids, but we got to talk to him for a while.  We had a really good lesson with him.  He is so solid!  I love his sincere desire that he has it is remarkable truly.  He was having a little bit of confusion why we want him to be baptized again for a 3rd time and so I talked to him about the priesthood but then about how as missionaries we are not just wanting people to join the church to join the church, but we talk about baptism so much because it is the first step to returning to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again and we want them to receive eternal salvation.  That night I was thinking about it, and it made me realize how important baptism really is and I would rather baptize 1 person on my mission that makes it to the temple and is sealed to their family, then to baptize 100 people who never make those covenants after baptism. Baptism is not the end, but rather a beginning of a life, living after our perfect example Jesus Christ.

     Speaking of sealing to their families, Saturday was one of the most special days for sure while I have been here.  President is such a nice guy that he gave me permission to go to the sealing for Carter, Brad and Emily!!  I did not really know what to expect with a baby sealing, but it was the most precious experience.  It was so fun because I was able to see so many of my family on both sides and be with them in the temple.  Though the actual sealing is very simple and brief, the spirit was so strong.  I just remember sitting their enjoying the Spirit and then the door opens and little baby Carter is all in white so happy and calm.  It was a beautiful sight and I could not help but cry.  More importantly though, is that Carter is now sealed to his parents for time and all eternity and the relationships that they are starting right now will be able to continue in the life to come.  It is an amazing thing.  

     On Sunday morning after sacrament, we were told that David Archuleta was coming that night for a little concert! hahah they told the sisters to stay quiet, don't clap and don't scream.... ya that didn't happen with 200 sisters that are from different countries going to see him in person! :) But it was very neat actually.  Of course he sang, but we did a question answer and there were lots of questions about his mission and how he keeps his testimony strong in the music world and things like that.  I was very impressed and very touched by many of the things he said.  I took good mental notes of things that I could do when I get home to make sure that I continue to progress spiritually.  He talked about how during the trips on the road he always felt like people controlled him, telling him where to go at what time and what he is doing every second of the day, but he said that one day it dawned on him that I CONTROL MY LIFE. If I want to go to church while I am on the road, I CAN... if I want to go to the temple every week, I CAN...I choose what I want to do.  I love that.  Ya I am never going to have to worry about Hollywood doing my schedule, but work school family friends can take over as well and take away from spiritual things, but if I commit to myself and to Heavenly Father, I can control my life, and I can do those things if I commit to do them.  It was also fun to see the Lowe's! I had NO idea that Kendra was his pianist...she was sooo excited to meet me and it was fun to feel a little more connected! 

     This week has been great finding new investigators as well!  We have found lots of new people to teach! People who are very prepared from mormon.org <http://mormon.org>  chat.  Just to share one example real quick, I was chatting with this lady and she said, I am very interested in your church, I have been studying and I told my husband I am going to be baptized at the end of this month! He is not totally into her getting baptized but she asked if we could help her learn more so that she could answer the questions her husband asked and help her prepare to be baptized this month...ok yes thank you I would love to help you! OH one more.  This girl called in to find an address for a church building...she lives in Phoenix which made it 100x cooler, but we started talking.  I invited her to go to church this Sunday and asked her if missionaries could come to her house and she said please send them!  We continued to talk and long story short she told me she is not a member yet but was going to go to church and wanted to talk to me and meeting with missionaries so that she could get baptized! I am calling both of them later this week and I am so happy!! The Lord prepares soo many people to receive his gospel it is amazing!!

The church is true.

Sister Mindy Marsh

10/8/14

Hello Family,

     This week has been so great!  General Conference was wonderful as always and there were so many good things that happened this week.  Here is a little recap of the last week! 

     Thursday- I went on exchanges with Sister Weidmann.  She is from Switzerland.  She is an amazing missionary and I had a blast with her and so many miracles happened!  We took this wonderful couple on a tour Kenya and Dimitrea.  They were soo prepared for the gospel.  We taught them the Restoration as we took them to different places, and Dimitrea I swear is a member....she knew EVERYTHING!  It was so cool to be with them, we ended by taking them to the little movie about the Plan of Salvation and they were so happy they loved it and they wanted to know more.  They took Books of Mormon and they gave us their information to keep teaching them! We were taking ALL the tours so we went and took another tour right after that!  It was a couple and their daughter.  The wife is from Thailand and we were with them for 2 hours!  It was such a long tour because they talked and talked and talked but it was awesome.  They were very intrigued by the things we shared with them and so they told us please tell us more and email and call us! Then quick little story we went to Deseret Book to get something really quick and Elder Christofferson was there just roaming around and was like " Hello Sisters!" He talked to us for a little bit and we felt very special that he talked to us :)

     Friday- There was a missionary who served in Sister Sonku's ward for the last 9 months and so he finished his mission and came straight to Temple Square to see her and had his Stake President release him on Temple Square.  The Elder wanted us to be there too so we went.  I didn't know ANY of them and it was so emotional for me.  It made me not want to leave the mission ever! I am just dreading when President Hiatt tells me to "bear your testimony for the last time as a full time missionary" so I hope he won't :) and then he said Elder you can now remove your name tags...I just am going to be so sad.  It hit me hard during that little meeting that my time really is so short now, I can't believe it and it made me so sad to think my 18 months is already done and that my time as a full time missionary is almost over.  How sad!  My time as a missionary has completely changed my life.  I am soooo grateful for my mission.  It means everything to me and I am so happy I was able to serve. 

   Saturday and Sunday- GENERAL CONFERENCE MADNESS!!!!!!!! Sister Sonku and I attended the Saturday morning session!  It was wonderful I loved it and I thought it was so fun that they had general authorities speak in their native languages! I loved Elder Wong's talk even though I had to read the subtitles on the screen!  It applied so much obviously to me as a missionary but I loved how he said, " To assist the Savior in His work we must work together with love and unity." That is something I have learned so much on my mission.  I thought of me and my companions, when something was ever wrong, or we were not communicating with each other, our missionary work was not as good, but when we were working well together and were really unified. that is when we saw so many miracles and so many investigators progress! I also liked his comment about ANXIOUSLY SEEKING those who need our help.  I love that, as missionaries that is what we try and do everyday, to find those people that God has prepared for us, but I know that he prepares people for everyone not just the missionaries.  There are people that will be placed in our path that need us that need us to help them feel of God's love and we need to be looking for them and taking advantage of them when they come to us! 

     The rest of conference we will watch later- I promise- but we stayed VERY busy contacting people on Temple Square and talking to lots of them.  We were very very tired and our feet hurt a lot but it was so good!  After Sunday when everyone was gone we watched Meet the Mormons again as a mission.  It is the film that we watched back in April when I got back from outbound.  It comes out this week and it is wonderful it was just as good the second time than the first time I saw it! Everyone needs to watch it and invite friends and neighbors to go see it it is worth it!!

     Monday- GREAT day!  We had a wonderful lesson with John and the Elders.  We taught the rest of the Plan of Salvation and the Law of Tithing and he is solid for baptism on the 19th which is really awesome!  I can't wait!!  Then right after Frank came for a lesson as well.  We watched the Joseph Smith movie with him and he enjoyed it as well! He said he is preparing to be baptized October 26th! YAY!  Also really great news one of our investigators Margret was not looking forward to General Conference at all.  She was thinking it was going to be boring.  She had so many questions and she went to conference and she said, "All my questions were answered and I am in 1 Nephi 17!" So so happy about those 3 people.  I love them so much! 

     I love you all!  I am excited to see you this weekend!

The church is true.

Sister Mindy Marsh