6/24/14

Family!!!

     Hello!!!  This week has been INSANE!!!!!!!!!!  A million of things have happened and a million of things have changed in the mission! 

     Tuesday- It was a good p-day today! I took a youth group around that night even though it was pday. Elder Carlson, my district leader from Iowa, his mom is the Young Women's President so she brought the young women and young men from her ward for an activity.  It was really fun to meet Elder Carlson's parents and little brother!  So it has been really cool.  President is SO SO good!  I love him so much. He is wanting so much to help all the international sisters with their English because lots of their companions don't know the rules and reasons why to say certain things certain ways, including me, so this entire summer there is 4 MTC teachers that are teaching English for beginners, intermediate, and advanced English speakers.  So 5 days a week they spend 2 hours with the teachers and I am sooo excited!  It is so helpful not only for them but for me too because I don't remember all the technical rules on speaking English! So this week we have had lots of exchanges everyday!

     Wednesday- Our investigators are doing awesome!!!  We finished teaching Bobby EVERYTHING that he needs to know for his baptismal interview.  He scared me really bad though, he answered and said, "Sister Marsh? I am really mad...I am sooo mad."  I said why??!!? Then he goes, "Because you guys haven't called me in 4 days." I was like I am so sorry we have been very busy lately and then he goes.... I AM JUST KIDDING!!!  So now my investigators are all playing jokes on me!  But Bobby is doing so well.  His faith in Jesus Christ is so solid right now and he is doing everything he can to follow Christ.  He told me that he realizes how much Satan is trying to bring him down the other way and how he is trying to stay strong and rely on God so that he can overcome all the temptations he has.  He is so great!  Also his friend he referred Jamah is doing so well!  We taught him the Plan of Salvation and the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity.  He had lots of questions...good ones though...and we helped him understand but also gave him lots of scriptures to read in the Book of Mormon that would help him understand the things we taught him!  

     Thursday- Relief Society this morning....OUTBOUND!  So Sister Cardus is leaving...my little baby!  I can't believe she is leaving, that means I am really old on the mission now!  But anyway she is going to Houston Texas outbound!  Also Sister Briggs my MTC companion is now the new AP!!! I am excited for her.  She is going to be soo awesome!  Jamah is doing wonderful!  We talked to him today and he read the scriptures we gave to him and he told us, "Well everything you taught was in line with what I read!"  I said, "Well thats good I am glad we didn't lie to you :) ." It is awesome though, because now he has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and he is learning by faith and finding answers for himself in the scriptures and not because we are telling him.  I love it.  He is progressing soooo much faster and with a much stronger testimony!  

     Saturday- Great DAY! We had a great lesson with our friend Eckar!  He had soooo many questions.  We asked him to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and the Restoration pamphlet...well he had questions that were from every lesson...so we were jumping ALL over the place but it was great!  Then we called Jamah again...he asked us to call him so I had NO idea why or what we were going to teach because we had called him 2 days ago, but I told him hey we will call you Monday and see how church was and seeing the missionaries and he says...WAIT!!  I want to share a message with you!  Well I was a little bit nervous that it was going to be not in line with church doctrine or like off topic or something and he says, "My message today comes from Mosiah 3:19"  I was like AHH HECK YA!!!!  So he has me read it and he asked me questions and then bore his testimony and shared his thoughts on the scripture then he says now turn to Alma and he shared 2 more scriptures that were related to putting off the natural man and becoming more Christlike.  I was shocked!  It was very very insightful and spot on with everything in the church it made me sooo happy!!  I told him I would prepare a message for him next time and he said, "And I will too!!!" I love my investigators!!!  

     Monday- TRANSFER CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!  So this whole week the AP's who I am close with, the Office Assistants, and Temple Square Coordinators all knew the transfer board, so they all kept saying to me and trying to tease me being like, "I know your new companion and you are going to have so much fun" and everything like that and trying to make me mad because they knew and I didn't, well this morning we went to transfer conference and they told me my new companion is SISTER GEE!!!!!!!!!!  She is the one who I am going to room with at BYU after my mission!!  She is one of my closest friends in the whole mission!!  I think they have made a mistake but I am sooo excited I can't even handle it!!  We are also Temple Square Coordinators!!  I am sooo excited this transfer is going to be the best thing ever!!  So pretty much I am in charge of making sure everything on Temple Square is running smoothly...it is a lot of logistics and scheduling things so I will be really really busy but I am soooo happy to be with Sister Gee!!! :) It is awesome because I work really closely with the AP's( Sister Briggs) and have Staff meetings with the AP's, Mission Presidency, and the Office Assistants I am soo happy!!  Heavenly Father loves me ALOT!!! Pretty much to say I was excited would be an understatement! 

     I love you all and I can't believe I only have 3 transfers left....its getting too close!!  

Remember...the Church is true.

Sister Mindy Marsh

6/17/14

Hello Family!!! 

     WEDNESDAY- The Humanitarian Center is getting really busy now that everyone is out of school.  We took back to back tours all day with big youth groups.  We also had an amazing lesson with Jamah; he is so awesome. We taught him the gospel, so that includes faith, repentance, baptism etc. Well, when we got to baptism I said, "So the next thing we want to talk to you about is baptism."  He says, "Oh YES the thing that I want to do!" WOW! So awesome! I am excited that the missionaries in his area as well as Bobby's area got transferred, because the new missionaries are a little more proactive.  I am very anxious because I think they will get baptized sooner than next month, like the other elders wanted to do.  

     THURSDAY- Exactly one year ago from today I left the MTC to go to Temple Square!  Also, I thought of you Krissy......all day! I was praying for you a lot, and I hope that everything went well with the surgery and that you are feeling better.  I love you.  Then Tonight we went to dinner with Bruce and Becky Boucher and it was so fun! They wanted to see me and my companion before they left to Puerto Rico so we met them for dinner........President said yes, but only if he could meet them, (because they would be at the same Mission President Seminar in 2 weeks) so afterwards we all chatted with President for a couple minutes.

     FRIDAY- The Humanitarian Center was CRAZY today!  We took 6 tours; which means there wasn’t a single hour that we didn't have a tour.  A lot of it was a HUGE stake of youth that was 4 tours of 40 people each.  But when we were almost finished with the last tour, Kathy, the receptionist said, “Sister Marsh are you almost done, their are some visitors here for you”.   I was very curious who it was; well, it was a family from my out-bound ward in Iowa! The Schaerr Family.  It was so fun, and their son, (who is 18) was a ward missionary so we knew him pretty well, and he just got his mission call to Ogden! And Brother Schaerr’s is in the Stake Presidency, so it was really fun to see them!  Also SHOUT OUT to SISTER NYE!  Happy Birthday to my favorite companion!!  Welcome to the 21 club!!!! 

     SATURDAY- Today is baby Sister Cardus's birthday!  Also, it was a great day and Benson came to the Square.  He is doing well, but something got in the way of his baptism, which is frustrating but he should be baptized next transfer. He is strong and still so rock solid!  We hadn’t seen him in person for a while, so it was good to see him. And we keep meeting Africans this week, so I am setting them all up to be friends with each other and to go to church together! It is the funnest thing to watch and see!  And Sister Cano had a Spanish meeting today, so I was on exchanges and did MTC contacting.  The missionaries who are going to Visitor Centers come to Temple Square on Saturdays and go on splits with us for a couple hours.  I haven't done it in forever so I was really excited.  I got paired with a sister who is from SLC, and she is going to the MESA Visitors Center!!!  Her name is Sister Lund, and she is so so cute and fun! We got a long really wellI hope I helped her a little and taught her something, because we kept laughing and just having so much fun.  I told her you guys would look out for her!  Hermana Lund!  So next time you go to the temple look for her and tell her I said hi!! 

     SUNDAY- HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Dad, I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day! I remember my first Sunday on my mission in Temple Square was Father's Day and now it is already here again.  I want you to know how much I love you and appreciate you.  I appreciate all the sacrifice and all the support you give to me here on my mission as well as other times.  I look up to you so much Dad, and am so grateful for the strong testimony you have in the Gospel. Your testimony has helped me in so many ways and has continued to bless me and strengthen me on my mission.  I am grateful for all the advice and thoughts you share with me every week through e-mail.  I love you Dad!  

Well, I was starting to get a little frustrated because all of my African investigators were supposed to be baptized, but the missionaries weren't visiting them weekly or setting up baptismal interviews.  I have been fasting and praying so much for all of them and for the missionaries in their local areas.  Well, I talked to the sister missionaries in Liberia yesterday who are teaching all my investigators, and long story short, there is a new sister in the area and she is jumping on all of them; so they finally have interviews on the 29th and their baptisms are on July 5th........YIPEE!!!  I was starting to really worry, but things are working out really well and falling into place. 

     I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!  Krissy please get better quickly and make sure you don't grow to be taller than me!!  I love you all! 

The church is true!!

Sister Mindy Marsh 

6/3/14

FAMILY!!!

     Tuesday & Wednesday- Tuesday was a very sad day. A sister that I came out with from Honduras, Sister Gudiel got sick and she flew home to Honduras today. President has no tolerance at all for when the sisters get sick.  I am so so blessed that President Gillette was the mission president when I needed to go home for surgery because I think I would have been sent home and not been able to come back for 6 months with President Poulsen.  3 weeks ago 2 sisters went home, now Sister Gudiel, another one on Wednesday, and another sister in my class is going home next week! It is crazy and so sad; but when sisters are sick, it not only hinders the work for them, but also for their companions and it isn't worth it.  Anyway it has been crazy; one right after the other! 

     Thursday- Wow!! Relief Society was INCREDIBLE!!! We had 3 professional women golfers come and speak to us. There names are Lorette Maritz, Reeve Nield, and Cecilie Lundgreen.  They are all members and from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Norway. Not only are they professional athletes (and very successful), but they started eyes4zimbabwe and they travel the world giving firesides, and giving and doing humanitarian service EVERYWHERE they go. If you get a chance look them up at eyes4zimbabwe.org <http://eyes4zimbabwe.org> .  They spoke all about following the Spirit with “exactness”. There are way too many stories to share, but all of them said they would not be “who” they are, the “friends” they are, or be able to “do what they do” now if they didn't follow the spirit with EXACTNESS.  The way the spirit guides them was incredible and so inspiring.  I cannot describe how wonderful they are, and how much the 3 of them are doing for people all over the world.  You will just have to read about them! 

     It made me reflect and think really hard about when I receive spiritual impressions. Do I act RIGHT AWAY or do I second guess and wonder “why” I should do something?  They talked about how sometimes, they get woken up with a prompting at 2:30 in the morning! So, they help whoever they need to, or do whatever they need to do, and then go back to bed!  They talked about how they don't even wear a watch because they don't care if they are late to anything! If they are on the Lord's errand, then they will be in the right place when they need to be.  I was amazed and and I want my faith and my confidence in myself and in God to be that strong. 

     Oh, and I saw Christie Funk!!  We had dinner with her and she is the sweetest and funnest!  It was SO good to see her! Mom tell her thank you so much and that I love her! 

     Friday- Today we got a text from Sister Nakayama that Dunstan from Sri Lanka wanted us to call him.  Long story short; Dunstan was being taught by Sister Lotoa while she was training me; so we taught Dunstan together for 2 transfers. Well, she continued to teach him after transfers, but never passed on his information after she went home.  Well, I called him on Friday and he wants to be baptized in JUNE!!!  Seriously it made me so happy! He was never that receptive when I taught him with Sister Lotoa; but that was a year ago and now he is SO excited! :) 

The Humanitarian Center was pretty quiet today so we had a lot of time to be on chat and take inbound calls.  We found 4 new investigators that are very excited to learn more and we have appointments to teach them this week! YAYY!!! We also were able to teach 9 lessons to some other investigators, and a couple lessons to recent converts and less-actives. T

It was the best...we were on fire!! 

     Sunday- Today we fasted for our investigators so that we could reach the baptism goals we set this transfer.  Sacrament meeting was really good.  So many sisters bore their testimonies and because there are always sooo many that want to get up, they tell us our testimonies have to be very very brief.  Well it was already a little over time and Sister Agurcia from Honduras goes up and starts telling a story and in the story she says, "You know, Hispanics talk ALOT"!  After a couple more minutes she finally finished, and a polynesian, Sister Tupou literally stomped up after her and started by saying, "I want to double testify to what Sister Agurcia said that, “Hispanics talk alot!" Everyone was DYING laughing!  Our mission presidency couldn’t stop laughing because Sis. Agurcia IS hispanic! 

     But today was amazing.  Benson came to the square with the elders that are teaching him.  We talked with the elders and tried to think of what we could teach Benson that he hasn’t been taught 100 times! We decided to focus the entire lesson on Jesus Christ. We took him around the New Testament paintings that go through the whole life of Jesus Christ and we talked a lot about “who” Christ was and “why” he did the things he did. Then we went to the Christus (and the Spirit was very strong), and we finished by watching “The Testaments”.  I was a little hestitant and worried because it’s a pretty long movie, but I have NEVER felt the Spirit that strong before.  I think that was the strongest I have felt the Spirit on my mission, honestly.  The movie ended and Sister Cano and I bore our testimonies specifically on Jesus Christ and the elders did too.  We were all crying kind of speechless.  The elders asked Benson to say the closing prayer, and he didn't want to say it because he was a trying to let everything sink in and said, "I will let Sister Marsh say it". So I said the closing prayer and cried the whole time.  The lesson was so powerful and touched all of us a lot.  As the movie depicts the story of Jacob and Korihor, my testimony of the Atonement grew. I couldn't help but think of how Jacob was feeling, that he could not go back and be forgiven of the things he had done and that he wasn't good enough for the Atonement; but the Atonement is for EVERYONE.  No matter what mistakes we have done in the past, we are always good enough for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and we can come back always.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want all of their children back with them in the end, and no matter how far away we feel, we can return and be blessed and cleansed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  What a blessing that is, if we will just humble ourselves and use that powerful gift! 

I love this gospel and I am sooo happy that I have the opportunity to serve a mission! 

The church is true.

Sister Mindy Marsh

5/28/14

Hi All,

I loved Mindy’s letter today because she shared some really great counsel that she received during a recent training session with Elder Clarke. 

She is so lucky to be taught frequently by these general authorities with incredible wisdom and experience, and I’m so glad she shares it with us!

Happy summer everyone!

Karen

     Wednesday- MISSION TOUR!!!! Elder Clarke is incredible.....that's all I can say. I hope that I will be able to apply everything he taught us in my mission, and also when I get home. I think so much of what he taught is so important to us staying good, successful members of the church throughout our whole life. One of the major things he talked about was the Book of Mormon. He told us that we HAVE to be reading the BOM! He said that the ONE thing that will cause someone to become less active is when they stop reading from the BOM. He also mentioned that the other day he was at a good family friends’ house for dinner.  They were all talking about their favorite books and how much they enjoyed reading them everyday. He observed and told us that he was devastated and very sad that no one said their favorite book was the Book of Mormon.  That made me think about the books I enjoy, (even though I don't like to read :)) and wondered if I would say that one of my favorite books is the Book of Mormon?  But I think it should be!  I have decided to really sincerely immerse myself in reading. I read daily, but I want to love the Book of Mormon so much that I would honestly tell someone that it is my favorite! 

     He also encouraged us after our missions to make sure we read the Book of Mormon with our families and our future families; because it will fix families. He said he lives by the quote, "Love problems...Love life!" He said you have to love problems.......they happen to all of us, and they happen a lot.  So, if we HATE problems then we are going to HATE our lives. I like that! Last time when he came in December, he talked a lot about Chapter 8 in Preach My Gospel; Using Time Wisely. This chapter is amazing! He not only related this to our missionary work, but our careers after our missions. He talked about 3 things

    1. Vision: We have to have a better vision than everyone else or we won't be better or more successful than anyone else. He told us we need to have a higher vision than our boss, so that you will never be fired and you will always make your boss happy!  :)

     2. Goals: He said we HAVE to have goals on our mission, but we HAVE to have daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, goals AFTER our missions too. He showed us a card that he keeps in his pocket that has his goals for that day. That is the only thing he carries in his pocket and it is planned for each hour. I think what I liked the most though, was he said that our goals need to come from US. If they come from your mission president or from your boss, they won't matter to you. But if they come from YOU, they will mean so much more and you will TRY to accomplish them, and you will DO it!

     3. Accountability: He stressed how important it is to be accountable to someone (companion), yourself, and the Lord. He brought up how in the Temple when Jesus Christ and Adam created the earth, they go and report back to Heavenly Father after every single time. He said that some of us might think it’s repetitive and takes up a lot of time, and he said it would cut the whole temple session in half if you took the reporting out. He said it makes an important point though, that it is so important to report and to be accountable to the Lord. He also said they never ONCE went back and told Heavenly Father they were only able to finish half of their goal;  they always accomplished ALL of it! We should do the same. We should not finish our day until those goals are accomplished; just like Nephi when he was commanded to build the ship he didn’t say, “Yes I will try”, but rather he always went and DID IT!

     Let’s just say that I learned SO much and although I felt like my missionary work was going pretty well; now I have a lot of new ideas that I want to implement!  I want to just go out and work soooo hard and do all of these things, and see how it changes the work :) 

     Thursday- ONE YEAR!!!! Wow so weird! Honestly, the day was not extra special or interesting at all.  One great thing that did happen though was Benson came to Temple Square to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice so we were able to visit with him. He is amazing and is seeing the elders regularly and is EXTREMELY excited about getting baptized! He is like another Ben and I feel so blessed that people that are this prepared are being put in my path so that I can teach them and help them learn more about the Church. 

     Friday- The Humanitarian Center was DEAD! Not one tour came in and I had all these appointments with investigators in Africa.  But the electricity was down in Africa because of the storms, so I wasn’t able to talk to ANY of them! I did call this guy who someone transferred to me and he is from Sudan.....…(another African) and he is so excited and so receptive! He wants to learn so bad so I am super excited to start teaching another African!  

     Saturday- Today was a great day! I got to see Nate and Sara Perk and our future cousin McCall. They were at a friend’s wedding. Also, we finally got a hold of Liberia! We were getting a little worried and praying so hard that the investigators would do well and I was trying to put all my trust in God, and my prayers were answered. Everyone was doing well and everyone is still progressing very well! The best thing happened; Ben went to the temple for baptisms!!! He loved it so much and felt the Spirit so strong and told me that it was so special and he learned so much and could feel the Spirit of the pioneers. He said he could feel of the love and all the hardship and sacrifice that the pioneers went through. I am so happy and it was the best thing to have a recent convert go to the temple!!!  

     Sunday- Exchanges the whole day! We went to Music and the Spoken Word and it was incredible. They had a special program for Memorial Day and wow! We had such a fun tour of 50 people from a family reunion and the family was SO cute! They were all members, and they were so interactive and participated in everything; even the kids and teenagers. We had one of the kids volunteer and we asked him to bear his testimony. It was so sweet and the mom told me afterwards that she had never heard him bear his testimony before.  Then we had 4 of the other little kids sing, “I am a Child of God” on the stage in the Tabernacle, and at the end we invited the grandparents to share their testimonies to the whole extended family. It was so much fun! We also had a lesson with Bobby and Ben helped us. Even though he is such a new member, he was wonderful. He bore a powerful testimony and told him that “Baptism is the greatest thing that he can do in his life right now and that he will be blessed so much if he follows in the path of Jesus Christ”!  GO BEN!

     Monday- Another lesson with Bobby today and Ben helped again! We taught the Word of Wisdom and Bobby is awesome…....he already lives the Word of Wisdom. We told him herbal tea was okay but to stay away from black teas....…it was so cute; he said he didn’t know what black tea was :) Then Benson came to the Square so we could teach him. He is incredible! I wish all of you could meet these people in real life, they are 100x better in person.  Anyway, we had a really good lesson about baptism, priesthood, marriage, faith and the law of chastity.....…it was a long lesson and we talked about SO many things.  All Benson could say was, “This church is amazing and it is so smart and teaches and blesses everyone!”  So, pray for him that Satan will not get in his way for his baptism in 2 weeks. He needs the prayers more than ever since his baptism is so close and Satan is going to try and do everything to not have it happen. I have faith and Benson has faith that nothing will go wrong. He is very strong and not worried! 

     Good news, our friend Osazee (the one we were only able to e-mail because he was traveling in the US), went back to Nigeria yesterday. I was finally able to connect with him today and he has been reading the Book of Mormon and is SO excited for us to teach him more!!  It was a wonderful day because I gained another African investigator! 

     I am ONLY going to teach Africans the rest of my mission I already decided! :) But seriously I LOVE AFRICA!! I love you all and hope that everything is going well! CONGRATS on graduation Clara and happy Summer break! 

The church is true.

Sister Mindy Marsh

Mom, Dad, Clara or Krissy, I know this might be a weird request, but I would love for you to send an email or a letter to Sister Ye my last companion. When Elder Clarke was here he had all the sisters stand up who are from North America who get emails and letters from their parents each week. Then he had all the sisters stand up who don’t get letters or emails form their families at all, and Sister Ye stood up. Her family does not support her at all and they hate the church and that she came on a mission. There were about 8 sisters in the mission who stood up and then he had all the North American sisters stand up again and he said it is our responsibility to have our families adopt them and write them…...it made me just cry so much to think how I would feel if I didn’t have the support from my parents, my siblings, extended family and friends. I think that Sister Ye would love to receive a letter from you. We are very close now and from being her last companion I feel an obligation to help her and to love her. If you would please do that I would be so grateful! You know the mailing address because it is the same as mine and her email is: xiaoce.ye@myldsmail.net thank you. I love you! 

5/20/14

Family,

     Hello there! Well this week has been chaos! So much has happened...new companion, moving apartments, Humanitarian, Big mission meetings and WOW I hit a year on the 22nd!! But only 5 more months to go....time is going way too fast! CONGRATS on graduation CLARA!!!  I cannot believe that you are already done...what the heck!! Also Clara you looked GORGEOUS at Prom! Elder Clarke is coming tomorrow and I am soo excited he changed my mission when he came last and I am excited for him to change it again and to help me be a better missionary! This is what happened this week!! 

     Tuesday- The last pday with Sister Ye.  We went to Walmart to get a couple of things, and we saw this man named Amram.  He is in the Tabernacle Choir and is from Kenya.  I have gotten to know him very well because he is from Africa and he helps me when we teach our African investigators :) Well we saw him at Walmart and he said that a couple of days ago he was at Walmart and saw this black guy so he said of course I had to go see where he was from and talk to him, well he was from Kenya as well and they started talking about the church and the man said he wanted to be taught by the missionaries and so Amram said he has a friend he wants to have teach him....ME!!!  So he gave me this referral for this guy who lives in SLC, and he can come to Temple Square and be taught!  His name is Benson....just remember this story! 

     Wednesday- First day with Sister Cano!  She is super sweet and very upbeat!  I am excited to spend the next 6 weeks with her.  Today everyone ONLY had square time for the entire day....I was SOOO SICK of walking around the same place having no assignments or time in the teaching center to call investigators, but I was supposed to pick up Sister Peters today and her flight got cancelled till Thursday! I was soo sad! Good news was we contacted Benson and he is coming to Temple Square on Sunday to have a lesson with us!

     Thursday- Relief Society this morning was amazing.  Sister Sheri Dew came to speak to us.  Lately, every speaker we have had has talked about women and the priesthood.  It is such a big issue I guess, that they want us to be informed so that we know what to say and do when we get asked questions about why women don't have the priesthood.  Sister Dew spoke a lot about being able to access heaven directly, and how so many people misunderstand that you don't have to have the priesthood to access heaven, but women can also access heaven directly, when we have the Holy Ghost and are living worthy of it.  Without going very into depth, she talked about the temple and how women and men are equal inside the temple, and women only have to be interviewed by their Bishop and recognized as "worthy" to go to the temple, but men have to be "worthy" and be ordained with the priesthood to enter the temple.  An interesting thing to think about.  I have been studying the priesthood a lot in personal study and how we can access the power of heaven in our lives and have learned so much and my testimony has grown so much that women and men have completely different roles in the church, and its ok that we have different responsiblities and that I don't hold the priesthood because I don't have to hold the preisthood to be able to receive the blessings of that power.  It has also made me understand that it is only with men and women together that you can enter into the celestial kingdom and women and men need eachother to return back to our Heavenly  Father's presence. I got to pick up Sister Peters and it was the best thing!  I have missed her so much!  It was so fun to see her and to welcome her back to Temple Square. 

     Friday & Saturday- The work is going so well, and Heavenly Father is preparing so many people and helping them to progress to prepare for baptism!  We talked with Bobby today.  He is doing amazing!  He is meeting with the missionaries and is going to church every week!  Pray for him he should be baptized this Saturday!  :)  Another cool story, this man named Jesse called me from mormon.org about 2 weeks ago wanting a DVD and so I sent it to him and when he called I asked if he would want to meet with missionaries and he said YES!  So I sent the referral to the local missionaries and they did their job and contacted him right away.  I called him today and he is getting baptized June 7th.  He is an excommunicated member  and so has to go through the lessons again and be baptized again.  He started fresh from the beginning.  He didn't want to just add to the knowledge he had but he wanted to start as if he knew nothing about the church and his testimony is rock solid.  He is doing awesome and so I am so excited for him as well! 

     Sunday- Benson came to Temple Square!!  He is amazing.  I will try and make this story short and sweet.  Benson about 4 years ago was given a Book of Mormon by the missionaries and they left their number inside.  Well he did not want to learn at all, but a year later he called the number and of course it was different missionaries but he started taking the lessons, but was not wanting to get baptized because of how big the commitment was...fast forward 2 years later, he moved to Utah and has not talked to the missionaries since until I contacted him this week.  Me and Amram helped him get in contact with the local missionaries this last Saturday, he told them he was taught everything and he remembers everything and never was ready to be baptized but is ready NOW!  So he is getting baptized June 8th and we are going to be able to go to his actual baptism!!  We had an amazing lesson with him, tears were in all of our eyes, and the Spirit was SO strong.  We have now been talking with him daily and he is a rock.  Things are going so well!  It is amazing to me that when we follow the commandments and for me follow mission commandment EXACTLY, the Lord blesses you so much!  I have also been reading 1 Nephi 17 in preparation for Elder Clarke from the 70 to speak to us this Wednesday, and being on my mission I know how Nephi felt.  Sometimes in life and on a mission we are asked to do things we don't think we can do or we have no idea why we are asked to do them, but the Lord prepares a way for EVERY single thing so that we accomplish those things.  And just like Nephi he was blessed in so many ways and they "prospered in the land", and that is how it will be for us as well as we do everything and all that the Lord asks of us, he will bless us so much for obeying Him.

     I love you all.  I pray for you daily and think about you always!  

The church is true.

Sister Mindy Marsh

5/20/14

Family,

     Hello there!  Well this week has been chaos!  So much has happened...new companion, moving apartments, Humanitarian, Big mission meetings and WOW I hit a year on the 22nd!!  But only 5 more months to go....time is going way too fast! CONGRATS on graduation CLARA!!!  I cannot believe that you are already done...what the heck!!  Also Clara you looked GORGEOUS at Prom! Elder Clarke is coming tomorrow and I am soo excited he changed my mission when he came last and I am excited for him to change it again and to help me be a better missionary!  This is what happened this week!!

     Tuesday- The last p-day with Sister Ye.  We went to Walmart to get a couple of things, and we saw this man named Amram.  He is in the Tabernacle Choir and is from Kenya.  I have gotten to know him very well because he is from Africa and he helps me when we teach our African investigators :) Well we saw him at Walmart and he said that a couple of days ago he was at Walmart and saw this black guy so he said of course I had to go see where he was from and talk to him, well he was from Kenya as well and they started talking about the church and the man said he wanted to be taught by the missionaries and so Amram said he has a friend he wants to have teach him....ME!!!  So he gave me this referral for this guy who lives in SLC, and he can come to Temple Square and be taught!  His name is Benson....just remember this story!  

     Wednesday- First day with Sister Cano!  She is super sweet and very upbeat!  I am excited to spend the next 6 weeks with her.  Today everyone ONLY had square time for the entire day....I was SOOO SICK of walking around the same place having no assignments or time in the teaching center to call investigators, but I was supposed to pick up Sister Peters today and her flight got cancelled till Thursday! I was soo sad! Good news was we contacted Benson and he is coming to Temple Square on Sunday to have a lesson with us!

     Thursday- Relief Society this morning was amazing.  Sister Sheri Dew came to speak to us.  Lately, every speaker we have had has talked about women and the priesthood.  It is such a big issue I guess, that they want us to be informed so that we know what to say and do when we get asked questions about why women don't have the priesthood.  Sister Dew spoke a lot about being able to access heaven directly, and how so many people misunderstand that you don't have to have the priesthood to access heaven, but women can also access heaven directly, when we have the Holy Ghost and are living worthy of it.  Without going very into depth, she talked about the temple and how women and men are equal inside the temple, and women only have to be interviewed by their Bishop and recognized as "worthy" to go to the temple, but men have to be "worthy" and be ordained with the priesthood to enter the temple.  An interesting thing to think about.  I have been studying the priesthood a lot in personal study and how we can access the power of heaven in our lives and have learned so much and my testimony has grown so much that women and men have completely different roles in the church, and its ok that we have different responsiblities and that I don't hold the priesthood because I don't have to hold the preisthood to be able to receive the blessings of that power.  It has also made me understand that it is only with men and women together that you can enter into the celestial kingdom and women and men need eachother to return back to our Heavenly  Father's presence. I got to pick up Sister Peters and it was the best thing!  I have missed her so much!  It was so fun to see her and to welcome her back to Temple Square.  

     Friday & Saturday- The work is going so well, and Heavenly Father is preparing so many people and helping them to progress to prepare for baptism!  We talked with Bobby today.  He is doing amazing!  He is meeting with the missionaries and is going to church every week!  Pray for him he should be baptized this Saturday!  :)  Another cool story, this man named Jesse called me from mormon.org <http://mormon.org>  about 2 weeks ago wanting a DVD and so I sent it to him and when he called I asked if he would want to meet with missionaries and he said YES!  So I sent the referral to the local missionaries and they did their job and contacted him right away.  I called him today and he is getting baptized June 7th.  He is an excommunicated member  and so has to go through the lessons again and be baptized again.  He started fresh from the beginning.  He didn't want to just add to the knowledge he had but he wanted to start as if he knew nothing about the church and his testimony is rock solid.  He is doing awesome and so I am so excited for him as well!  

     Sunday- Benson came to Temple Square!!  He is amazing.  I will try and make this story short and sweet.  Benson about 4 years ago was given a Book of Mormon by the missionaries and they left their number inside.  Well he did not want to learn at all, but a year later he called the number and of course it was different missionaries but he started taking the lessons, but was not wanting to get baptized because of how big the commitment was...fast forward 2 years later, he moved to Utah and has not talked to the missionaries since until I contacted him this week.  Me and Amram helped him get in contact with the local missionaries this last Saturday, he told them he was taught everything and he remembers everything and never was ready to be baptized but is ready NOW!  So he is getting baptized June 8th and we are going to be able to go to his actual baptism!!  We had an amazing lesson with him, tears were in all of our eyes, and the Spirit was SO strong.  We have now been talking with him daily and he is a rock.  Things are going so well!  It is amazing to me that when we follow the commandments and for me follow mission commandment EXACTLY, the Lord blesses you so much!  I have also been reading 1 Nephi 17 in preparation for Elder Clarke from the 70 to speak to us this Wednesday, and being on my mission I know how Nephi felt.  Sometimes in life and on a mission we are asked to do things we don't think we can do or we have no idea why we are asked to do them, but the Lord prepares a way for EVERY single thing so that we accomplish those things.  And just like Nephi he was blessed in so many ways and they "prospered in the land", and that is how it will be for us as well as we do everything and all that the Lord asks of us, he will bless us so much for obeying Him.

I love you all.  I pray for you daily and think about you always!  

The church is true.

Sister Mindy Marsh

*sorry kind of a bad picture and was super early on Sunday morning! I was super tired!

5/6/14

Familia!!!  

     HELLO! I hope that everyone is having a good week.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!! I am so excited to talk with you all! ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAD!!  I think I have found the best way to email which is to go day by day........So this was my week! :)

Wednesday-

     Sister Ye had a Mandarin meeting for almost 4 hours, so Sister Nakayama came with me to the Humanitarian Center.  We are becoming very very good friends because we always have to go on exchanges together.  Earlier in the week we met a boy on chat whose name is Jamie.  He is from Scotland and he was asking so many questions right off the bat about baptism, which of course made me happy. So, I got his information and I sent the missionaries to him and planned a time to call him a couple days later.  Well, I called him and the missionaries had already met with him and they invited him to be baptized; so he is getting baptized in a couple weeks…...MAY 16th!! 

The Humanitarian Center was very slow that day so we went upstairs and quilted!  It was so much fun and very relaxing.  Then, before we left to go back to Temple Square we called Bobby.  Everything is going so well.  Everything I could ask for is happening and all my prayers are being answered:)  The missionaries had visited earlier that same day, and instead of getting baptized June 7th, he is getting baptized May 24th!!!!  I am so happy because HE sounds so happy and he is happiest when we talk about his baptism!

Thursday-

     Relief Society was really good.  I love President Poulsen; he is very very powerful when he teaches and I love when he trains.  He told us that from the letters he receives on p-days and by talking to the sisters in the interviews; he is seeing so many people who are thinking negatively and are kind of depressed.  President talked a lot about controlling out thoughts.  We cannot control what we “see”, but we can control “what we do with the things we see” and the things that “we think.”  It made me laugh a little because I just thought; ONLY in a mission with 200 girls would we have training on this:) But I think it was beneficial even for me.  I feel like I am not a negative person, (especially on my mission), but he said, “WE are daughters of God, with seeds of Deity, FAR stronger than Satan, and we can overcome one of Satan’s most powerful tools of influencing our thoughts negatively.”  President talked about when thoughts come into our mind, we should sing “I am a Child of God”.  What better way to turn our thoughts the other way than to sing,

I am a child of God,

And he has sent me here,

Has given me an earthly home

With parents kind and dear.

Friday-

     Sister Ye had ANOTHER mandarin meeting, so Sister Nakayama came with me to the Humanitarian again.  It was the busiest it has been since I have been there.  We had tours every hour! And I am in love with Africa.  Every time I talk with Africans or meet them at Temple Square I fall more in love with Africa.  5 people walked in at 1:00 who were all cousins and 3 were siblings from Rwanda; so right away I was excited!  As we took them around we learned so much about them and about the refugee camps that they had lived in.  The three siblings had not seen each other since 1994.  It was amazing to see and to listen to them because everything we talked about, they had benefited first hand from.  I am so intrigued by the lives that these people have lived and by the experiences they have had.  The spirit was so strong and during the tour I got so emotional, and even lost it at the end as we showed them the video.  I was able to get their emails and I’m excited to talk with them soon.  I am amazed and admire everything these people have gone through and all I want to do is help them.  As a missionary I can only help them with one thing though; the gospel.  It is something that can change their lives though, and can create hope and peace for them.  I love that as a missionary I can teach them and give them something that won’t just help them for a year or 5 years, but can change their life for eternity.  This gospel is amazing and I am blessed and so grateful that I was raised in the church to knew these things as I grew up.  Also, it was  fun because I called Ben to see how he was doing and to talk with him about getting his temple recommend to do baptisms.  Sister Nye and Sister Bingham were meeting him at the library, so I got to talk to her for a minute on the phone….....she started to cry when she heard my voice.  I love her so much! 

Saturday-

     Today we had TC desk, which is usually the quietest part of the Visitor’s Center and not as many people stop there. But a group of 4 Nigerians walked in.....….I immediately walked up to them because as I said before; I love Africa!  They told me they were from Nigeria and they were here for a couple of weeks.  I talked to one of the boys longer than the others and he wanted a copy of the BOM and he gave me his information so that I could email him.  :) Later that night I felt prompted to call a member who has given us referrals in the past.  When I went outbound, he stopped going to church and started to become less-active.  So I have been calling him a little bit more lately to help him remember the truth that he once knew.  Well, I called him today and he told me he is very depressed and that he doesn’t want to live anymore and that he wants to commit suicide….......it blew me away.  He told me that he wanted to end his life and prayed to have God show his love for him, and then I called.  I talked with him and shared the talk by Elder Holland about not ending your life and that through other people,(even me) God is showing His love for him.  He was very grateful that I was able to call him and help him.  I have learned on my mission that when the Spirit speaks and prompts you, that you can’t ever disregard the feeling, just act upon it ALWAYS......even if you don’t know why. 

Sunday-

     A nice surprise!  We walked into sacrament meeting and Elder Quentin L. Cook was there!!  He sat in the back with his wife and daughter.  So so awesome!  That is twice that he has done that now.  It was fast and testimony meeting and EVERYONE in the ENTIRE mission wanted to bear their testimony. We start church at 7:30 and we didn’t leave until 9:15…....haha.  It was long, but a very good meeting!  Also, the Nigerian guy I talked to Saturday, (his name is Osazee), emailed me back today and he has already started reading the Book of Mormon.  He started reading it the night he got it, he liked it, and thought it was very spiritual and uplifting....…YAY!!  We also had an awesome lesson with Bobby.  He is going to church every week and he is meeting with the sister missionaries very regularly.  It is the best thing!!  We taught him the Plan of Salvation and he had a couple of really deep questions.  Me and Sam, (the member who helped us) answered his questions and bore our testimonies that we, “knew the things we taught were true”. Then Bobby just said, “That makes sense, thank you!”  Awesome….......so easy and fun to teach people that are open and recognize true the truth when they hear it! 

 

The church is true.

Love, Sister Mindy Marsh