My Lesson Learned

This week has been CRAZY!

The fun began on Friday actually. To pick out the best part of the day, it would definitely be when we were on our way to our dinner appointment. We went up to the door of the place we thought we would be eating, but this lady opened the door and was like "I'm not interested, but thank you!" and closed it again. So, obviously we were at the wrong house.

When I called to get the correct address, I thought that the Sister said the house number was 58, which was right next door; and she also said she wouldn't be home for a few minutes. So, we were like ok. We'll just wait in the car. She then calls back and tells us that there is a hide-a-key and we can just go inside and wait.

So, after rummaging around trying to find this doll that she said it was hidden in, we determined that we couldn't find it. So sister tanner calls and talks to the sister again. Little did we know, the house we were supposed to be at was the next street over, and we were in the wrong backyard trying to get into the wrong house. I'm pretty sure next time we're gonna play it safe and stay in the car... But it was even funnier when we were waiting in the right house, and the Mom walks in and asks us what we are doing in her house. We were really confused and weren't sure how to answer that when one of the daughters walks in and said" Oh, mom! We're feeding the sisters tonight!" hahaha... It was REALLY funny. Unfortunately, I can't give all of the detail of that adventure, but I will send a copy of the journal entry home so that you can read the whole thing. Because that wasn't even half of the day...

So, this morning my zone went and played Laser Tag. It was SO AWESOME! We played for like 2 hours and it was FREE! That's one of the perks of being a missionary--Free stuff.

So, on the more spiritual things that happened this week was when the other day I went to bed pretty frustrated and when I woke up, I was still really frustrated. So, while the sisters were playing sports in the early morning for exersize, I went in the bathroom to be alone. And while I was there, I realized that I hate feeling angry all of the time, or at least it seems that way, and so I decided to say a prayer.

But this time in the prayer (because when I pray, I try to ask Heavenly Father to help be be patient especially when I tired and cranky) I asked that Heavenly Father not only help me feel better, and be happy, and charitable, etc., but I asked specifically that He let the Atonement take away that anger because I am so tired of feeling frustrated for reasons that I don't even know.

It took about an hour before I realized that I wasn't angry or frustrated anymore. In fact, I didn't care about what had happened that set me off in the first place. Instead, my companions and I were laughing and joking around.

The experience itself was a lot more than what I just described, because I was seriously frustrated and angry. I knew that there were some reasons that may have been good reasons to be frustrated, but in the end, if I was going to let myself be frustrated all of the time, I was really pushing the spirit away and I wasn't benefiting in any way. So, I prayed specifically for the atonement to do what it was meant to do.

I know that we are taught that the atonement was when Christ suffered for our sins and infirmities. But until this experience, I wasn't able to understand how the atonement really can be applied everyday- and not only on behalf of our sins. Because Christ suffered for everything negative in the world that we experience, including anger, sorrow, fear, etc. Not all of the negative things we experience are sin, but we still experience them. And Christ suffered for those things too. He suffered for all of our imperfections and made it possible for us to rely on the atonement to pick up when we feel like we've done all that we can.

So, that's my lesson learned this week. Part of it was stuff I've been taught all my life, but I just didn't know how to apply the atonement in that way. It was awesome.

Ok, all, I love you tons. Hugs and Kisses for everyone. For Danny and his family, and Cory and his family, and everyone else that wants hugs and kisses. (hmm...can you tell I'm hug-deprived? And I feel a bit baby-deprived too since we're not allowed to hold them...*sigh*).

K. Love ya!
Sister Stephens

PS- A "shout out" for Ashley Thomas, just as I promised (in the letter I haven't sent yet.) Love you!

Ups and Downs and Twists and Turns

GUESS WHAT?!?! I got to go to the Mesa Temple this morning! It was so beautiful! I found out we get to go once every 6 weeks. Cool, huh?!?! I LOVED it! And I thought of all of you while I was in the celestial room... *sigh* It was lovely, and peaceful, and... just lovely...;-)

So, this week has been an interesting one with its up and downs and twists and turns. This past weekend we had a baptism! It was way awesome and she is such a strong young woman. She's 17 years old, and her brother is the only member (baptized a month ago) in her immediate family. At her baptism, we set up 40 chairs and we had people crowding in. We think we had around 60 people there just for her! It was so cool though because she bore her testimony and told her conversion story at her own baptism. That doesn't happen very often. She even had the whole program laid out before we even started putting it together. Even down to the little details like a pianist.

As for our other investigators, one is getting baptized next weekend. His interview will be taking place this weekend. And, we've also done a soft commitment with another. She is so sweet and is trying so hard to stay on her feet. She was almost evicted from her apartment last week, but after church on Sunday, she got down on her knees and prayed her heart out that Heavenly Father would help her. She said she had prayed before, but I think this is the closest she's felt to Heavenly Father while praying. We found out this last week that she got a job at the DI and is now working night shifts. We talked to her the day after she found out and she was just on top of the world. We taught her the Plan of Salvation, and she loves it. Then, I asked her if she would be baptized. She said she would, but she wants to learn more first. We're going to try to set a date for her to prepare for this next appointment.

We also met another investigator. She has a testimony of the gospel, and she's read the BOM 3 times. She was introduced to the church in jail (recovered Meth addict because of her time there), and she became the unofficial RS president while there. She's also read the seminary student manual for D&C, as well as read books by several LDS authors explaining the BOM. What's keeping her from being baptized? Smoking. However, she has a quit date for Friday, and then we're gonna set a baptismal date. I hope everything works out and that she is able to overcome this asap. She has a solid Testimony though, and even if it takes her a little longer than we want, she will be baptized. I just know it.

So, the work is going well. My trainer says she's never had so much and she's been out for 8 months now. We have tons of potential investigators, and we get referrals almost daily. It's way cool.

Dad, I hope the work in the ward is going well and that those investigators are serious. It is so cool when you get them to commit to baptism. In fact, in our Zone Conference this past week, the focus was getting people to commit to baptism the moment they feel the spirit, even if it's in the first lesson. We, as missionaries, are now expected to higher our expectations of our investigators. It's a win-win situation. If they say yes to a date, then you have a baptism date to work towards. If they say no, then it allows the missionaries to figure out what the investigator's fears/concerns are so that the missionaries can figure out how to address the issues keeping them from baptism. See? win-win.

Love to you all!
Sister Stephens

I've Already Gotten a Sunburn!

Man, I just love hearing from you! It is seriously one of the highlights of my week! So, this week went by A LOT faster than last week (just like I hoped). But I tell ya, everyday just seems to blend together and by the time I sit down to write, I can't think of anything that's happened! It's a good thing Eric gave me the challenge to write in my journal, or this would be a very dull letter... To begin, I just have to say that I already love my mission. My companions and I have had some rough spots, but we are still getting along pretty well. My area covers 3 wards. There's the Centennial, Fraser, and Cornerstone wards. We are white-washing cornerstone (meaning we took over the ward from some elders, thus we know nothing except what is on their records they left behind). We have roughly 5 hours of church each Sunday. Sometimes more or less depending on if we have other meetings and if we have investigators in the wards or not. As far a tracting goes, we don't do any door to door stuff. We have actually been very fortunate in how many referrals we've received from church headquarters. We've received at least one (I think) each day, and we are teaching almost like 10 investigators. It is SO COOL! We are outside a lot though, and I've already gotten a sunburn.. Blah! Dad, no, you never told me about the desert in the spring/summer! I agree though. The summer colors are beautiful. I've actually picked a few of the flowers to press in my journal. The sunsets are beautiful, too. Mom- I am so proud of you for trying to be a member missionary! I think that that is one of the hardest things we're dealing with- trying to get the wards involved. We're working at it though. So, I have to tell you-- one of the cool things about being a missionary- FREE STUFF! Today, we got free ice cream, and there is this place called water n ice that you fill up water jugs and stuff, where we get free water. We also get free pizza at this other place. It's pretty much amazing. Oh. So, every month we get 900 miles on our car, but if we go over, then we get in a lot of trouble. And last month, we managed to get lost after the sisters picked me up in Scottsdale, so we were seriously low on miles. But guess what?! The Lord loves us. And we passed the test with 9 miles to spare! Cool, huh?! Ok. I have to start wrapping it up, but first, I just want to tell you that on Saturday we have another baptism. She's 17 yrs old. She has only been taking lessons for 3 weeks, but decided to investigate after her brother joined last month. We also have a baptism on the...21st I think. We're really excited. Ok. One more story, then I have to go. We were at dinner the other day at a members house, and the husband is an architect and does these AMAZING paintings. One in particular is of a Cathedral and his wife began telling us about her son, who married a catholic-turned-mormon girl. When they announced they were getting married this girl's mother was really upset and frustrated because she thought her daughter was basically forgetting her heritage. Then, in addition to that, her daughter would be getting married in the Mesa, AZ temple. So, of course she was upset she wouldn't be able to see her daughter get married. Anyway, the marriage happened, and during the reception which was held at this house where we were eating dinner, the girl's mom saw the cathedral painting and she said that from that point on, she didn't worry about her daughter, because the painting helped her to see that their beliefs and their "heritage" wouldn't be forgotten. It was so cool. Ok got to go. 40 seconds b4 the computer logs me off. LOVE you!

OK. Now Don't Laugh.

So, my first area is in the Mesa North stake. We are exactly north of the Mesa Temple. And the Visitor's Center is a common meeting place for our investigator lessons, and it's so cool to have those resources so close! We have several investigators right now, one of which is getting baptized on Saturday.We also have an investigator getting baptized on the following Saturday.It's pretty sweet. Oh, so I'm pretty sure that I've met more druggies in the last week than I have in the rest of my life combined.We are teaching one guy, he's apparently come a LONG way, he asks every time we see him if he can get baptized yet. There's also a woman who we were teaching, but then she was moved out of our area and the other sisters teach her now.She is completely amazing. She was introduced to the gospel during her second term in jail, and while she was there, she read the BOM twice. We are just waiting for her to quite smoking before she gets baptized. Another lady who already knows she wants to be baptized.The first time we met her, she told us that some friends have been teaching her and she wants to be baptized before school starts on the 11th.We're doing our best to make that happen. Ok.Now don't laugh.I don't think I've ever seen so many cacti in my whole life.It's like the plant of choice here in Arizona! Now, I know that they grow wild, but I never considered that people would use them in Landscaping!Who would want a prickly plant as a centerpiece?!I just don't understand. But then again, I guess I can't say much since a bundle of roses never bothered me!... lol There are also TONS of palm trees which apparently are not natural to Arizona.Sister Tanner said that they are all hand planted.Palm trees and cactus... the only two plants that will grow in Arizona... (ok, that's half a lie- But only half of one!) Oh, and any other trees that do manage to survive in this heat, are painted white from the base up until the branches start sprouting out of the trunk. Apparently it's to keep the bark from baking and killing the tree. Understandable, but weird looking... I have to admit, I don't care for the heat in the slightest. I'm getting used to it, but I feel like I'm chugging water all the time, when in fact, I'm not.Trying to, but I know that I'm not completely hydrated yet.Luckily for me, I've come in the end of Monsoon season and we've gotten quite a bit of rain and overcast skies.I'm just hoping that all of the really hot stuff is over until next year.Probably not, but hopefully. Ok. Well, I love you, tell the ward I love them too. I found out the address you should send stuff to is the Mission Home.he mission president will forward anything that they get there. They want you to do it that way so that if we get transferred, we won't have to worry about mail going astray. Anyway, I love you. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOOXX Gina