Mini Mission!!

OH MY GOODNESS OH MY GOODNESS CAN I JUST SERVE A MISSION RIGHT NOW?!! This past weekend I was able to serve a mini mission in Foxborough Massachusetts and oh my heck it was the greatest weekend of MY LIFE!! To start off the amazing experience, all the mini missionaries (Nashua Stake 16 and up) met at President Packard's house for dinner. Afterwards, we all dispersed into our areas and met our missionaries for the weekend. I had Sister Westover and Sister Rushton. Sadly, Sister Rushton was leaving THAT FOLLOWING FRIDAY from her mission because she finished!! So I had the wonderful opportunity to share her last weekend with her!! So on Saturday, I experienced the usual missionary routine: wake up, exercise, get ready, have personal study, have companion study, etc. During my personal study, I came across the scripture Alma 40:11 saying, "...the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life." I thought, THAT IS THE COOLEST SCRIPTURE EVER! We all are able to RETURN HOME, not just to the Lord's home, but OUR home with our Heavenly Father who gave us life, who gave us everything that we have: our happiness, our families, literally everything! As that stood out to me, I shared that with my sisters and we decided to share that message at our morning breakfast appointment. Our breakfast appointment was at a semi-member's home. The husband is a member, however the wife does not have a strong believe or understanding of God. I just wanted to share with her that no matter who we are, everyone is able to return HOME. I was able to share with this family that as we are striving to return home to the Lord's embrace, we are able to experience glimpses of home on Earth. We see that as we read the scriptures, say our prayers, spend time with our family, etc. I also shared that because I experience these glimpses of home on Earth, I am looking forward to that moment when we can all return home to our Father in Heaven and I am striving to keep the commandments so I can be welcome in the home for eternity.

Our next appointment was at a family of investigators. They understand a lot about the gospel; they've read the scriptures multiple times and heard all of the lessons, but are having a hard time committing to baptism. One of the sons shared that he reads the scriptures and has started to believe, but is not to the point of knowing. I was able to share with him that I have been able to reach the point of knowing that the gospel is true through the power of prayer. Yeah I read the scriptures daily, but on top of that I'm able to chat it up and speak to my Father in Heaven: my best friend, through prayer. We left a strong message with them and challenged them to pray. 

Along with these appointments, I went tracting through the freezing snow and 5ft of snow I also got to play Bingo at a nursing home and witness 2 baptisms! 1 of them was an 8 year old, and the other one was from the COOLEST GUY EVER! This guy's name was Ernie. He's a mailman and as he was delivering mail, he noticed the Deseret News that was sent to a member's house and began reading them haha he asked the members if he could have them when they're done. After that point, he started reading the scriptures and reading church magazines; he's literally the cutest old man ever! He was telling the sisters, "I'm getting baptized in the snow no matter what" and he showed up to his baptism right from work, all dressed up in his mailman suit. We had a little incident filling up the font and ended up running around the church filling up buckets and dumping them into the font. Ernie is 6'7" so we literally had to fill up the font all the way!! It was extremely freezing, but it was full! When he bore his testimony, he shared that as he was baptized in the freezing water, he thought of the pioneers in the movie 17 miracles. He said that if the saints could trek through that water and make all those sacrifices, then he can get baptized in freezing water. He's so dedicated it was the BEST! 

I could go on and on, talking about the mission's "Shut your big mouth" rule (if you're falling in love with another missionary, shut your mouth and tell the president) and the endless, "What are the odds" missionary games. It was so fun to not only feel of the spiritual aspects of the mission, but also to experience the fun and craziness of a missionary's life! There were also Elders in this ward so they took care of us a ton and risked our lives throughout the entire day......(they had to give us rides and lets just say they're a little insane as they outran cops, did donuts, etc. with us in the car haha) but the whole experience was SO FUN! I'm so happy I was able to experience a slight glimpse of Brooke's mission life except not at all heat-wise, but I was able to feel of the joy of sharing the gospel and LIVING the gospel!! THE CHURCH IS TRUE! I WANT TO GO ON A MISSION RIGHT NOW!!! I know that Jesus Christ lives and He atoned for our sins! We are all children of God who loves us and is always there for us. This gospel is the true path to pure eternal happiness. Sharing this happiness to others is what being a missionary is all about! Not only are others happy as they receive the fullness of the gospel, but I too am filled with overwhelming happiness as I see the gospel change lives and uplift by spirits everyday! I'm looking forward to the day when I can return home to my Father in Heaven and until then, I hope to continue to spread the word!!

I had to capture our awesome socks.

Selfie with the sisters

My old mini missionary companion: Sister Shields