Shannen's week # 6 in the field

Sent:

Mon, 5 May 2014 12:30:09 +1000

Subject:

It has been a wonderful week!!!!

Hi family! 

I'm so sorry that you didn't receive my email last week! I had written it all out and I did press send but because the computer soon crashed minutes after I guess the email didn't send after all! Please forgive me!!

So this week has been amazing!! We have had a busy schedule everyday and have been killing ourselves to get to appointments on time haha!!

So one of the best experiences we had this week was with a new investigator called R! She is a friend of a member from the K2 ward who she met through facebook. They are both mothers that have lost their children at a very young age through the same medical condition, which is really quite devastating! The sister who is friend's with her had at first asked the elders to come over to her house to teach R but because of certain circumstances, that being that the elders couldn't find any priesthood males to come along to the lesson they then asked us if we could go instead of them to teach! Of course we said yes even though it was on Monday, our p-day so we had to quickly rush from our flat to the appointment. It was quite funny at first because we later found out after our lesson that this sister hadn't told R anything about church or the gospel and we even think she didn't quite mention that missionaries were also coming over. So R got quite a shock to see us there and at first looked like she was going to back away haha! The spirit was there though so she stayed and we were able to teach her the plan of salvation! I guess this was the best lesson to teach her first to really let her know that her daughter is now in a happy place and that she can be comforted to know that God didn't allow this death to happen because he wanted her to suffer but that he has a greater purpose for her and her daughter. Once we had taught her she says "Who are you people? What church are you from?" We both look at each other and say well we are from 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". Haha we couldn't stop laughing afterwards that she said this but the lesson was amazing and it was great that she actually wanted to meet with us again on the Friday! On Friday we planned to teach the restoration but that didn't really go as planned but the good thing was we are seeing her again next friday so we hope we can get a lot more out the time we will have with her!

If you remember i mentioned that we had found 3 new investigators on the same street during tracting about 2 weeks ago and one of these investigators is called k! K is amazing and she is on fire! She is wanting to know the truth and is absorbing everything that we have been teaching her! So as you will read at the bottom she had said yes to be baptised!!!!!! Wooooohoooo!! We were jumping for joy once we got home (and we still are haha) and are really excited to be helping her on her way to receive more of heavenly father's blessings! We have only taught her twice now and at both times we have really felt the spirit in the room! This coming Saturday the K2 ward is having a baptism and so we have invited her to come to it and to have a chapel tour before hand so we are crossing her fingers that she will still have the desire to come!

the picture below is how we act when we get a baptism!! haha 

Well i love you all heaps! I'm praying for you all everyday and I hope you all are doing well! 

Lots of love,

Sister Valdes!

P.S the picture below is how we act when we get a baptism!! haha

Hello president!

My core experience with god this week was yesterday! I had a great experience with one of our investigators called K! She really is one of those people that has been prepared by the lord to be taught the gospel! We had a wonderful lesson with her, teaching her the restoration and at the moment where we were to teach about Joseph Smith, I felt the Holy ghost beside me the whole time, especially when i recited the first vision! It was such an amazing feeling where the words just flowed out of my mouth and everything made sense and i wasn't nervous at all! K just looked at me and i could see in her eyes that she knew that Joseph Smith's first vision was true! She later told us that everything we had taught her wasn't even crazy at all but just made a lot of sense, she said that basically our beliefs were her beliefs! My heart shouted for joy! K was also very excited to read the Book Mormon and committed to read a little every night! And what followed all these miracles was that she said yes to be baptised!!! We are super excited and know that the Lord will continue to bless her in every way possible for making this choice! I really could feel God's radiant beam of a smile shine on us from above, to know that we found one of his choicest daughters and to have invited her to make this choice to be baptised so that He can now bless her even more!

My best practice for teaching as Jesus taught, i feel was my improvement in being bold! This week i had built up the courage a lot to just say whatever came to my head to anyone we were teaching or talking to while tracting! Especially during K's lesson last night, Sister C and I were a bit nervous before hand to ask her to be baptised during the lesson but the spirit was there the whole time and so when i felt it was the right moment i just asked her and as you now know she did say yes!

One thing that i have improved during this last transfer would have to be asking inspiring questions. This was something that i had a lot of difficulty with at the MTC to know what questions were inspired or how to ask inspired questions for that matter. So I now feel that I understand a lot more on how to ask inspired questions and what has benefited me the most is having my companion giving me this feedback that she has felt that i do ask some really good questions that she feels have been inspired.

Nothing confidential to share.

Much love,

Sister Valdes

 HEY!

So the 1st picture is of elder g and elder h (district leader) who are serving in K1. but now elder h has been transfered and our new district leader is elder w! How funny is that! 

The 2nd picture is of my habichuela that I made a couple of weeks ago and it was so good! you'd be so proud of me mum! 

Love you!!