Izabele's Mission Washington D.C. South

As always, a lot happened this week. We met cool people, got in a little car accident, saw a rainbow, did an exchange, taught the doctrine of eternal life, laughed a lot, got fed Vietnamese egg rolls, shared spiritual insights, grew more love for our brothers/ sisters & went to bed each night happy happy happy.  Missionaries leave home with a strong purpose/ desire to share the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We leave expecting to fulfil that calling and, in my experience, gain so much more than we ever could have anticipated prior.  In my mission people leave their home countries to arrive in Northern Virginia expecting a variety of results. But what they don't realize is they're actually coming for the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.  We come for each other! It's literally the best thing of my life.  I'm beyond grateful to be a part of this great restoration. My spirit is so joyful. Being a missionary, it's very significant. The ...

Sister Seaver and I did an inventory of our teaching pool and realized that everyone we teach are middle aged/ young adult men. As a result we started praying for woman to teach!! Well my goodness did our prayer get answered!! Tuesday night we get a text from a 20 year old young woman named Megan! She says something along the lines of.. "hi, my step mom (member) gave me your number. I'd really like to learn about the lds faith. Can you meet Thursday?" ummm YES! So we did! She met us at the church & showed up with cookies!! AH! Pinch me! She's amazing! We met again Sunday after church & she gladly accepted a baptismal date for August 10th!! And we had dinner with her non member father who is super supportive!   Talk about answers to prayers!!!  But wait, there's more! Earlier in the week we were walking around an apartment complex & walked up to this car as it was driving away! The woman driving was so happy to see that we were representing Jesus ...

My new companion is INCREDIBLE. She's from a family of 12 & was adopted from China! She's extroverted & is SUCH a natural missionary! AH!  🏼 God is good.  Okay, remember Amer? Because he's on date for the 27th!! He came to church yesterday & the spirit he felt brought him to tears. "No offense, sisters, but I think those of us that find this inner peace later in life appreciate it a little more." :') He is the epitome of this scripture in John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. The gathering is REAL! & it's happening in our little town of Annandale Virginia!!!  One of my favorite things about the mission is progressively hearing the prayers of people we teach. As the atonement works in their life they truly change and it is so clear in the way they pray. These prayers become mor...

Something I love about my mission: Multiple times a week we talk with people who moved here from various countries & often times they say "I know your church! I knew missionaries in my country! Yeah, you can come talk with me!" This week we met a sir named Val who assumed we spoke Portuguese when he recognized the tag! "Don't all missionaries speak Portuguese?" Haha, I love it! So here's my shout out to all missionaries ever, no effort is wasted!!   I just want to share a quick testimony of gods timing. Whenever I try to over plan/ manipulate a situation to be what I think is best, it always fails. And whenever my companion and I work hard, keep the commandments (mission rules), look for opportunities to serve & follow the spirit, the timing of life is literally perfect!! We were walking away from the apartment we were at, and at that exact moment our friend Larikus (who is so awesome but has been missing for a month) calls out and says I'm ...

earest Izabele, my great, great, great, great Granddaughter with whom I love; “Preach first the principles of the Gospel - preach them over again; you will find that day after day new ideas and additional light concerning them will be revealed to you. You can enlarge upon them so as to comprehend them clearly. You will then be able to make them more plainly understood by those you teach, so that you will meet with scarcely an honest man but will obey them, and none can oppose. Adduce sufficient reason to prove all things and you can convert every honest man in the world. The knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not prevalent in the world, although it is written in the Holy Book. You can prove the Holy Book they profess to believe in, and your arguments will be so strong and convincing, that people will hear and obey. That Savior says that to you it is given to know the mysteries of God, but to the world it is not given. You have power; you are authorized to put ...

It's 8:15 on a Friday evening, the hot, humid air is finally cooling down. The sunset begins to turn to brighter pastels as the moments pass. Lightening bugs sporatically blink across the grass floor. And the park bench you're sitting on, as you & your companion share the sure answers to life's biggest questions, is beneath a willow tree.        How can you not feel the spirit?       So extremely blessed to have another summer spreading my greatest joy to my brothers and sisters here in Virginia. Makes me cry.  My favorite miracle from this week is a man named Amer. We met Amer as he was driving away, but once he understood we were here to talk about Christ he quickly pulled into a parking spot to give us his full attention. Amer was born a Christian in Jordan. Because Christianity is the minority in his country all the Christians had to stick together. When he arrived in the states, many years ago, he was surprised to find ...

In Annandale Virginia there is a magical place we now affectionately refer to as Mangalore Drive. Specifically building 4106. If you go into building 4106 & find yourself on the 4th floor this is what you'll discover..  Apt 401 we find Brother Kim. There is a very large Korean community in Annandale & all the Korean friends live by Korean culture. We have another friend, on that same street, that once said "If you live in Annandale and you're from Korea and you don't know Brother Kim, it's because you're from North Korea." He has changed through the atonement on Jesus Christ & is looking forward to his baptism!  Apt 402 is found the SWEETEST Bolivian family. (The Spanish elders are teaching them.) Apt 403 is our good member friend, Sister Linda Franklin & her non member roommate, Sister Maryann. Maryann has had really bad experiences with missionaries years ago & wouldn't forgive them or the church. Well, through a lot of pra...

Short one today.. A fact: God's goodness is immediate! Some reasons why every day as a missionary is awesome: One minute you're getting yelled at for "soliciting" & the next you're trying your best to understand a thick Twi accent & the next you're speed walking across the street to a lady walking her dog because she needs the gospel & the next you're sharing a scripture with someone who recently converted from Hinduism to Christianity & the next you're getting let into the home of a family who has only been in the states for a month and love Jesus. etc etc etc. Every moment you walk out your door there is some type of a miracle/ story waiting! LOVE! We are all united in Christ!  Each day just gets better and better!   Can't imagine a life without this mission.  "Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things...