Transfer 13 Week 6

Well, this is weird... Week 6 of my last official transfer. I don't know if I will be able to email next week (due to craziness of transfers and General Conference) but there is no way possible that I can write everything that I want to on this short time I have to email. Be expecting a post-mission email of everything that I want to put in this one... So, I am going to treat majority of this email as if I'm not going home, and when I do get home I'll send/post the email/blog post that I wish I currently had time to send now. 

This week has been crazy but filled with miracles! On the Square, for our investigators! It's just been really amazing to witness. 

Saturday our investigator from Hawaii asked us to call him, because he wanted to share an experience with us. He was on the north shore of the island and wanted to see his friend as it was her birthday and had a feeling that he should go to the temple, he wanted to and then doubt started entering his mind as to if she would actually be there and if it would just be weird if he went because he isn't a member, etc. but he followed the prompting and just went anyway! He got there, and there she was! She told him that is was so crazy that he was here as she had just put his name in the temple! and it was perfect because they actually needed someone to take photos for them as well! After all that he went back to his car and opened the Book of Mormon, he has his finger on a scripture and it said; 

"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever. And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them." - Moroni 10:7-8

And felt like it was a massive pa'i (slap/hit) across the face! God telling him exactly what he needed to do next, we had asked him to pray about baptism and he didn't feel like he was receiving his answer until all of this happened, we asked him what he feels like he has to do next and he said he called the missionaries and they will meet this week and talk more about baptism. He is now praying to know that he should be baptized on October 10th! Such a huge miracle, it was so amazing. He was so excited to share it with us and it was just so precious. We are really excited for him and for everything he is doing in coming closer to the Savior. 

We have been able to get in contact with a lot of our investigators this week, which is a miracle in itself, all thanks to the promptings of the Spirit! They are doing well, coming closer and closer to receiving the restored gospel for themselves each and every day! 

Yesterday we had an amazing tour, it was the flag pole at 6pm and we have 3 guests from Germany... we were trying to get a German Sister to take it (who had walked past) because it would have been better for them to understand the gospel in German, but the German Sisters were having a meeting, and the guest spoke English so we took them! It was a couple and a single man, both traveling around and seeing the sights. The single man was very open and full of awe at what we do as missionaries. Saying that in Germany young people like us would not give up so much to go out and serve God, he was just in love with the whole concept. We then got talking about tithing and he just loved everything we had to say! We offered him to meet with missionaries in Germany and that we could get the German Sister that he met to call/email him to teach him more and he was so excited! On the referral card he wrote "I love your religion". This might not seem like a miracle to you, but if you know Germans. THIS IS A HUGE MIRACLE! He is so excited to learn more, he really just loves everything we had to tell him. We were so excited that we went into their meeting to give the Sister the referral and I will never forget the look of joy/surprise/shock/relief everything! on her face. This Sister takes so many German tours and has had a hard time because they just aren't willing to learn more, so this just meant the world to her. We could have easily taught him ourselves because his English is great! But it's not for us, and we knew that this sister needed to teach him. 

This is the Lords work, not ours, and something we (Sister Bulaoat and I) have been talking a lot about lately, is that if the Savior himself came to Temple Square and introduced us to his brother or sister, and asked us to take them around and teach them the gospel, how would that change the way we took that tour or handled a referral given by Him?... We would make sure the very best was given to not only His brothers and sisters, but they are our brothers and sisters too! 

In the end, it has got absolutely nothing to do with us, we are just the tools in the hands of the Lord. No one at the end of a piano concert says "Great Job Piano!" but rather they applaud the pianist for the skill of using such an instrument. 

This truly is His work and I get that more than ever because of my mission and it can and must be applied to everything we do in the church. Missionary work, Visiting and Home teaching, teaching lessons in church, giving a talk in sacrament, everything! Just because we can't see the Savior, doesn't mean He doesn't know! Because He is always here with us and I know that He is the one that sends people to Temple Square, the one that places missionaries in their path. He is in the details! 

At the beginning of this transfer I set a goal to have in my heart the children's primary song "If The Savior Stood Beside Me" to remind me of my love for the Savior and His love for me and it give me an added measure of diligence and care tot he word of the Lord as the song goes. 

"If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do? Would I think of His commandments, and try harder to be true? Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?
If the Savior stood beside me, would I say the things I say? Would my words be true and kind if He was never far away? Would I try to share the gospel? Would I speak more reverently if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?
He is always near me, though I do not see Him there, And because He loves me dearly, I am in His watchful care. So I’ll be the kind of person that I know I’d like to be if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me."

I am so grateful especially for the 3rd verse, to know that He is always near me, even if I can't see him. We're all trying to become like the Savior and all though we slip and make mistakes, it's okay because He has got our backs! a friend emailed me this week with a quote sent to him saying "If God’s gotten you this far, don’t expect him to drop you now.” This has given me a lot of comfort as well with the quote my Mum sent me saying "It is impossible to fail when you do  your best when you are on the Lords errand" - President. Russell M. Nelson. 

I love this work, I love my mission and I know it never ends, and my path of discipleship has just really begun! The next chapters are unknown but exciting! It's time to make my book of life really special, filling it with so many wonderful experiences! 

Love, Sister Ryan. 

photos

Bagel run on a Monday morning

N.K. Whitney & co

 Church History Museum 

 Church History Museum 

Departing Class fun

Departing Class fun

Transfer 13 Week 5

Another gone by way too quickly week of miracles. 

We have been meeting some amazing people, it's just incredible the people who meet here that are so ready to receive the restored gospel. 

This week we [Zone and District Leaders] had a training from the Missionary Department, I love them all so much! I wish I could be one of them some day, they seriously have the coolest job ever. We get these training's a few times a year and this time round we were really focusing on how to can increase in our effectiveness as Visitor Center Sisters. Really focusing on how we can help our investigators progress beyond the Visitor Center and doing something so simple which is to invite them to meet with Local Missionaries before inviting them to learn more with us (online). It's so simple and yet a lot of Sisters are scared to do it because of fear that we will damage the relationship we have with them or whatever it may be, but we have really learned that there is so damage done, and by not inviting we are taking away their agency which is the last thing we want to do. 

Invitations are not just "Will you...?" it goes far beyond that, invitations are empty unless we help them. That is our purpose, to "Invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the Restored gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end".

I have mentioned before that on my mission I have learned that our purpose continues forever, it never ends, everything we do in the church, everything we do along our path of discipleship, is centered on the missionary purpose and there is so much more to missionary work than teaching the lessons, getting/contacting referrals, going out with the missionaries, etc.Missionary work is anything that helps anyone come closer to Christ. 

Which goes into the next days training when we learned how to work with members, and really helping members do their own missionary work, teaching them how they can do it and opening their eyes to see the greater picture of the work of salvation. I think as missionaries we are too quick to just get the name of the person and do it on our own, but we need the members, it is always so much more successful when the members are involved in the work, especially when they are "not ready to meet with the missionaries". It is our job then to say, "Okay, what is the next step for that person, how can we help you, help the person you love and hold dear to your heart? What are they searching for and how can we help you, help them?"

I don't know if any of this make sense... But for me it all means that Missionary work never ends. My time as a full-time missionary is the MTC for the rest of my life and when I heard that I always thought about going into the real world, school, family, career, being a disciple but it hit me this week that it prepared me to be a missionary for the rest of my life. THAT'S EXCITING! 

I am so grateful for the training's, I was sad because I felt like "I wish I had this training early in my mission, that would have been so amazing, I won't be able to apply these things for long" until I realized that was the biggest lie to ever tell myself because I get to apply these things forever. 

Now that we received 5 hours of training over three days about all of this, it's time to hit the square and apply it all! Yesterday we got called to take 3 English at EF desk, so we got there as fast as we could to take them, it was a Chinese couple and a girl that is staying with them and at first I was really confused because we had met them earlier and they had definite Chinese accents, I for sure thought they were from Mainland China, but they started speaking almost perfect English (with an accent) and wanted to learn everything about what we believed in. We prefaced and introduced the local missionaries in their area and they agreed right there and then to meet with them before we even really got the tour started! We went to the Temple Model, Assembly Hall and ended at the Statue of Christ, we hardly shared any history at all, it was purely doctrine, because that is what they wanted to know! We talked about the temple, church, fasting, Christ, the Book of Mormon and they just loved everything. When we talked about fasting, Simon was very intrigued, we talked about how we sacrifice 2 meals and God gives us blessings for our sacrifice, that we are able to feel the spirit in greater abundance as we show control over our physical bodies and he just loved the concept so much! We then both shared stories and testimonies of it and he just admired the practice of it so much. The spirit was so strong throughout the whole tour, they were just so ready to receive the gospel and I know that the Lord has been preparing them for a long time, they had so many questions and are so excited to read the Book of Mormon, to check out church and to meet with the missionaries when they get home. It was a complete miracle and I know its because we began applying the things we have learned and the Lord was testifying to us that it works! 

I know that the Lord helps us be at the right place at the right time, that as we sacrifice everything we have and give it to the Lord that's when amazing things happen, we had cut our lunch early to go and take a tour that had been waiting for 15 minutes and no one was responding, everyone was just ignoring the fact that it was there not even saying they were unavailable to take it which really saddened our hearts so we packed our things away and ran up. It wasn't a great tour, they weren't very interested in what we had to say, we planned on taking them to see Gods Plan for His Family but we had the prompting to cut the tour short and so we did, after the tour we were asked to cover Assembly Hall quickly and then I got a call saying there was someone from my ward looking for me and so I asked them to send them to the Assembly Hall, I had been expecting a visit and was so sad that I might not meet them but they came and it was so amazing, we then got to take them on a tour and it was just marvelous. They are a recent convert family from my ward that was baptized while I have been on my mission and I got to meet them! Apparently when they were asking for me the Sister before calling me talked to someone for about 10 minutes and then called, if she hadn't of talked to that person we would have missed the call and I might not have met them! The Lord truly has his hand in all the little details we don't even think about and I am so grateful for it!

I love this gospel, I love my mission and my Savior, Jesus Christ! Have a lovely week! 

Transfer 13 Week 4

I really feel like these weeks are just getting faster and faster and all I want to do is say "SLOW DOWN". P-day has rolled around again and this week has been crazier than usual, I thought by week 4 it would start slowing down and I was sorely mistaken, haha. 

However little Square time we have had looking after other things, I have truly seen how the Lord provides. Which gives me great comfort in knowing it won't be any different when I get home. As long as I remain faithful and live the path that has been lighted by the Lord, His prophets, the scriptures and just keep the commandments, everything is going to work out. The Lord has placed people in our path that have just been constant answers to my prayers. We met a guy who went through a similar thing to what I am going through at the end of his mission and he just testified how everything just worked out so much more perfectly than he ever could have imagined. He said "take some advice from your own country, 'don't worry mate, she'll be right!". Hahaha. 

Sometimes with all the extra little things we have been doing it sometimes appears to be taking away from the work. But now I know that we were exactly where we needed to be, and that is why the Lord has provided so many wonderful miracles! 

On Wednesday we got taken away from our studies to help a Sister who had a lot going on, we went down to the Square, my companion was with her companion and then I was with my companions trainee and it was all just rather confusing! But we made the most of it and just contacted everyone we could at the desk assignment we had in the North Visitor Center. Then I met Lucie and January 2 of the 27,000 people here for the DoTERRA convention. January is a member and she brought Lucie who really has come to know Christ just this past year. We were at the Jerusalem Map and talking about Jesus Christ and everything that he went through while performing the Atonement. I can't even remember how but we started to then talk about the Book of Mormon and I shared with her 3 Nephi 11 (my favourite to share with guest on the Square). By the end of the conversation we were all in tears... she was so overcome with the Spirit and power of the Book of Mormon and was truly touched as she read the verses along with me. I asked her what she would do if she had an experience like the Nephites did and she just said she would just fall to her knees and cry at His feet asking for forgiveness. I told her that through the Book of Mormon she could spiritually do exactly that, to touch the prints of the nails in His hands and feet. I then asked her if she would let me give her a copy of this most powerful and precious book and she felt so privileged saying "I can have one of those?". She asked me to sign it for her and wrote my testimony on how she can know it too be true. I grabbed some pamphlets and shared more about the apostasy and restoration and it just made sense to her. It's amazing the connections you feel with people when you share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is truly just amazing! Those moments when you really feel the immense love that God has for His children and His desire for them to know that the truthfulness of the gospel has been restored on the earth again today. 

We had a hectic day with talking to Sisters and delivering ice-cream (I felt like a visiting teacher, it was so awesome). Meeting with the Assistants to the President, guest services, more talking with Sisters, not having dinner, taking a Flag Pole tour and then we met another miracle at the Statue of Christ! They were listening the whole time we were talking with our tour, the tour we had wasn't too great but we then approached these other people when we were finished up.

Again, thank-you DoTERRA! We met a couple and they had a member friend with them. Her husband wasn't there for the whole thing so we mainly talked to the wife and friend (the friend had Hawaiian connections with Sister Bulaoat). We talked about the gospel casually with them, just conversation about religion and what she believes, her personal experiences, clearing up some things that we believe about the Temple etc. She is more than willing to learn (Gina), she was very open and just really appreciated our kindness and love. It was just amazing to see how at the end of the day, the only time we had on the square together, the Lord provided a way that we could truly fulfill our purpose! 

Those are just two experiences of the many we have had. We had a lady in a group of 6 who came up to me and just said "My daughter passed away over a year ago and I have never been able to cry about it, no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't, but now I finally can." as a tear streamed down her cheek, she said "I see God in your eyes" and she just wanted to desperately to learn more about the Temple and how she could be sealed to her family. It was so precious, there are no words to describe how you feel in those moments and how you know that the Spirit is just taking over because Sister Ryan by herself would not know what exactly to say to comfort her heart. 

This work is so amazing and I'm grateful that it never ends, even if my tag comes off, the work is never finished! My testimony is constantly increasing of the truthfulness of the Restored Gospel, there is no logical way that any of this could be false, it 100% all comes from on High. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that the fullness of His teachings are on the earth today because God is the same yesterday, today and forever and God calls prophets. That prophet of this last dispensation was Joseph Smith and I know that he saw God and Jesus Christ, that he translated the Book of Mormon and that it contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel, it is the tool of the Gathering of Isreal, it is the greatest tool we have in the work the Lord has called us to do! 

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Ryan. 

photos

we hung out at the cemetery last week, it was cool.

Happy Birthday President Poulsen

Transfer 13 Week 3

Hi Everyone!

This week has been so jammed  packed with miracles, last Friday there was a lady from Australia looking for me to give me a referral, apparently she gave it to another Sister, but I never received it. She knew there was a Sister from Ballarat and wanted to give it to me because the referral she has lives in my ward boundaries.

It was my P-day when she came and so I didn't meet her. However, on Sunday we were getting something for another Sister and was in a bit of a hurry but I saw a lady sitting on the planters and I had the strongest feeling I needed to talk with her. I asked her where she was from and she said "Victoria" in her very think and strong Australian accent. Immediately I knew it must have been her, and I asked if she was Heather and she was! We got talking and she gave us the referral, I was so excited she told us that he is expecting our call and is excited to learn more. She said that she sat down because her knee was hurting and after we had finished talking the pain in her knee went away. Heavenly Father creates the BEST miracles so that we can meet those we need to meet.
We called Brian the next day and he was just about to shoot out for an errand and asked us to call back tomorrow and that we did! We had a great conversation, talking about the Restoration and prophets and before we even got to the Book of Mormon, we invited him to be baptized and he said yes! We invited him to go to church and he is willing to drive an hour to church for sacrament meeting, drive back home to drive another hour to go to work the same day! He is committed, he really wants this and he wants to read the Book of Mormon, he has seen what the church has done for people and how it has changed them and he just wants to be a good faithful person and is ready to make that covenant of baptism. The craziest thing about all of this, he will get baptized either just before or after I get home.
I only just realized this past week that not only has my family been so blessed by me coming on a mission, but so has my ward! My little ward hasn't seen any success with convert baptisms in years and all of a sudden there have been so many that have happened in this past 18 months while I have been on my mission and I hope that it continues to be this way! It's so exciting to see the hastening of the Lords work and it strikes a special string in my heart when I see it happening in Australia.

We have been seeing a lot of miracles over chat recently as well which we are excited to see how all of that goes, so be ready for the continuations of stories when we have our return appointment with them!

The Spirit is so amazing, so much is possible when you just follow the promptings you receive, I can't imagine what would happen if I didn't listen to some of the promptings we have from the Spirit. I'm not perfect, but I do my best and I have really been praying to be more spiritually sensitive to those around me, and we are seeing so many miracles because of it. Meeting people that are looking for us, meeting people who are going through similar things and need to know how we overcame it, just knowing when to talk to another Sister Missionary, knowing what questions to ask, what to testify of, to know if someone is from China or Korea!... whatever it might be. The Spirit is key! and I know it's not just on my mission that this applies. In our LDSBC class we have (as departing sisters), it's amazing to see how the Spirit is so important in everything we do and how it will help us in work, school, parenting, everything that comes after the mission.
They say that the mission is the preparation for the rest of your life and I believe it. It's where we learn to become more like the Saviour, to listen to the promptings of the spirit, to study, to know how important a Christ centered home is, to know about the sacredness of the Temple, in loving others that are unkind to us, in just being all around better people, to be successful in anything that we do!

It has been so crucial to me as I feel like my whole life has changed even in just a matter of weeks, I'm just happy to know that the Saviour is on my side and that the gospel is truly in every part of our lives and I love it that way!
We're not always going to be perfectly happy, and even with the gospel we have hard days, but we can have peace knowing that all is well and that the Lord will never lead us astray, that as we follow the Spirit, keep the commandments that we will always be on the right path, we never have to fear. Just always work on constant improvement and learning.

I love my mission so much and I am grateful for everything it has taught me, for the relationship I have developed with my Savior and the application of the Atonement that I would have never had, if I had not come on my mission. I'm grateful for my companions, for my investigators and every Chinese person I meet on Temple Square! I'm grateful for the hymns that I sing in my heart each day and to make the most of this last transfer and truly finish strong!

I love you all, hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Ryan xx

photos

Slide the City 

Bountiful Temple

my last security training muffin

The BEST (and only) caramel apple of my life. 

We met Lucy's husband from 7th Heaven. We were walking out of the North VC and we got talking to this guy, and then we asked why he looked so familiar (as we had both been thinking it trying to figure out how on earth we knew him) and he said "well, I hate to ruin your day, but I'm an actor"... "Have you ever seen the little show, 7th Heaven?... I'm Lucy's husband" Yep, it happened! the price tag was still on his hat, I think he was trying to blend in with everyone else wearing the "Utes" hat, especially as it was the week of the big game! 

I met the kid in this Bible video with Jesus :)
His name is Gabe.

The BEST (and only) caramel apple of my life. 

my last security training muffin

Transfer 13 Week 2

I don't feel like anything happened from last week until now, but I know that a lot did happen! 

This week has been crazy, I have truly seen the hand of the Lord in my life this week, without a doubt. 

Even though we haven't had a lot of time on the Square or in the TC, the Lord is still providing us with amazing people and opportunities to teach the gospel and it has been so amazing to see it. 

He really does provide miracles as we have faith in Him! 

Last week something amazing happened! ANDY GOT BAPTIZED! 

Sister Christensen and I had met Andy my 3rd day back on Temple Square, he was just a shy kid that was a little hesitant to meet with missionaries and to let us call him. 

We never had a lesson with him over the phone, we only ever taught him over text, helping him grow in his testimony as he read the scriptures and really came to know that it is all true. 

We really just constantly invited him to read the Book of Mormon, to go to church and to meet with the missionaries in his area, giving him comfort that all would be well! 

He text us one night saying he had been thinking about getting baptized and it happened! & the night before his baptism he sent us a text telling us how grateful he was for us pushing him to to get to the point where he is in his life, that he couldn't have done it without us constantly reminding him to read the Book of Mormon, to go to church and meet the missionaries, he expressed his gratitude for everything we had done to help him and it was in that moment that I realized it was the little things we did. 

We didn't teach him this super powerful lesson where the Spirit filled the room and we were all in tears, nope... It was simple reminders and invitations to do the things that would help him come closer to Christ and sometimes that's all it takes. 

I realized in that moment that we fulfill our purpose as missionaries in more ways than we realize!

I met a guy at one of the desks in the South Visitor Center. We talked about the pioneers, shared stories and I asked him why he thinks they would do everything they did and really tried to get him to put himself in their shoes, he said they must have had a lot of faith. I then felt inspired to ask him what his current relationship with Jesus Christ is, and he didn't know what to say. He explained that he grew up christian but fell away and that he doesn't really have one, but is looking for it. I asked "Do you want to know the greatest secret to coming to develop a relationship with Christ?" he said yes and I pulled out my Book of Mormon. I shared my story and it really touched him. We read parts of 3 Nephi and it created hope in him that he could have this, that he could spiritually have an experience like the Nephites did in 3 Nephi 11:15 in touching the prints of the nails in his hands and feet. This gave him so much hope and when I offered the Book of Mormon to him it was like he couldn't get it in his hands fast enough. It was a tender moment to really help someone search for and develop that hope! It's experiences like this that make me realize how amazing it is to be a missionary! 

It is amazing to see how the Lord prepares people to receive the gospel, I have really gained a testimony that everyone is ready to one degree or another, we just need to find the thing that they are searching for, if it be to regain a relationship with Christ that may seem to be lost, if it be comfort in knowing where we go after this life, if it is knowing that families can be together forever, that there is another book of scripture in the world or that God has called a prophet again. I have seen so many hearts soften when they realize that in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ we have the answers, and we are more than willing to give it to them! However, the hard part is, they can't take our word for it! They have to come to now it for themselves, and that's where we help them. To be their guides in looking for truth and receiving those answers from on High for themselves. 

I love this work, I love being able to help people find the answers to the questions they have deep in their hearts, I love wearing the Savior's name on my heart each day! I was looking through the emails of a friend when he went home from his mission a while ago and he said, 

"Remember, every morning you wake up, we're at war, in the service of God. But there is so much joy to be found." and I know it's so true! This is the best work we will ever do and we have to give it our all! Giving everything we have to the Lord so that he can purify us and make us better and stronger than ever! (Helaman 3:35)

Love, Sister Ryan 

Transfer 13 Week 1

It has come and I can't believe it, my Thirteenth transfer... the last one... where did my mission go? I feel like time has flown by so quickly, but I know that I am certainly not the same person I was. 

With a new transfer it means new companions and assignments! My new companion is from the real life paradise of Hawaii, Sister Bulaoat (pronounced Bulla-what!). 

I have learned so much from her already, we are super excited for this transfer! I am sadly no longer at Welfare Square but back in Guest Services! Which I am super happy about! It's one of my favourite assignments on Temple Square. 

This past week has changed my life, I feel like I have learned and grown so much closer to the Lord and as every day passes I become more spiritually sensitive to the gentle and almost silent promptings of the Spirit. 

I feel like Nephi who had no idea what he was doing, but was just following the Spirit! 

I saw a man with a shirt yesterday that said "I GOT THIS - GOD (Proverbs 3:5)" and I feel like all week the Lord has been screaming at me through different things that I really need to do as Proverbs 3:5 says "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.".  I think sometimes we forget to do this, this week I have received the reality check that I can't afford NOT to do this. 

I feel like Heavenly Father has been giving me a little peice of the puzzle at a time and it's not until I look back and really see his hand in helping me figure out what on earth is going on! On Sunday we went to Music and the Spoken work and there was a guest singer that sung "Abide with Me". I didn't know the song very well until that day when I fell in love with it and it has been such a source of comfort as I have sung it gently to my self or in my heart, the lyrics have surely touched my heart and helped me understand my relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ as it goes: 

"1. Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!

2. Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day.
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not, abide with me!

3. I need thy presence ev'ry passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter's pow'r?
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Thru cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me!

I felt the need to study the scriptures that went along with this hymn, they are also found in Preach My Gospel as we study about the Power and Authority of our calling as missionaries.

I can honestly say it changed me, I have read this chapter many times, not understanding what was going on or what the Savior was trying to teach in John 15. As I studied I came to understand how we truly do have to abide in the Savior, he is the vine and we are the branches, the only way the branches receive their strength is through the vine, it is the only way it can be done. We must always be applying the Atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives and by doing so having a great abundance of the Spirit.  

We have seen many miracles and met amazing people this past week! I met a man names Bruce who just wanted to know about the history of the Tabernacle and somehow it turned into me teaching the Restoration, he was agreeing with everything I said about apostasy and a need for a Restoration, he desired to have a copy of the Book of Mormon, there was none in the Tabernacle and so we went to West Gate to get one. He asked me to sign the Book of Mormon for him and he was so excited to keep in contact! He then unexpectantly gave me a big hug and I was just in shock, hahaha. But he was so grateful. I bore my testimony and he is so excited to read it and know it comes from God. 

Then yesterday Sister Bulaoat and I took our first tour together, with about 3 individual groups that had come together, one was a baptist group helping build a church in Odgen and the others were just guest from California and Utah. We set the expectation and did and awesome How to Begin Teaching! We applied AMPED (that I mentioned a few weeks ago) and it was awesome! At the end they had some CRAZY questions, but it all came back to the Book of Mormon and being able to teach them about it and how it can bring them even closer to Christ. One of the ladies told me that her parents are members but she didn't grow up at all in the church. But because of the tour felt inspired to get her Dads Book of Mormon out and even asked her husband if they could start reading it together. She then continued to tell us that her family was converted in Denmark and helped build and establish Utah! She talked about the closeness she felt to this place and how it was so lovely to be here and see what they did. Isn't Heavenly Father's plan just perfect?! 

I love this work and it's amazing how much closer to the Lord we really do get as we serve him. I am so grateful to be His missionary and to bring the world His truth, literally doing that on Temple Square and it's such a huge blessing! 

The best thing is, the missionary work never stops and how wonderful that is to know! We will forever be disciples of Jesus Christ!

Love, Sister Ryan xx

photos

Granite Hike

Granite Hike

Granite Hike

Bruce

Granite Hike

Granite Hike

Granite Hike

Granite Hike

Granite Hike

Granite Hike

Transfer 12 Week 6

The weeks just seem to be going by faster and faster, I don't really feel like anything happens from p-day to p-day. 

I get my weeks all confused and messed up because it's all just going by so fast. It will be transfers next week and I feel like this transfer just began. 

But we did have a great week! We are seeing so many miracles with tours and investigators. We truly are fulfilling our purpose and making the most of every teaching opportunity. 

It felt so good to get back on the Square and contact everyone and take every tour that we could! One of our investigators that we lost contact with randomly text us and said that everything has been great and lately he has been thinking about getting baptized and is hoping to do it very soon! 

My Mandarin has improved a lot and my vocabulary is growing! I can hold a pretty okay conversation with someone from China now, which is awesome. We had a lot of cool experiences this week and I can testify that the gift of tongues is so real! There would be moment sin the tour that I wouldn't understand the words being said, but when Sister Chen turned to translate to me I would confirm that I understood correctly and it was often right or very close. The people notice and they are just amazed, it's been awesome to see Gods hand in creating these little miracles for us and I know  they soften the peoples heart to receive the gospel. I'm getting better at singing I am a Child of God (Wo Shi Shen Di Hai Zi) and they love it! 

I am thoroughly convinced the only reason why China hasn't opened yet is not because of the people in China, but it's becausewe're not ready for it yet! There will be so much work that needs to be done and I gain a testimony of that each time someone refers. They recognize truth and hope and they want it for themselves, even if they don't understand at first, they love the feeling of the Spirit. I love testifying to them that those feelings they have here on Temple Square of peace and happiness (which is huge for them) it's Gods way of telling them that, He is aware, that He loves them and wants to develop a relationship with them. And really, isn't that what the Spirit does? Every time we receive Revelation or those simple feels of the Spirit, it's God communicating those things to us.

Saturday was so incredible! A girl that Sister Orndal and I taught got baptized! and we got to Skype the baptism, it was so special, we only got to see the ordinance itself, but it was so special! I haven't seen anyone really progress to baptism since before Outbound and so it really rekindled that joy that baptism brings, being our first covenant with the Lord. We also got to speak with her on the phone later and it was so special, all three of us (Sister Orndal, Bruyzgina and I) and she was just to happy, you could feel her happiness through the phone, he just talked about how amazing she felt and she is a naturally bubbly person anyway, but this was something different, she was just thanking us so much for helping her, being patient with her and teaching her these things that have changed her life. It was a tender moment!  

I feel like this week I have grown spiritually in many little ways that make a big difference int he way I think and do things, I finished the Book of Mormon last Saturday and it was such an amazing experience and I really searched for the words the Savior Himself has said to us, being able to strengthen my testimony as I put Moroni 10:3-5 to the test is such a blessing. I feel like I have been so much more receptive to the Spirit lately, and really just pondering in my heart how all things come back to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, wow. I can truly say that when we always have the Savior in remembrance, we do have His spirit to be with us in a greater abundance. I see things very differently, it also helps that I am keeping a gratitude journal so I am always pondering about what I am grateful for and making sure that I not only acknowledge that gratitude but act on it. 

Gratitude is like faith, it leads to action. As well as every other Christ-like attribute. I am so grateful for my personal studies in the morning, they are always so uplifting and inspiring, as I study from the scriptures and Preach My Gospel. Studying the scriptures really does change our day! and not only our day but who we are. It makes me so determined to constantly be studying the scriptures after my mission. I hear way too often of missionaries getting home and "not having time" to study the scriptures and it breaks my heart! 

"Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!" - Elder Richard G. Scott

I just love being a missionary so much and I am so grateful for everything that I have learned and become because of this time serving the Lord. The time goes by so quick! I know this is His work and I know that we are so blessed and privileged to be a part of it. He wants us to find joy in serving him, and joy is found as we rely on the Savior. He truly is the vine that gives [us] the branches strength to bear fruit (John 15), all things are made possible through him! (Moroni 7:33).

Love, Sister Ryan xx 

photo

Cute group we took at Welfare Square

Transfer 12 Week 5

Well, Hi!

I'm back from the grave! Haha. I died this week and I'm back alive! (well, getting there...)

It's Summer and I got the flu, I was down for most the week, it was terrible! 

I went to church and President Poulsen asked me how I was and I looked at home and croaked "not okay" he replied, "are you sure you should be here?" I told him "I just want the sacrament and then I'm going home to bed" and that I did! 

But I got to sleep a lot the past few days and I got to read Our Heritage from cover to cover, and the Historic Site Guide and get refreshed on all my Temple Square History!

Which was great because we had an amazing Zone Conference last Thursday, and a lot of it was centered on taking Large Group Tours and helping us make them more effective. Understanding what we can do to meet and exceed the guests expectations and help them feel the spirit through inspiring history. 

Along with sharing our inspirational history we will really testify that "All Missionaries Preach Eternal Doctrines" as we really teach and testify of the Apostasy, Restoration, Joseph Smith and Modern Day Prophets, The Book of Mormon, The Plan of Happiness, Eternal Families and the Doctrine of Christ. 

I haven't had much time on the square to use it yet, but I am excited to! I know that this comes from Heaven. Sister Chen and I have been roleplaying and it is going well, I received a lot of inspiration as I really jumped back into history with my readings, doing my best to put myself in their shoes and to really imagine what they went though. There were times I laughed and others my heart was completely broken for the pioneers and what they went through. But it filled my heart with so much joy to always see the Saints finding the lesson to be learned, to really embrace the experience that brought them so much closer to God and our Savior Jesus Christ. I feel like the introduction to Our Heritage really sums it up so beautifully! 

"Millions of faithful Saints have also had testimonies of the divinity of Jesus Christ. This knowledge has motivated them to make the sacrifices necessary to build The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the kingdom of God on the earth. The story of the establishment of the Church is one of faith,consecration, and joy. It is the story of living prophets who taught the truths of God to the modern world. It is the story of men and women from all walks of life who sought for the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and, upon finding it, were willing to pay the price of becoming the Savior’s disciples.These stalwart Saints pressed on through sufferings and hardships,witnessing even in their darkest hours of the goodness of God and the joy of his love. They have left a legacy of faith, courage, obedience, and sacrifice.

The heritage of faith continues today. Latter-day Saints throughout the world are modern pioneers in their own homelands, where they live with faith and courage in a time fraught with new challenges and opportunities.There are pages of history yet to be written. We each have an opportunity to leave a heritage for generations to follow that will help them understand the joy of living and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I feel like these studies went hand in hand with that I just spoke about last week in my talk. I know it was inspired, and I feel so motivated to truly be a pioneer! I may not have to pull or push a handcart, I don't have to experience the cold, the heat and the conditions that they did. But we all have challenges and thing of the unknown that we face in life that help us become greater disciples of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

A pioneer truly is one who leads the way inspiring others to follow and we can do that through the big and little things. I am excited to pioneer through life, I know that the Lord has much ahead of me and though the future is certainly unknown. I can have confidence in my future, to look forward with faith, because I know I have the Lord on my side, I know that He loves me and has a desire to help me in all aspects of my life, I know that He will never lead my astray. I know that as I keep His commandments and live worthy of having the Spirit to always be with me I can say "All is well!".

The Church and Gospel of Jesus Christ is so true! I have had my testimony increase so much of that daily on my mission and I am so grateful for it! 

Love, Sister Ryan xx 

Transfer 12 Week 4

Hey Everyone! 

This week not a whole lot happened that is different than from any other day, but however I did give my talk in Sacrament Meeting indicating that I am at the end of my mission. All week I had been praying and pondering, searching for what to say and the Lord truly did give it to me. We didn't have personal studies for a couple of days and it was those nights where I prayed and I was literally given the words which I should speak as I was in bed I would grab my iPad and type like crazy to get all of it down into words. 

It went well, many sisters really enjoyed it and said they gained a lot from it. Though it was one of the scariest moments of my mission, I'm pretty sure the Spirit was covering up my shaky voice, I realized in that moment I don't do public speaking, haha. I have never been as nervous as I was at that point, I used to be able to sing and dance as a kid in front of an audience, I'm obviously out of practice. 

But I would love to share it with you and I hope that you can gain something out of it that can help and assist you in coming closer to Christ and becoming His disciple. Obviously it isn't word for word than what I actually said on the pulpit, but this is the basic jist.

"What a wonderful time it is to celebrate the legacy of faith that has been left for us in our lovely and most beautiful Temple Square, how grateful I am for the pioneers and their efforts, their sacrifice, faith and testimonies. 

My topic today is "a pioneer is someone who goes before, showing others the way to follow" are their pioneering experiences for us? Will future generations reflect with gratitude on our efforts, our examples? A pioneer stands up for what is right, dares to share the gospel in the face of opposition, and testifies of Christ through her actions. Let us all be pioneers!" 
As I have sought out the Lord for what to say, I know that this comes from Him, it is my prayer that you can receive answers to questions you have in your hearts or even a greater appreciation for the pioneers and how you can apply their stories and examples into your life today and always. I hope that as you listen to the Spirit he will teach you what you need to learn from the things I will say today.

I have really been thinking about what a pioneer really is, what makes them so special, why do we look up to them? What is it that created their legacy of faith? A few things that have come to my mind are, faith and testimony in the Savior, of the Restoration of the Gospel, they knew that Book of Mormon is true, that we have a Living Prophet, they knew the blessings of the Temple, they trusted in the Priesthood, they knew that God was on their side, they trusted in His promises, and they surely testified of Christ through their actions. I have come to really see that they are a perfect example of Disciples of Jesus Christ.

And that is when our journey starts. When we become disciples of Jesus Christ, sometimes it's easy, others hard, we pray and have to really trust in the Lord A LOT. Persecutions come our way, and like the pioneers, we can surely say, "All is well" because we know how to use the atonement for strength, we serve others, we have spiritual experiences, we stand up for what we believe, even in opposition, this is our legacy, it begins now.

Along our path of discipleship, like the pioneers, like the prophets and apostles in the times of old, we will go through many hard times, these times allow us to have new access to the Atonement of Jesus Christ in a greater way than ever before, they bring us closer to our Loving Heavenly Father and Savior, they also help us become more like Them, in reading “Our Heritage” one of my favorite stories that testifies of this beautifully and is something that I personally experienced myself on my own youth trek. He said: 

“I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, “I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it…” I have gone onto that sand and when I reached it the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there. “Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither than nor any minute of my life since. The price to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privilege to come in the Martin Handcart Company”

Unlike this man I did not have to pull a hand cart to get to Salt Lake City, but I am grateful that my mission has helped me become more acquainted with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I am privileged to be a missionary on Temple Square. 

Like the pioneers we have to rely on the Saviors Atonement, we need to trust in Him, that is part of being His disciple, I have seen in my mission countless times, those mornings when it's too hard to get up, exercising it just too hard, those days where you are so exhausted you couldn't possibly take ANOTHER Mandarin Motor Coach, those days where you can't take one more step forward, but I know as you give him EVERYTHING that you have, he will give you the strength to carry on, the Lord promises this in Doctrine and Covenants 24:12 when he says "And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men."... He will send Angels to guide your steps, to push you along, and you will be able to catch those glimpses of heaven, those miracles and tender mercies, like the pioneers 

So how do we then leave our legacy, how can we be an example, showing others the way to follow? It starts now, as missionaries we leave our own legacy by being disciples of Jesus Christ, now and for the rest of our lives! and like the pioneers we do not know what follows, but through our example, testimony and teaching, their lives are too changed, and like the pioneers we have no idea the measure of impact that takes, but one day, we will see the end of the story, I have a firm testimony that will be the case, and when we stand there in awe of the rest of those stories, as tears fill our eyes, I know that the Savior will be there with a loving embrace to say "well done, true and faithful servant"

To end my talk I would like to quite President Monson when he said "Jesus Christ, Savior of the world--even the Son of God--was and is the ultimate pioneer, for He has gone before, showing all others the way to follow. May we ever follow Him.”

I know my Savior lives and that Heavenly Father is so aware of us and His hand is in the details of our lives. The Savior will truly help us in all things as we let him, his atonement is more eternal than we realize. I am grateful for a young boy, Joseph Smith that prayed a humble prayer that changed the world. I know that this is Jesus Christ restored gospel on the earth today, I know that the Book of Mormon changes lives as it has mine and so many millions of others around the world. I know that this is His work and what a wonderful blessing it is to be part of it! Like the Apostles in acts 5:41-42 we can "Rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily on Temple Square and in every house (outbound), we cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."… I say these things in His name, even Jesus Christ, amen."

I was really grateful to give my talk on this topic, I gained a lot more from it while preparing that I had time to actually share (which, isn't it always the way). As everyone says "President Harman really is inspired" (greatest inside joke of Temple Square History). 

I hope you enjoyed it, I actually found an awesome video that goes hand in hand with my talk topic that I would love to invite all of you to check out as well! (I Am a Pioneer)

Love, Sister Ryan xx