Maybe it's a Bolivian Delicacy or Something...‏

Hola Familia!

I love you so much!  You all sound like you're doing great!   And Kelley, your talk was so good!  I'm so proud of you! You have such a beautiful testimony.  You should probably be the one out on a mission right now :)  Thank you for sending the package for me!  I haven't gotten it yet, but maybe today.  

So this past week has been interesting.  We set some high goals this week and we were really excited to work hard and reach them, and then things just did not work out.  Over half of our appointments cancelled on us, we took some of the Laurels in the ward out with us on Saturday and our other appointments fell through, and we got stood up quite a bit.  It was kind of frustrating and we did a lot of knocking.  It's okay though, because we're looking for new investigators that are really ready to make and keep commitments.  Hopefully we'll find some soon.  Our mission is really trying to focus on finding those that are ready and have been prepared by the Lord.  We know they're here, we just have to be willing to work to find them.  Hermana Wallis and I were talking about that today during companionship study, and how it's the things that we have to work for that are really worth it anyway.  I never expected quite how much sacrifice being on a mission would require.  I thought that once I had made the decision to come and made those sacrifices things would be a little different.  Boy, was I wrong.  Being a missionary requires sacrifice on a daily basis, and it really requires giving up the natural man and doing things that we don't want to do.  But when we sacrifice, we see miracles, and we learn to recognize the Lord more and more in our lives.  And we appreciate that the Lord allows us to witness so many tender mercies, even when we don't deserve them.  It's hard, but learning to have this perspective makes it better, because it's part of the Lord's plan.  I think of the Savior and the work that He did.  It wasn't easy, and it wasn't fun, but He did it.  Why?  Because he loved the Lord and because He loved us.  So He let go of His own wants and His own personal conveniences because He knew there was something more important.  The same is true with us.  

This week we also had interviews with President Riggs.  I love that man!  He is so full of wisdom and love and I feel so blessed to have him as my mission president.  We talked a lot about the atonement and about grace and I learned a lot from him.  

Some hard things about this week:  We have an investigator who has a super machista husband and she dropped us this week.  It's really sad because she really wants to learn and progress, but her husband is so against the church.  Satan has a really strong grasp on him and we think that he is forbidding her to see us.  Our investigator Priscilla has also fallen off the face of the planet--we haven't been able to contact her for almost two weeks, so we're going into detective mode today to try and figure out what's going on.  Hopefully we're successful because she is ready for the gospel!  IT's very hard to love people.  What I mean by that is not that it's hard to actually love them--that comes very easy.  Sometimes I wish it was harder, so they wouldn't break my heart so easily.  These people mean everything to me.  I wish I could explain in words the feelings I have in my heart.

I'm not sure what the best part of the week was.  We have a bunch of highs and lows every day.  We had a really neat fhe with Jean Paul and his family this week.  We also had some menos activos and an old investigator that we visited come to church this week so that was also pretty exciting.  And we had a really good lesson with Moises and his mom about the restoration that we tag teamed with the Elders for.  Now if only his mom would be more supportive in helping him make the decision to be baptized.

We also had two very interesting experiences and I'm not sure if they fall in the good or hard category.  Maybe just the weird category.  First, we were driving and we stopped at a light but Hermana Wallis had kind of pulled into the crosswalk a little and there was a guy that was trying to cross the street.  He stopped right in front of our car and started making hearts at us with his hands.  And then he started walking over to the door.  We hurried and pushed the lock key and he was knocking on the window for us to roll it down.  Of course we didn't.  Then he went and stood in front of our car and even though the light was green, he wouldn't let us drive.  We didn't know what to do!  Maybe we should have just run him over...It sounds scarier than it actually was.  He finally left.  Mostly it was just awkward.  And speaking of awkward, you'll never guess what a member tried to feed us last night!  There's a Bolivian lady in the ward who makes us dinner every Sunday.  She's super sweet and we really appreciate.  Expect for last night.  We didn't really appreciate dinner last night.  I'm almost too embarrassed to tell you...but we got home (she makes it to go) and we opened it up.  And it was the unmentionables of some animal.  It was TRAUMATIZING!  We honestly didn't know what to do.  Maybe it's a Bolivian delicacy or something, but there was not a chance we were eating that.  So we made spaghetti.  I guess on the bright side at least she didn't feed it to us at her house.

Anyway family, I love you so much.  Be so glad that Mom doesn't make food like that.

xoxo

Hermana Simpson

AN INFINITE ATONEMENT

Hola Familia!

I just love you so much!  It sounds like you are doing so well.  Mom, I'm so proud of you and so excited for your interviews.  I'll be praying for you and I know that you'll do awesome because you are awesome.  I got some pictures of Cam but no video.  That's okay though, I don't really have time to watch it.  I'll just take your word for it that it was good.  Good job, Cam!  And yes I did get Kelley's letter.  Thank you so much Kelley!  That was way too nice of you!  We used some of it to buy Uno to play on Pday.  And Kel, I love getting your letters.  I'm sorry I'm not better at writing them back, but they are seriously the best part of my week when I get them.  You are so awesome and I love hearing all about your life.  I also got the shampoo, but not the conditioner yet.  Someone in my district had to stop by the office and saw a package for me.  I guess the conditioner will have to wait.  That's okay though, I'm not completely out of shampoo yet.  If you haven't sent that box yet, could you add the white downeast undershirt that I have?  Thank you so much for doing that for me, I really appreciate it.  You are the best.

This week has been a roller coaster for me.  As a missionary I think I've experienced every emotion possible on the spectrum.  Hermana Wallis and I have been working really hard and we're seeing little miracles every day.  Recognizing the hand of the Lord in our lives is so important.  He is so involved and He loves us so much.  This week I've been studying a lot about the Atonement and about repentance and I'm so far from even being close to understanding everything, but I did learn something that kind of has to do about what you were saying. In Alma 34 it talks a lot about the necessity of an infinite and eternal atonement and about justice and mercy.  In verse 12 it talks about "an infinite atonement that will suffice for the sins of the world."  I've been thinking a lot about that.  Especially about the word suffice.  It's very similar to the word sufficient, which means enough.  And I've come to realize that this scripture is true.  The atonement of Jesus Christ is sufficient.  If we allow it be.  We do not have to rely on our own merits, because they aren't enough.  They never will be.  But when we rely on the Jesus Christ, we don't have to do it for ourselves.  We can lay any sin and weakness and His feet and he will lift us up.  And this is what the gospel is all about.  People need to know about the saving and healing power of the atonement.  This is why we're missionaries.  Because the gospel gives us access to the atonement, which is sufficient.  

We went to the temple for Pday with our district, it's open on Mondays when it's a holiday.  It was really special.  I love the temple.  It is the house of the Lord and His presence can be felt.  I'm so glad that we have temples to give us perspective on our lives.  We have such a great purpose to accomplish here on the earth.  I've really needed to feel peace, and the temple was just what I needed.  

Jean Paul got confirmed on Sunday and it was so special.  He has so much support from his family and from the ward and I know that Heavenly Father has great things in store for him.  I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father has allowed me to be a tiny process of his conversion process.  It's the best feeling in the world.  

At district meeting today we talked a lot about the Book of Mormon.  Family, the Book of Mormon is true.  It was written for us and we need to read it and understand it and apply it.  I love this book.  I've started rereading it and I hope that you'll join me!  I think almost all of us in our district are doing this and we're asking our families to be a part of it.  I know getting together for family scripture study is never the most fun thing in the world, but it's so important.  There is a power that comes from reading the Book of Mormon that will bless us in more ways that we can even recognize.  It was written for us.  And that makes it special.

I love this work and I love the Lord.  And I'm so thankful that our family can be together forever.  I love you all so much.  

xoxo 

Hermana Simpson

I know this looks like a temple date...It's not.  You can tell by the awkward gap between the hermanas and elders.  Being a missionary is so incomodo sometimes.  We can't even take a normal picture.  Oh well.  The other elders in our district had already left with the member that they went with.  And Elder Rivera's eyes are closed.  Oops.  It was super good session though and I'm so glad we got to go.  This temple is amazing!!!

                                                                 Hermana Wallis and I

 

Great Big Miracle!‏

Hola Familia!

I love you so much!  I don't have a lot of time to email today, so sorry that this is going to be short.  Thank you for ordering shampoo for me!  You're the best.  Did you send it USPS?  I don't know if that's an option, but that's the only way the mission office can forward it so we don't have to wait until transfers to get it.  If not, that's okay too.  This week has been HARD.  Taking over the area has stressed me out in a way that I've never felt stressed out before.  I feel like I usually handle things pretty well when I'm stressed and can compartmentalize, but this time it's been almost overwhelming.  My companion is trying, but she just doesn't know a lot about the area yet and so she can't really contribute much when it comes to planning and she doesn't know our investigators.  Sometimes it feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.  And I feel like everyday I just recognize one more weakness I have.  And I really miss Hna. Stewart.  Her first name is Allie by the way.  I'm trying to stay positive.  I know there's a light somewhere at the end of this tunnel.

And we did have a miracle this week.  I don't know if I've told you about Jean Paul before.  His family (mom, dad, and sister) got baptized this summer but he didn't.  The elders tried teaching him for a while but they were mostly just buddies and didn't have too much progress.  In November we asked his mom if there was anyone she could think of that we could teach and we asked her to pray about it.  She thought and thought and couldn't come up with anyone.  Then one day she thought of Jean Paul.  And she thought, maybe the Hermanas can do it.  So we've been teaching him.  When we first started seeing him he would always avoid us and have an excuse for why he couldn't stay or he would just get home and hurry and jump in the shower.  Well somewhere along the way he started listening to us.  And we eventually gave him a baptismal date for February 17.  He accepted it and said that he would pray and read the Book of Mormon and try to get an answer by that date.  So Thursday we went by and we had assigned him the Enos to read.  He read it!  Then we asked if he felt like he was praying like that and getting answers like that.  And he said yes!  Then we asked him if he had gotten an answer about that date.  And he said yes!  He felt really good about it.  He still hadn't even told his parents that he was thinking about it, which was really bad because half of the ward knew because of ward correlation, so we were all keeping this big secret from his parents.  Anyway, he told his parents that night and we were over there the next day and his mom told us that she was supposed to have her gall bladder removed on the 13th and she was going to try and postpone the operation.  But the Jean Paul asked if we could push back his baptism.  I just said (kind of joking) "well we can do it this Sunday."  And he said okay!  So we put together a baptism in two and a half days!  It was amazing.  He got an answer and he knew it was right.  Hna. Stewart and I had fasted for him the week before, and it was the next week in church that he knew what he needed to do.  We're hoping that he'll decide to go on a mission, but he's really set on the Navy.  When Elder Rivera did his baptism interview though he said that he was thinking of a mission if the Navy didn't work out.  And then he told him not to tell us.  It's all so exciting. I've never been so happy.  I really thought my heart was going to explode with happiness last night.  The Relief Society room was jam packed with people.  There weren't even enough chairs so some people were just standing.  It was so good to see all the people there to support him and his family.  This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know it.  And I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father allowed us to be a part of this miracle.  

For Grandpa, um... I'll never forget the time you were playing got your nose with Nathan when he was about three.  He decided that he wanted to play too, so he grabbed your nose, and wasn't he surprised when he pulled it right off!  I'll never forget the look on his face when that happened.

Also, could you send my white shirt with the flowy sleeves if there's room.  I love you so much and I hope you're all doing well.

xoxo

 

Transfers. Not So Much a Fan.

Hola Familia!

I love you all soooo much! Do you want to forward me that picture of Brady and Perry? I'd love to see it! Hope Kelley is having fun in Utah! And yay for Cams! I'm really excited for him. And I'm so jealous you got to talk to Dani! I love that girl. I haven't gotten Kelley's letter yet, but we had transfers last week so the mail is behind a little bit.

Speaking of transfers, Hermana Stewart got transferred. That was so hard for me. We really thought we would be together for another transfer so it came as a complete shock. We had started finally making progress in our area and with the members. And them boom. She was gone. I don't think I can go through this every six weeks for the rest of my mission. And I've taken over the area. The whole transfers thing was definitely the hardest part of this week. We were really truly devastated and more than a few tears were shed. And I have no idea what I'm doing. I just barely finished training and I am not prepared to take over this area. These last few days I've felt so inadequate and I'm so worried that I'm going to forget something important that's going to hinder someone's progress. It's been really stressful and I'm trying so hard to rely on the Lord and let Him teach me, but I think I'm a really slow learner. I just pray that my best is good enough and that His grace will make up the difference for all my weaknesses.

Enough being Moaning Myrtle. Things will get better. My companion is trying really hard to get to know the area and soon we'll be able to support each other better. Speaking of my companion, are you ready to meet her? Her name is Hermana Wallis, she's from Vernal, Utah and she's been out for six months. She's super Utah! But that's okay. She's really sweet and she's a very diligent and dedicated missionary. We're very excited for this transfer and we're looking forward to seeing miracles. Something that I've come to learn is that miracles happen every day. We just have to recognize them. Heavenly Father is so involved in this work and I'm so grateful to be able to recognize His hand in even the little things. We had a pretty big miracle this week though that I'm really excited to tell you about.

We have an investigator named Priscilla and she is amazing. We met her the first Sunday in December when she came to church with a friend. He asked us to give her a Book of Mormon and we also got her phone number and address so that we could stop by. When we stopped by, she told us that she had been to a bunch of different churches and she had always felt an emptiness. That was filled when she came to ours and heard the conviction of people bearing their testimonies. Then she told us that she wanted to learn how to be a member of our church! We were so excited. So we started teaching her as well as her eight year old daughter Suyana. Suyana is the most precious child I have ever met. And she learned about baptism in Primary and has become obsessed with the idea--asking everyone what it is and why they were baptized and everything. She's amazing. Words cannot explain how much I love these two. When I think about it I feel like my heart is going to explode from loving them so much. But about two weeks ago things started going downhill. And it was heartbreaking. Priscilla lives with Suyana's dad and they aren't married. And they've been having problems and he's really trying to stop Priscilla from investigating and coming to church, telling her things like that she change and what makes her think that a church is going to help her change. So she told us that she thought that it would be best if we stopped meeting for a couple weeks so that things could calm down. Hermana Stewart and I were devastated. We couldn't lose her now, not when she was doing so good and really growing a testimony and we just couldn't let her go. Not in a time when she was going through such a hard trial, because it's really the gospel of Jesus Christ that helps us through and she needs that strength and support right now. She wants so badly to be a woman of God, to be a good example for her daughter and to have an eternal family. So not yesterday, but the Sunday before we decided to have a special fast for her, and that we would be able to see her and that her heart would open to seeing us. Two days later we found out we would be transferred. But it gave us the perfect opportunity to stop in unannounced so that Hermana Stewart could say goodbye. So Wednesday night she was our last stop. We knocked on her door. No answer. So we knocked again. No answer. During this whole time we were both praying so hard that she would answer. We knocked one more time. No answer. And we were on the verge of tears. So we sat down to write her a note, we stickied it to her door and started walking down the stairs. And when we did that, Suyana opened the door and recognized the tops of our heads! She invited us in and we had a really good talk with Priscilla. She told us that they had both fallen asleep, but that something woke her up and she felt like she needed to check the door. It was a miracle! Heavenly Father heard our prayers. We then got to invite her to the baptism and she also told us that she would come to church on Sunday.

Saturday we went back with a member and she asked us, so what do I need to do to be baptized. We then taught her the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. I was a little worried, because she drinks tea and she's not married, but the Spirit was so strong. She accepted is a a commandment of God and she loved the promises in the D&C 89. She told us that she had just bought tea at the store, but that she was going to return it! She came to the baptism Sunday night and she was able to meet the bishop and so many members of the ward. They welcomed her with open arms. And she even asked the bishop a question using the phrasing, "so when I get baptized..." It was amazing. I love these two so much and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has allowed us to meet and to learn and grow together. I'm so excited to see her progress.

So that was our week. A lot of sadness, but a lot of joy as well. I keep reminding myself of the scripture in Isaiah where the Lord says, "For my ways are higher than your ways and my thought higher than your thoughts." It's so true. We do a lot of things as missionaries and sometimes we don't understand why we do them. But when we are receptive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and when we obey with exactness, we are allowed to see miracles.

Family, I love you so much. I hope you know that. I'm so proud of all of you and I miss you oodles. Keep being good. And a quick shout out to all those that have sent me letters, I love you. Thank you so much. I'm trying to write back, but I'm slow.

xoxo

Hermana Simpson

p.s. Mom I think that would be okay for you to give Dani my email. I just can't email her back. So I'll write her. Also, could you send me some ibuprofen and tylenol. Especially the night time stuff. I don't need three big costco bottles, but if you could maybe just fill one bottle with a concoction of them all I would be so grateful. If not, that's okay and I'll try and buy some, it's just expensive. I love you so much Mom. Sometimes all I want to do is call you and then I remember I can't. But I think about you and pray for you all the time. And I realize just how much you've taught me that has helped me prepare to be here. So thank you. Huggies and kissies.