different and distinct in the happiest of ways....

Wednesday its Wednesday again. Stop.

Today we are going to one of my favorite grocery stores. Stew Leonard's. Haha. It's like Disneyland. And then we are going to the cute shops in Westport CT. This place Connecticut is SO BEAUTIFUL. I hate that I say this so much.... But I LOVE CONNECTICUT. Fall. The trees. They are starting to change and it makes my world happy. Yay!! 

So much happened over the week but it went so quickly I can't even handle it. If I could  have one super power right now it would be to control time. I want to stop it. Because In just a short time I wont get to tract doors anymore. I won't get
to wear Christ's name physically on my shoulder every day. So, not to focus on the future.. but I'm just telling you this so you can understand how much I'm savoring these last few months. I looooooove my mission. It makes me happy. So first of all. HIGHlight of the week. General Confidence. Haha (yea confidence) inside joke 

between my comp and I. Of course I know it's really "conference." I just called it general confidence one time on accident and it stuck with me. Now it's just funny.  

So anyways. I super enjoyed the messages that were shared. My top favorite talk was by President Russel M Nelson. I can't quite figure out why I loved it so much. (It's not because I have like "women pride" or anything.) but when he was speaking I had the craziest overwhelming feeling. Like tears in my eyes. Warmth. Excitement. Peace. Chills. You know, the whole spirit thang. Idk. I LOVED when he talked about being DIFFERENT and DISTINCT in the HAPPIEST of ways. I feel so different and so distinct in the happiest of ways right now. Also when he said"We need women who have a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ." I was like "quit it. YES!!" My eyes just were blurred by the water in them. He also said "We need women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven. We need women who teach fearlessly." AH. His talk just hit home for me.! And then Elder Hollands talk about MOTHERS. Holy cow. I love my future family SO much already. I'm just so grateful for my testimony. I can't put my feelings into words. I keep thinking about how grateful I am for the women in my life. Grandmothers, MOM, dance teachers, sisters, YW leaders, aunts, friends.! Wow. I am who I am because of the women in my life. 

#whoruntheworld #girls yea. just quoted Beyoncé. Teasin. But woweeee. OH. Another fun thing. Elder Rasband! He was the mission president here not too long ago. I actually met and talked to him at the Yankees game in July. He gave a shout out to the NYNYN mission in his little talk. Haha (as you can imagine) all of us  missionaries were like Yyyyeeeeeaaaaaaah!!! Haha we were cheerful missionaries during his talk. He's awesome. He loves New York just like ME. :)

I also loved Elder D Todd Christofferson's talk. Can EVERYBODY in the world just listen to his words??I feel like especially in NY people think that it doesn't matter which religion you live. (There are so many stinkin religions here.) they say things like "it doesn't matter which vehicle you take home. You could take a bmw, or a bus, or a motorcycle, etc. as long as you make it home." I'm like ugh. 
You're kinda wrong. And Elder Christofferson just nailed it right on the head. I can't wait to re read ALL of the talks. I loved more of them but those are what are popping into my head right now! Oh and of course "what lack I yet" because oh my 
goodness. That's exactly what I've been asking myself. Anyways. General Confidence was amaze. Answered lots of my questions. Answered questions for my investigators too. I kept thinking "oh this would be perfect for so and so!!" It was cool to 
have different people that we are teaching come to mind. Sad that it was my last one as a missionary. 

Okay so we still don't have a car.  BUT GOOD things are happening. WE ARE FINDING PEOPLE. We are finding people we are finding people!!! Heavenly Father is just blessing us. He just IS. 

A small example:

Yesterday we were on an exchange in my area. We were having a lesson with a YSA investigator at a park, and there was this man sitting at the table just a 
little bit down from us. I kept thinking that we needed to talk to him... Another one of those annoying thoughts that wouldn't leave you know? (I guess I shouldn't say annoying..)Well finally like in the middle of our lesson I was like "ummm I 
hate to stop the lesson right here but I need to give this guy a Book of Mormon." Then our investigator was like "oh it's okay! Invite him over here." So we did. Turns out this man spoke Creole!! And English. But Creole was his first language. Our investigator that we were teaching at the moment did TOO!!! So our investigator told this man about the Book of Mormon and how it has helped him find peace. He told him that we had been teaching him and that he was going to get baptized soon. And then (I'm leaving out details) but the man told us his name, gave us his number, set an appointment with us. And walked away with a Book of Mormon in hand. His name is Ralph. Ralph is SO cool. Like really guys. He had the coolest swag pants on and just like a cool person. We are meeting with him again on Friday. And he is YSA age. Miracle. Blessing. Tender mercy. I give all credit to Heavenly Father. He sees us out here working our tooshies off. And so he is putting people in our path and then sending the spirit to tell us to talk to them. ALL GOOD THINGS HAPPENING HERE IN CONNECTICUT.  

We have a goal to pass out AT LEAST one Book of Mormon a day. And we try not to go home until we have accomplished that goal. Well Monday night (it was like 8:30) and we hadn't passed one out yet. We had been tracting the whole day and NOBODY would 
accept the book. It was a bummer feeling because we wanted to accomplish our goal. Well we were at an appointment at an active members home eating dessert. And someone knocked on their door. It was a friend of theirs who was not a member. He was coming just to drop off something he had borrowed. The members invited him in for some apple pie and ice cream and the friend said haha of course. So he came in and we were all sitting at the table just enjoying our desert and talking. Then the friend started asking what we all did that day and we told him we knocked doors all day trying to pass out one book. And we had no luck. Then he asked what book. We told him (happily) "oh the Book of Mormon!!" And he said I don't have one, and we said do YOU WANT ONE!?! And he said yeah tell me about it! SO WE DID. And there are obviously more details but it ended with him leaving with a Book of Mormon in hand and we got his number. THESE SMALL STORIES ARE NOT JUST COINCIDENCES. The Lord is working through us. I love to be an instrument in His hands. 

We were also able to go pass out TWO Book of Mormons
in between conference sessions. Tracting. Heavenly 
Father provides a way for us to accomplish our goals.
I love it. 

Another miracle. Steven, one of our YSA investigators, had a baptismal date for November 21st. Well yesterday on my exchange we were teaching him and I asked how he was feeling about his baptismal date. He said "I feel like it's too far away." He said he wants to get baptized in 3 weeks!!! I was like OKEE DOKIE YOU GOT IT BOY!!!! So he is getting baptized Sunday October 25th. Yes. Guys. This work is 
happiness. Fulfillment. Good. I love it. 

Haha one of the days it rained the whole day. Now picture us without a car. Now laugh. It was too funny. Knocking doors. Dripping wet. Walked allll the way to the chapel from our apartment. OH THE MISSIONARY LIFE. Is oh so good. 

Funny thing

Saturday we were walking by a park and there were these cute little moms with their kids and I turn to my companion (in a joking manner) and I'm all "these look like a bunch of Mormon mommys" then literally 2 seconds later they're like "hi sisters!!"

HAHA. They were a bunch of Mormon mommys. From a different Ward. I guess you really can see the "different and distinct in the happiest of ways" in us Mormons. Good stuff. Side-note I loved in President Monson's talk when he told the story of the no proselyting in Jerusalem. And the man said "but what about the light in their eyes!?" Haha. LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE. In all the cheesy ways too :) I sound cheesy right now. Ha. 

One of our investigators hasn't come to church yet and we have been trying to get him to come and meet more people. He said to me in a lesson "if you were the bishop, I would come to church every week." HAHAHAHA. I was like dying laughing. And he was so serious too. I still laugh when I think about it. He is an interesting investigator. Oh boy. The funny things people say. 

My email is so random and scattered right now I'm 
sorry for that. But I did like this quote that I 
saw in my studies one day and I wanted to share it. 
It says this:

"Just as we should not lower the standards that The Lord has established for the conduct of his servants, we are also not authorized to raise them.. Be sure that you do not have higher standards for yourself or others than the lord has established"

Elder Cecil O. Samuelson Jr

I think I, (we) expect ourselves to be perfect. and when we aren't, we are hard on ourselves. But The Lord DOES NOT expect perfection. So we shouldn't either. We shouldn't raise his standards. We should just be actively living the doctrine of 
Christ. (Sincerely repenting, taking the sacrament, keeping our covenants.) And through Christ we will be perfected. Not perfect!!! Not yet. But we will be perfectED :) and God wants that. He wants progress!!! And so do I. I'm grateful that the doctrine of Christ provides a way for me to progress. And to become perfect. I love love you. And I love love this work. 

Love abbbbb