Tuesday, January 7, 2014

New area and I love it!!

Hello everyone! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

This week has been truly one of miracles!
 
Christmas Eve Eve, we went Christmas caroling to every home in our apartment. It was really fun, and we were invited into two homes to share a message which was awesome! On Christmas, we had a Christmas conference with all the missionaries. Sister Christensen showed us a video about Westjet Airlines, and you all have to watch it if you haven't. It was really sweet and helped show that the joy in Christmas is giving! They have a Santa who talks to people as they check their boarding pass, and it's probably on YouTube. We also watched some Bible videos about Christ which I assume are from LDS.org so I recommend those as well. It was truly an amazing conference. President Christensen pointed out that the wisemen left immediately to find Christ, yet it took around 18-24 months before they really came to know him. He said, "Isn't it a coincidence that our missions are that exact same amount of time?" Then we talked about how the Lord doesn't work in coincidences, and this is the time of our lives where we need to find Christ more than ever, and come to know him better than we know ourselves. And by following His example of loving and serving others, we will come to know him in a way we never have before. Christ really lives, and we are helping bring people to Him; a very real, very living being. How amazing is that!?? It's alot easier to have the courage to talk to others when we remember who we are doing it for, and why we are sharing our message. The rest of the conference was lunch and a talent show which was really fun. We were able to take a picture with all of the missionaries from St. George which was really cool. ! We ended the night with clean up and some street contacting or 전도. It was an amazing day. Sister Jackson is one of the sisters who lives in our home. We were talking about Christmas traditions and I told her about the cinnamon rolls. On Christmas morning, she surprised me with a cinnamon roll so I could keep the tradition going. It was so sweet, and a tender mercy in my day.
 
Some tender mercies from Heavenly Father this week: We were able to help an American on the Subway. He was really confused and we helped him find which subway he needed. He knows about our church, and was happy to see that we practiced what we preach. This morning our toilet was clogged and our plunger was pretty useless. We prayed to find a solution, and after some creativity with the shower head our toilet was fixed! That may sound silly, but the Lord is happy to help us in all we do, even small things like unclogging a toilet. We teach a free English class twice a week here. It's held in the church. We start and end with a hymn and prayer and spiritual thought. But it is mostly English based, and it's great to find potential investigators. This week we were talking about traveling, and a lady brought up Utah. Then she said that she had heard of Polygamy there and had also heard that it was our church which practiced it. In a very nonthreatening setting, we were able to teach about our doctrine and our beliefs, initiated by them. Teaching opportunities are everywhere!
 
 
We have been working hard to find people, but since we are opening the area there isn't a lot to go on. So we spend a lot of time street contacting and calling former investigators. But on Thursday we received a referral from one of the elders. We met her at the church that night. Her name is Fawn and she is from Thailand. She is a university student and speaks very basic Korean, so I can actually understand a lot which is wonderful! She originally had only English interest, but as we talked she asked us why we had Book of Mormons on the table. We told her about them, and she asked if she could have one in Thai. (Thai is a beautiful written language! They don't use the same number system we do, but we still figured out how to mark the intro and Moroni 10:3-5 for her) She also wanted to know why there are so many churches in the world since there is only one God. We were more than happy to answer, and we will meet with her again on Thursday. So we have really high hopes for her.
 
We had another wonderful miracle this week. The other day we were doing 전도 and I talked to an elderly lady. We talked about the Book of Mormon and she told me that she already had religion. She was very interested in English and invited me over immediately, but when I told her we would also teach about the gospel she said there was no time and walked away. This is pretty common so we didn't think much of it. But last night we were 전도ing in the same area. It was snowing, cold, and we hadn't had much success. The same lady came over to me and said "You already tried to preach to me once, are you going to try again?" So I said, "Yes, have you heard about the Book of Mormon?" Then she started asking all kinds of questions about our church and our doctrine. She said she was unhappy with her church and wanted to find peace in a religion. Then she invited us to her home, where she told us all about her life, family situation, and beliefs. We were able to talk about the Book of Mormon, and invited her to come to church next week. It was a great visit and we hope to meet with her again soon. It was truly amazing, and strengthened my testimony that no effort is ever wasted.
 
The ward here is incredible, and are always looking for ways to help the missionaries. Missionary work is here is very successful and it definitely because they are doing it the Lord's way, missionaries and members working together. I am SOOO grateful to be in this area with all these wonderful people. Miracles are happening every single day. It is the small and simple things that make the difference, I know that for a fact. (In last conference there is a talk named 'The Small and Simple Things'. It's amazing) This is the Lord's church and it is going forward in His way. Let's all help in this great work! I love being a missionary, this is where I need to be! I love you all, have a great week!
 
-Love Sister Seegmiller

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