Testimony; Part Two

I can't even decide where to start today! There are so many great things happening in the TSAM! 

I guess some of the biggest news is a mission conference on May 20. Why is it so big? I quote President Slaughter when I say "Technology will come soon thereafter." I'll let that one sink in there for a little bit. :) 

Some exciting things happened in Zilker Park this last week! 

Michael and Matthew finally decided on a date that they will be baptized. How great is that? They're such great kids! :) 

We also met a lot of new people who are so ready and prepared! Talking to people is getting easier, especially after realizing that if you don't talk to them, they won't know what they're missing! Getting doors slammed in my face isn't quite as scary as I thought it would be. Some day they'll be ready! 

One of the people we met while preaching by the way is Armando. He's so great! He even called us to set up an appointment! We set him with a baptismal date in a couple weeks! He asks great questions and even teaches himself sometimes! One thing he said that I absolutely loved was "Why would someone write a book about Christ if it's not true? They wouldn't." It's so true! :) 

This week we had an interesting experience. I won't go into too many details, but we found ourselves in a teaching situation with someone who just didn't want to listen. They said some things that attacked what we believe and didn't leave very much room for us to say anything to defend ourselves. Anything we said was immediately contradicted. At a loss for words, I sat there awkwardly, waiting for Sister Montclair to give the word to leave gracefully. 

There's a sentence in Preach My Gospel that I have read and thought about and had repeated to me so many times I can't even count, but until that very moment, I hadn't experienced the power of it. There have been many times that I've had the opportunity to bear testimony and really felt the Spirit, but after this lesson, I felt that I really, truly understood this statement: "People may sometimes intellectually question what you teach, but it is difficult to question a sincere, heartfelt testimony." 

The woman we were talking to continued to attempt to argue, and I sat in my chair, biting my tongue, willing the Spirit to return to the room- or at the very least wanting to be able to return to a place where the Spirit was. It was then that Sister Montclair spoke up and bore a simple testimony, cutting the woman off. "Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and did nothing but labor in behalf of the Lord." She went on to explain that we would love to serve the woman in any way that we could, but we really needed to be going. We said a prayer and left. Looking back on that, I don't think the woman said very much after that powerful testimony. Preach My Gospel has it right! There's no questioning a testimony! 

Having a testimony is so important in today's world, and sharing your testimony is one of the best ways to make your's stronger! But always remember: "Powerful testimony is not dependent on eloquence or the volume of your voice but on the conviction of your heart." (Preach My Gospel is pretty great, right?) Your testimony can just be a simple statement of truth, but it will invite the Spirit and strengthen you, as well as those around you. 

Never be afraid to share what you know is true! :) 

Love, 

Sister Waite

P.S. It's exciting to watch those I meet here in Texas take steps toward the Celestial Kingdom, but even more dear to my heart is hearing of family taking those same steps. My Grandma was baptized and confirmed this weekend! That just makes me so happy! I love her to death! :) 

Iron Rod

I have to start off by saying that I cannot believe that my third transfer is already starting. You don't get too many of those out here! It's going by WAY too fast! It's really the best time of my life! (Too cliche? ... Oh well! ;) )

So let's see... this week was full of missionary work... which means it was wonderful! Of course! It wouldn't be anything else! We're still working with everyone and meeting new people everyday!

Speaking of new people, I have a new companion! (See what I did there? ;)) It was really hard to say goodbye to my trainer, but I guess that's just how life goes. But wouldn't you know it, she's my new sister training leader! So we may get to go on exchanges together! Yay! :) 

Sister Montclair and me emailing up a storm! :)

But anyway, Sister Montclair! She's so great! She's also been speaking Spanish down in an area near the border for the past six months, and I've already picked some up. Who knows? Maybe I'll be fluent by the end of the transfer! ;) I did the math the other day, and she's been out as long as I have left, which is really cool. I've already learned so much from her, and it has only been three days! She isn't afraid to talk to people on the street, so I've been doing a lot of that. And it's getting easier. I've heard it said that the butterflies never go away, they just become your friends. I love that! Because it's definitely been true! We've definitely met a lot of people these past few days! I can tell that Sister Montclair is going to do so much good in this area! 

Oak Hills Zone before transfers.

There isn't much more to report. Geoff, Michael and Matthew, and Rosemary are all doing great. Alana and Jadon are amazing, and Brother Krueger received the priesthood yesterday! Zilker Park never ceases to be amazing! 

I learned some pretty neat things about iron yesterday. 1) Iron is malleable and tensile, which means it can stretch and bend without breaking. 2) Without iron in our blood, we would die. And 3) iron cannot be replaced in any material it is used in. Together, these three things mean that iron is STEADY, ESSENTIAL, AND IRREPLACEABLE. 

In 1 Nephi 8, the word of God is compared to an iron rod. Taking those three things from before, this means that 1) the word of God can be likened (or bent and stretched) to any need or situation. We can take ANYTHING found in the scriptures and liken it unto ourselves for our profit and learning (1 Nephi 19:23). 2) Reading the scriptures is essential to our spiritual well-being. When we don't study the scriptures, our spirits are weakened and we're more susceptible to temptation. The scriptures tell us ALL things that we should do and we have to feast upon them in order to survive spiritually (2 Nephi 32:3). 3) The scriptures are one of the most important tools that our Heavenly Father has given us to learn of Him and His son. When coupled with the Holy Ghost and the words of living prophets, there is no way that we can be led astray! 

Make sure that you are continually holding fast to the word of God (the iron rod). It is STEADY, ESSENTIAL, AND IRREPLACEABLE! :) 

Love, 

Sister Waite

Don't Mistake

Well all, the Lord's work continues to move forward with miracles happening right and left! 

For those of you who are keeping track, transfers are this week! And guess what?! I have the privilege of continuing on in Zilker Park! This area has been so great and I've truly come to love all the people I've been able to work with! Sister Gagon is moving on to a new area and becoming a sister training leader. I'm not going to lie, that's been a little tough to swallow. I'm going to miss my trainer! She's taught me so much, and I've come to really love her! 

Dyeing eggs because who doesn't love a good colored egg?! :)

We had a LOT of things happen this week. I'll summarize: Michael and Matthew are just great! We're working with their mom to get a date set for their baptism, and she's so excited, too! Michael is so smart and knows so much already! Sometimes it feels like he's teaching me! Geoff is still super great! Just great! Rosemary asked us to start coming over even more, so we're hoping to get her on track pretty soon! :) We did lots of service this week as well. That's my favorite! The time seems to fly by and it's over too soon! 

Brother Krueger's Baptism

Brother Krueger was baptized and confirmed this weekend! His testimony is so sweet! He just says he's happy! He's been coming to church with his wife pretty consistently since she was baptized about 3 years ago. When we first invited him to be baptized, he just said "Well... yes!" and I remember feeling that he would have been baptized if someone had just asked him!  It's been a wonder to me to watch him learn so much in the past three weeks and just declare "It just makes sense!!" to every question we'd ask him. I got to watch him grow more excited each time we visited with new and exciting things to learn. It's been great. I'm so excited to see the Kruegers prepare to make more covenants together in the temple a year from now! 

This week I was thinking about how I got to see Brother Krueger's testimony grow, and it left me wondering about my own. When was it that I gained a testimony of the Restored Gospel? I couldn't pin point a specific moment, and although I'd thought about and accepted that before, it started bothering me. Shouldn't I be able to remember an experience that helped me really, truly know for myself? I wasn't doubting my testimony, it just seemed odd to me that I hadn't ever had a big "A-ha!" moment. Then I read the words of Amulek to the people of Ammonihah in Alma 10. Amulek starts by giving some background on himself and his heritage, and then, almost in passing, says something that really hit home to me: "I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people." Amulek had "mistaked" and believed that he had never seen the power of God, but then realized that he had... in the little things. That's how I gained my own testimony. By doing the little things. I read the scriptures-or at least tried to-everyday. I prayed often. I went to church. I kept the commandments. I did what my parents asked me to do. And in those little moments, I had received a witness for myself from the Holy Ghost that what I was doing was right. That the Restored Gospel was true. It was sort of like building a wall, brick by brick. Not everyone will have a big, exciting "A-ha!" moment, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a testimony. Look at all the little things you've been doing! It's there! Small and simple things are what bring great things to pass! Don't mistake!

Ah!!! Another transfer has already flown by! April is already almost half over! That's crazy! 

Have a wonderful week! 

Love, 

Sister Waite

John Wayne billboard...because John Wayne. :)

A Prophet of God

As is true of every week, this week was fabulous! 

We were able to do a lot of service for a Sister in the ward who's moving. Lots of cleaning to do!

Geoff continues to be amazing. He absolutely loved General Conference. In his words: "I am touched." It's been amazing to see the Lord's hand in his life as I've gotten to know him more!

Brother Kruger is ever closer to actually becoming a Brother! This Saturday, even! He's on fire! (Not literally, though... ;) )

Sister Kruger wanted us to have a picture next to her giant bunny...
 Brother Kruger decided to join us! Haha! :)

General Conference was amazing, as always. Every single talk applied to a question that I had brought. If not by what a speaker said, by what the Spirit said to me as I listened! :) Families are forever! Christ lives! He will catch us as we fall and we do not need to be afraid! I just loved all of it! 

We may have stopped at Panda between sessions on Saturday... Best decision ever. ;) 

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Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. He knows us all personally. By name, even. He so wants us to be happy now and in eternity. His very purpose is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Everything He does is to bring more and more of His children back to Him. Of all of these ways, my favorite to think about is the path that we have been given that leads straight up to our Heavenly Father's home. This path is the gospel of Jesus Christ and it's been available to all of God's children from the beginning of everything. Including us today! We have been given great tools to learn and choose for ourselves the path that leads back to our Heavenly Father. These tools include such things as prayer, scripture study, and church attendance. We have also been given another VERY important tool to help us stay on this path: prophets.

Prophets are, simply put, the Lord's mouthpiece on the Earth. They are special witnesses of Christ. Through prophets, Heavenly Father reveals eternal truths that help us on our way back to Him. We read great words of counsel from ancient prophets as we study the scriptures. Their words apply to us in our day, but there are some things that we need extra guidance on now. While on an exchange this week, I heard my sister training leader explain it this way: "There were no iPhones, iPads, or other forms of modern technology back then. We need the words of modern prophets to guide us in the proper use of these things. We've been given these things as a gift from God to help advance His work, and we need the prophets to tell us exactly how we're supposed to use them." 

To me, prophets are some of the most convincing evidence of our Father's love. Throughout the history of the world, God has called a prophet to lead and guide His children. God did not just love His children on the earth in the days of Moses and Noah; He loves us NOW. We, too, have a prophet. This living prophet leads and guides us today. My mission president put it this way: "How does God in Heaven govern man on earth? He calls a prophet! A living, breathing, thinking, talking prophet of God. A man, albeit, an inspired man. A man of God. A man we can trust to be our teacher and our minister."

President Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet on the earth today. He has been called of God and as such holds all the authority to receive revelation to guide all of Heavenly Father's children on the earth. The other members of the First Presidency and the quorum of the Twelve Apostles are also called of God. We can always trust them (Mosiah 23:14). All that they say reflects the will of God. We cannot oppose God's chosen servants without opposing God himself (D&C 84:35-37). 

I sustain Thomas S. Monson, his counselors, and all the other apostles with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I love them, and I know that they love God. And that is enough for me. 

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I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this weekend's conference! What were your favorite things that happened/were said? What stood out to you? In the words of Elder Nelson: "How are you going to change?" 

Love, 

Sister Waite

We make silly faces sometimes. With Sister Lavetala!