Miracles Upon Miracles

Dear All,

This wonderful Merrilltown/Heritage Trail area is wonderful, but I feel as though "Miracletown/Heaven's Trail" would be a more accurate description! The blessings and miracles just keep pouring down upon us!

The Lord continues to place prepared people in our path. I've prayed my entire mission to have eyes to see who is ready, and I'm finally seeing them! So many people just fall right into our laps! Placed there by the Lord! So many little miracles happen every day and I'm grateful to have the eyes to see them! 

I can't tell you how excited I am that Geoff Murphy is finally going to be baptized and confirmed! I'll say that once again: 

Geoff Murphy is finally going to be baptized! 

He has permission and it's happening! :) 

We have a baptism this Saturday as well, and for a little while, we didn't think we would make it to Zilker for Geoff's baptism. I was a little upset, but I also knew that whatever happened would be what the Lord intended. I have been praying and fasting to be able to attend Geoff's baptism since we first found out it needed to be postponed (in March!)... and we're going to be able to be there! Heavenly Father is so good and I'm so glad! 

But yeah... we also have a baptism this Saturday! Lupe's story is really great! He's basically another Cesario! His friend, Kemish, invited him over for dinner with the missionaries and now he's being baptized! The greatest miracle with him is that he was able to join this stake's youth on their temple trip to Nauvoo, and that was the most incredible experience for him! He says he just feels happier. We gave him a copy of the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, and he read it all right after we left. He's so great! 

We have a lot of investigators and baptisms scheduled in the Merrilltown ward, but not too many in Heritage Trail. And by not too many, I mean that we had no really progressing investigators (but 3 really wonderful people we've been teaching for a really long time who all have really long stories...) an no baptisms to help lift the ward's morale in sight. But we started praying specifically to find a family in Heritage Trail... and we did! We are going to be teaching them tonight and it's so exciting. I haven't ever taught a stable, together family. I pray that we will be able to speak in the language of the Spirit and see them sealed together in a year! 

We started praying to find a family because we know that the gospel blesses families. The family is ordained of God. We are all a part of Heavenly Father's family. He sent us here in families to bring us joy, help us learn the gospel, and prepare us for eternal life! 

Preach My Gospel says: 

"A home established on gospel principles will be a place of refuge and safety. It will be a place where the Spirit of the Lord can abide, blessing family members with peace, joy, and happiness."

I testify that that is true! I grew up with family scripture study and prayer, regular temple trips, family home evening, family church attendance, and so much more! The gospel has blessed my home and family so much! 

My parents are amazing examples. I've been going through the scriptures that I've had since I was 8 years old and finding verses marked in green colored pencil. I remember marking those when I first received the set of scriptures and asked my dad what his favorite scriptures were and for a way to mark them and make my scriptures pretty. He chose some really good ones! More recently, I've started marking some passages with pen, which reminds me of how my mom marked Christ's visit to the Americas in her own Book of Mormon. They love the scriptures so much! This is only a tiny sample of what I've learned from my parents' wonderful gospel example! 

The gospel has truly blessed my family SO MUCH, and I will be eternally grateful for that! Because of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, my present family has been sealed together by the priesthood in a Holy Temple of the Lord! And my future family will be as well! To me, this is one of the greatest evidences of God's love for all of His children: Families are Forever! 

I am excited to continue learning and growing and witnessing miracles as I strive to do the Lord's work in His way and by His power! I love being an instrument in the hands of the Lord! 

Love, 

Sister Waite

Pfun in Pflugerville

Hello all! 

Yes... I'm in Pflugerville, Texas, where they spell everything with a Pf. Because it makes total English sense! Haha! 

I am beyond blessed to be in this area. I can't even really express it. The people are amazing. The members love missionary work. The people we are teaching are incredibly sincere and kind. My companion is incredibly compassionate and puts up with me. (Okay, for real, I've never seen her even furrow her brow at anyone. She's incredible.) It's been incredible for me to see the blessings hard work and dedication. These two wards are EXPLODING with work. It's almost overwhelming sometimes. But I love it so much! 

Sister Risenmay and me

We had 6 investigators at church yesterday... which was incredible! 3 in each ward! I've never had that many my entire mission! We prepared and invited and were blessed for it! We even personally texted  Bishop Townsend and Bishop Aldridge the names of investigators we were expecting at church... and it was amazing! Bishop Aldridge was conducting the Merrilltown sacrament meeting and he made it a point to explain the sacrament in a very sacred way so that everyone would understand what was going to be happening. These two bishops are outstanding, and I'm excited to be able to continue working with them. The members reached out... Holy cow. I can't even describe how blessed we are. It makes me so happy to see the work of salvation being embraced so well! 

I also got to go home this week. No, not home home. To Zilker Park! To see Dianna's baptism! It was incredible. She got everyone their own little forget me nots and I'm still in awe of how much she has allowed the gospel to change her life. She even invited her family and it was incredible. She's so great! And I love her so much!  (I also got to see a lot of the members who I grew to love and admire and that was such a blessing! My goodness... They're just amazing.)(ALSO... totally got to be companions with Sister Montclair for a few hours again. Incredible. Oh how I miss her.)

Sister Facer and me on exchanges

There are so many miracles that I wish I could write about, but there are too many and I simply don't have the time (as I'm sure that you don't either, haha!). One of the most incredible came as we met with a potential investigator. She had ordered a Bible from the mormon.org website, and we had the pleasure to deliver it to her. And, of course, a Book of Mormon. We showed her the footnotes and explained a little of the Book of Mormon to her, and she exclaimed "I had no idea!" She was so excited at the concept of additional scripture. I cannot comprehend how anyone would NOT rejoice at that! Heavenly Father loves all of His children so much! It's so exciting! We then had the opportunity to testify of how our own families had been blessed by the Book of Mormon, and even previewed a little of the Plan of Salvation. I know that tears are not always direct evidence of the Spirit, but there wasn't a dry eye in the room. She felt the truth so strongly and she was so prepared for it. It was incredible! 

This week I did a lot of thinking about how Heavenly Father loves all of His children. 

"For God so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) 

"And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross ; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross , that I might draw all men unto me..." (3 Nephi 27:14)

God sent His Son that we may be drawn again unto Him. 

"For behold, this is my work and my glory —to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)

God's very purpose is to bring all of His children back to Him! 

I testify that Heavenly Father loves you. Because He loves you, He sent His Son. Because He sent His Son, we are able to return to live with Him. Heavenly Father does all that He can to help His children choose righteousness. He called prophets in ancient Jerusalem to teach the people. He called prophets in the ancient Americas to teach the people. We have their records to help us understand who Christ is for us. The Book of Mormon also contains the fulness of His gospel and we can draw closer to our Father by following its pure teachings than by following the teachings of any other book. The Book of Mormon answers the questions of our soul, I promise that it will. Heavenly Father has provided those answers. Because He loves us. 

I love you all! 

Love, 

Sister Waite

https://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/he-sent-his-son?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/introduction?lang=eng

Miracletown

Well folks! I made it! I survived doubling out of Zilker! Amidst the explosion and stress, we pulled it off! 

Leaving the capital. I miss seeing that everyday!

It was definitely odd to leave my first area. I loved Zilker Park, but Merrilltown and Heritage Trail are certainly right up there with it! Change is inevitable, and I'm so glad that I've grown so much and I was able to adjust quickly to leaving people and places that I love! But the growth that I've noticed in myself isn't even close to the growth that I've seen in others! I was able to watch Geoff change in ways that I can't even really describe, including him letting himself become more loving to those around him. I watched Dianna allow the gospel to make her happier than she has been in a long time, and allow it to stay that way and stop trying to push it away. I watched light grow in Cesario's eyes as he learned more and more about the plan Heavenly Father has for him. I made friendships that will last forever! I watched so many people change and grow, all thanks to the Spirit of the God! This gospel is a gospel of change and happiness and it's amazing to see people let it into their lives! 

Dianna's Book of Mormon! I love it!

I like to call this new area "Miracletown". We're double covering the Merrilltown and Heritage Trail wards, and that name applies to both! I'm still working on getting to know the area and the people, but from what I do know... WOW! So many miracles! People are just falling into our path! We've taught many people about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it's been interesting to continue learning how the Spirit works through me. We've got so much work to do here! I'm excited for this transfer!

The awesome puzzle that I got to help Sister Montclair put together!

I definitely miss Sister Montclair, just as I missed Sister Gagon before her. But Heavenly Father is good and continues to bless me with wonderful companions! Sister Risenmay is wonderful! We've already found so much that we have in common and I love her to pieces! Her cheerfulness and enthusiasm for the work is contagious! She's also a sister training leader, which means I get to share her a little bit more than I've shared companions in the past. Which is great! I get to work with so many people this transfer! It's exciting! 

Geoff and the Babcock Family. Geoff is behind me on the left.

I'm not going to lie, leaving my first area was tough! It had truly become home and I'm excited to visit it again! But in His infinite mercy and love, Heavenly Father led me to the perfect scripture to comfort me: 

"And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted (Alma 12:10)."

Isn't amazing how direct and comforting the scripture can be? It wasn't only this verse that helped, but the story in the entire chapter. The sons of Mosiah are preparing to leave for their missions, and the entire chapter is incredible! My favorite verse is 13: 

"...they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken."

I trust that I will meet those who I worked with in Zilker again. How great is the work that I have undertaken? Then Ammon speaks the best words of all: 

"...be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks..." 

Let us all be of good cheer and go in search of the flocks! You don't have to wear a tag to be a missionary! Find comfort in the scriptures! Apply them to your life! I promise that Heavenly Father will speak to you just as he has spoken to me! 

I love you all! 

Sister Waite

P.S. In all the craziness last week, I forgot to mention that I got to work with Sister Harrision, one of my MTC companions, for a day last week! It was so incredible! We've both grown so much and I just love her to death! :) 

Goodbye Zilker

Dear all, 

We had another wonderful week, just as I hope all of you did! Miracles continue to happen in Zilker, and I'm excited to spend most of this next week here before transfer meeting! 

And of course, that means that I am being transferred... And so is Sister Montclair! We're being doubled out... I guess we're both needed elsewhere! I'm sure the next missionaries will love this area and take great care of this portion of the Lord's vineyard! 

Our Last email session together in Zilker Park!

So in other news... 

Geoff is going to cut his hair! This has been a long-fought battle (very peacefully, though!) and it's finally happening! (I just realized that I won't be here to see it... sad day!) I'll be sure to get pictures before I leave so that you can see what a miracle this is! Haha! He's still doing well! I have an inkling that he'll be baptized soon! Which is super exciting! This is something he's wanted for the entire time that I have been privileged to know him! 

Dianna is still super great! A few weeks ago, we had her listen to President Uchtdorf's talk "Forget Me Not" and she loved it! Then she surprised us with forget me nots! She actually went out and bought us forget me nots! She loved it that much! She's so great! They're the tiniest flower with the biggest meaning for her! And so pretty! :) 

The forget-me-nots from Dianna

We also found this awesome new investigator! Keisha is so great! We were planning one night, and Sister Montclair realized that there was a referral from a street contact that we had never actually talked to. So the next day, we knocked on the door, and Keisha happened to be visiting her godmother (the referral)! And she wanted us to come by her home! It's so great! I had felt really bad about not remembering the referral (these are PEOPLE WHO NEED THE GOSPEL!!!) but if we hadn't tried to contact the referral when we did, we wouldn't have ever found Keisha! She's the greatest! She's been taking notes while we've taught her, and she loves the Book of Mormon! We even set her with a date! July 25th! The new missionaries are going to love that! :) 

Cesario is still on fire! (Not literally, though... That would be interesting, though...) He's even going to the temple on Friday! I'm really disappointed that I won't be able to go with him... But I'm so excited for him! He's so great! :) 

The craziest thing happened this week! We were sitting in our car finishing a phone call, and it took a little bit longer than we expected. Suddenly, there were two police officers tapping on our windows! We thought we were in so much trouble! But they just wanted to know what church we were from! So of course, always being missionary minded, we spent 20 minutes telling them about it! One had LDS neighbors and wanted to ask us questions, and the other told us that he had learned a lot! We even gave them some cards! It was really great! :) 

For the first time ever, I was disappointed in the view from my apartment... trees got in the way of the fireworks! Oh well... we'll try again next year! Haha! :) 

I want to leave you this week with some of my favorite words that President Uchtdorf has ever spoken (it's a tough choice, really):

"Whether you are 8 or 108, there is one thing that I hope you truly understand and know:

You are loved.

You are dear to your heavenly parents.

The infinite and eternal Creator of light and life knows you! He is mindful of you.

Yes, God loves you this very day and always.

He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed—even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you.

And God knows of your successes; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens—even when you are struggling with your own.

He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly—He knows you as you really are. And He loves you—today and always!"

May we always remember and find comfort in the eternal truth that our Heavenly Father loves us! 

Love, 

Sister Waite

Miracle of Miracles!

Hey all! 

So this week flew by and I really want to know where it went! There's no way it's already June 28! 

I can't even begin to list all the things that we did this week... But I'll try! 

We taught Cesario about patriarchal blessings and he LOVED it. It's so amazing to watch him just drink up the gospel! He even said "Hey! That's sort of like what I'm reading about in 2 Nephi!" Yeah, that's right. 2 Nephi. He understood it and connected it to patriarchal blessings. Ah! We're so proud of him! :) 

Michael and Matthew are still so great! Michael remembers so much and even helps us teach Matthew when he's having a little bit of a hard time remembering or understanding things. And they both have the best testimonies ever! :) 

Geoff is still doing so great. I was thinking about March Geoff versus June Geoff and it's such a big difference! He's changed so much! We taught him about charity for the second time the other day. March Geoff told us that he already knew all about charity and that he was charitable and all that, and didn't really get much out of what we were telling him. June Geoff, however, realized that charity means so much more when used in the context of the gospel! And I know that it's not the teachers! It's definitely him allowing the Spirit to change and teach him! :) 

Dianna and Brandon are doing so great! (I got to hold one of Brandon's geckos the other day. It was so cool! :) ... I loved it!) They both came to church and Brandon even stayed for the 2nd hour! We're working on him, slowly but surely! I can tell he loves it, he's just being a teenager! Haha! Dianna continues to see signs and answers to her prayers, particularly this week about President Monson. We worked all week with her, trying to build her faith of a living prophet, and she told us last night that she knows that Thomas Spencer Monson is a man truly called of God to be the Prophet on the earth today! It was so great! I almost cried! I love watching her testimony grow! Dianna and Brandon are even doing missionary work of their own, and had one of Brandon's friends, Stefan, over to listen to our message. And he loved it, too! 

The work is just rolling forward here in Zilker! 

But one of the greatest miracles this week happened yesterday morning! Missionaries in Zilker haven't been invited to Ward Council in at least a year, probably longer. That really throws a wrench in the works and makes it harder to coordinate our efforts with the ward. But we're lucky enough to have a GREAT ward mission leader who really makes sure we know everything we should know from Ward Council. It's just how we've been doing missionary work here for as long as I've been here, and we make it work! But this week our district leader asked us to find out why we weren't invited. So, we planned on asking Brother Webb about it in ward coordination Sunday afternoon. But Sunday morning... we showed up to give Brother Webb our progress record and update him on some really important things, just like we have been for the last six months... and we were invited to actually go to ward council! And we're going to be invited forever! I don't know if I can express to you how much of a miracle that is! I don't know what changed, but I'm sure glad it did! Months of working to earn the trust of the ward has finally paid off! :) 

I've started the Book of Mormon yet again, and I'm loving it! Something I read in 2 Nephi 2 today really caught my attention. 

Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God. Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. (2 Nephi 2:3)

Lehi tells his son, Jacob, that he knows that Jacob will spend all of this days in the service of God. You would think in so doing that Jacob would do a lot of righteous things, or works. But Lehi then says that it is "because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer" that Jacob will be saved. We aren't saved because of own righteousness. It's Christ's! Oh, how grateful I am that He is so righteous! :) 

I love you all! I hope y'all remember Christ and His righteousness in all that you do! 

Love, 

Sister Waite

A.S.K.

Hey all! 

I'm so blessed to be a missionary! I can't even describe how happy it makes me to be able to see the gospel change people's lives! So even though I've been fed bananas on multiple occasions, been so tired I could hardly roll out of bed in the morning, and my poor little watch decided it just couldn't tell time anymore... These past 5 1/2 months have been the greatest of my life! :) 

Not much new has happened this week, just continuing to do the work and love it! Planting seeds in people's hearts is probably one of my favorite things to do! Because you just never know! :) 

Geoff is doing great! He's so happy and continues to allow the Savior to change his life. 

Dianna and her son Brandon came to church yesterday and loved it! I love seeing their hearts grow softer and softer every day! They're the greatest and I love them so much! 

Cesario received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday... and it was amazing! Watching him take steps on the right path has just been wonderful! :) 

The Zilker Park Ward has been amazing to me! The members are great, and the area is amazing! I would be okay working here for the full 18 months! ;) 

I've been thinking a lot about receiving answers to our questions... and of course the answer is in the scriptures:

"Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (3 Nephi 14:7)" 

Christ gives us three things to do: ask, seek, and knock.

First, we have to ask.

"Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?--If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you. (1 Nephi 15:11)"

Nephi teaches us that as we ask in faith, believing that we will receive and continuing the keep the commandments, we can receive an answer!

Second, we have to seek.

"Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 32:3)"

It is little wonder that we are asked to search (or feast upon) the words of Christ. They will tell us all things which we should do!

The third thing is to knock. This is best illustrated by this parable:

5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. (Luke 11)

The man asks for bread and then is "importune", or persistent, and finally receives that which he is asking for. So will we, especially because we are asking our Heavenly Father for answers, and He is so eager to bless us!

We have to ask, seek, and then knock! Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. The answers will come! It's a promise! 

(And it's little wonder that ask, seek, and knock spell ASK!)

Love y'all! 

Sister Waite

Small Miracles

Miracles continue to happen here in the Zilker Park ward... And I love it! It's amazing what you notice when you open your eyes and look! 

We successfully navigated UT campus on Friday. Didn't get lost once! Definitely a miracle, considering the directions that we got! Haha! I have to say, though, I miss my beautiful BYU campus with the mountains and "Come, Come Ye Saints" every hour! 

The biggest miracle this week came in the form of Dianna. I can't even begin to describe how much her attitude toward church has changed since we first met her a couple weeks ago. She stayed for the entire block yesterday and told us afterward that it just felt like home. I'm so excited for her! And about her... I just love her so much! 

St. Johns!

Geoff continues to be great! He was in the hospital last week, and when we visited him he was close to tears because he had missed church. He really loves it. And I love hearing about how he's already sharing the gospel!

Other than that, we spent a lot of time this week planting seeds! It gets easier to preach by the way every day! 

Serving a mission was the best decision I've ever made! I've learned so much, and I'm excited to continue learning. :) 

With Father's Day next week, I've been doing some study about Fathers. Fathers are so great. 

There are so many great fathers in the scriptures: 

Lehi, who taught his son the importance of obedience:

"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father..." (1 Nephi 1:1)

The Flowers are so Pretty!

Alma, who prayed that his son would be brought to a knowledge of the truth:

"And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith."(Mosiah 27:14)

The father of Abish, who had a 'remarkable vision' that converted his daughter (who was then able to aid in the conversion of her people):

"And it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord, in their might, even until they had all fallen to the earth, save it were one of the Lamanitish women, whose name was Abish, she having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father--" (Alma 19:16)

One of my favorite examples of fatherhood in the Book of Mormon is found in Alma 56. These men had covenanted with Heavenly Father to never take up the sword again, but saw their brethren in the midst of war and desired to help. Not wanting to let their fathers break their covenant, the valiant sons of these men took up arms instead. And their fathers did all that they could to support them, bringing provisions and other things (Alma 56:27). I love that cycle. The sons supported their fathers in their righteous actions, and the fathers in turn supported their sons.

That is something that I hope to be able to do: support my father in his righteous actions, just as he has always supported me. I love my dad so much and I've always been grateful for his testimony and love. 

I hope you all have a blessed week! :)

Love,

Sister Waite