Week 30 (9/24/18): "The Sisters Strike Back"

That is the name of our plan to hasten the work here. It is The Plan of Attack: The Sisters Strike Back. Sister Howard thought of the name.

This week was absolutely crazy! We did so much- we went to Fresno last Monday to take care of a bunch of errands, we sang at a recovery hospital, helped our ward mission leader get his trash out to the curb for the curbside cleanup, had zone training, spent a whole day going to Fresno and Merced (doctor visit and picking up a new prescription, which included 3 hours of driving), went to the vineyard to box raisins for 4 hours in the afternoon (in 100+° weather) and narrowly avoided Sister Howard having a migraine, and then did weekly planning on Sunday because we hadn't had time on Friday or Saturday. It was an exhausting week. But we both made it through mostly intact.

Other than that, not all that much happened. Lots of little tender mercies, like going to Taco Bell in Merced and finding out a member was the manager and we got a free meal. We made a plan to hasten the work here, and we are excited to put it into play. Cool thought from Jamie Hansen, the man in charge of the vineyard- apparently 95% of the earth's surface is made of silicate, which is what glass is made of. So in a very real sense, the Earth can be turned into glass with a lot of heat, which the scriptures refer to. It was cool to see how the scriptures will be fulfilled when it says the earth will be a sea of glass and will become a Urim and Thummim.

Love you bye!

Sister Cate


Pictures from off the mission blog:

ZONE CONFERENCE MODESTO NORTH, MODESTO, TURLOCK, MERCED ZONES 9.25.2018

Week 29 (9/17/18): "Can we get her to the temple??"

So this week was so fast. How is it Monday already?? 

The highlight of this week was definitely going to the temple. We were able to go when Erika, a recent convert, received her endowments, so that was super special. I think we may need to work on getting more people to the temple so we can go more often!! It's great motivation! 

We also had fun with the Sheppards again. We talked about the Atonement, and we showed them the Because of Him video. It really hit them. They could totally feel the Spirit!! 

Anyways, not all that much happened this week. Just lots of little good things. Have a great week!

Love you bye!

Sister Cate 

Week 27 (9/3/18): "These helmets are not very attractive."

We were on bikes for a few days this week. It was definitely an experience, but we had fun! 

Oh, the vineyard was a Church-owned vineyard run completely by volunteer work, where they make raisins to send throughout the world when there is a natural disaster or other need for food.

Transfers were not what I expected. I expected something to change, but nothing did. Out of the 18 missionaries serving in this area, only 1 changed. We listened to it and were wondering if they were serious. But honestly, I'm not complaining. I love serving here with Sister Howard. We've got some really good things going, and we're hoping to get some activities going here to help the members have something to invite friends to, and we're going to hasten the work here!

Funny story from last Monday- so ever since coming to Chowchilla, I have spilled a lot more milk than normal. I mean, I spilled a whole cup on our bedroom floor (of course at like 10:25pm...) and then a little on the living room floor. So needless to say, I only drink milk on non-carpeted surfaces now. But last Monday we were bringing in groceries and I was getting ready to close the trunk, and I was really excited because I got Jenga, and I was saying, "We're going to teach the Restoration to everyone!" and I lost my grip on the milk jug, and it fell and spilled. Luckily I was able to get most of it into a pitcher. So now we have both cookies and milk on the pavement. I died laughing!! I couldn't stop laughing for a good 30 minutes. I haven't laughed that hard in ages! 

This week was good. We have been working with a part member family whose kids haven't been baptized. The kids want to be baptized, but the parents are only kind of active. But they love feeding us! So we will take that opportunity to share parts of lessons through dinner messages, and to keep gaining their trust so we can eventually start teaching the kids. I want so badly for them to be sealed in the temple! And I think we may really make progress towards that this transfer. At least that's the plan. So please pray for us. 

We also had an amazing lesson where we Skyped in a missionary from our ward who is serving in Italy. The lesson went really well, and it was totally guided by inspiration, plus it was Steven's birthday, and we didn't know that when we were setting up the lesson, so he got to see his best friend for his birthday. But he's accepted a baptismal date for September 29th, so we are super excited!! 

Things are going well here. We are so blessed!

Love you, bye! 

Sister Cate 

Week 26 (8/27/18): Literally the Lord's Vineyard

Wow, where to begin? This week has been awesome! 

First, zone conference was amazing. I learned so much! I think the coolest thing I learned from Elder Whiting was that before the day of Pentecost, the apostles didn't have the Holy Ghost. They had the authority, but not the power. But once they had the power, they were able to act as the Savior, and people were amazed. Once they had the power, people joined the church. It really made me realize that I need the power of the Holy Ghost with me, and once I do, I can help bring people to the Lord's fold. 

Another thing I realized is that if I had to describe salt, one thing I'd say is that it makes everything else more flavorful. And the Spirit does the same thing. And I also realized that I need to point it out more to people, saying that right now, they're feeling the Holy Ghost. 

I also hadn't noticed the word "will" in that paragraph of the introduction. It says, "Those who pursue this course and ask in faith WILL gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost." And we totally saw that this week. 

So right after getting back from the vineyard on Saturday, we had a lesson with someone we've been trying to be able to meet up with for a while. And she brought her Book of Mormon with her, and she'd marked passages with sticky notes and with colored pencils, and she's all the way through Ether!!!! And we asked her, and she said she knew that the Book of Mormon was true, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. And she is getting baptized on October 20th!!! We're so excited! 

Then we worked in the vineyard on Wednesday night and Saturday morning. I did a lot gleaning, or picking the grapes others missed. There were a bunch of kids that joined me on Saturday morning, and we had fun. We found a lot of grapes, and the kids got excited every time. But seriously, the pictures don't show how massive this vineyard is. But it makes Jesus saying, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5) mean a lot more. 

So this week was pretty amazing! 

Love you, bye!

Sister Cate

Week 25 8/20/18): We may have acquired lightsabers...

There was a family moving, and they had a couple lightsabers they were getting rid of... I couldn't resist.

So this week was interesting, full of tender mercies, like usual. 

The alternate title for this email is "God often puts dogs in our path, sometimes literally." Sister Howard loves dogs, so we see them all the time. And this week, we were on one of the back roads and there was a dog in the road. And it didn't get out of the road. So Sister Howard got out of the car, and moves the dog out of the road, then tells me to drive forward a bit. But when she comes to get into the car, the dog keeps following her! Finally, after picking the dog up and putting it back in its yard several times, she was able to get back to the car. It was hilarious!

Since last zone conference, I've been going through the new Preach My Gospel and finding all the changes. Now, it does count all the times they changed the word investigator to something else, but I hit 800 changes this morning. And I'm only halfway through, if that. But it's cool to see some of the changes. One that I'm still trying to understand is that it changed "doctrines" to "doctrine". I'm not sure exactly why they made the change, but if you have any ideas, I would love to hear them. My only thought is the quote by Joseph Smith that says that the core doctrine of our church is the testimony of prophets and apostles that Jesus is the Christ and that He atoned for our sins, and that all others are merely appendages to it. 

One of the biggest miracles this week is that we got a member referral whose best friend is serving a mission right now in Italy. The missionary's father told us about him, and he told us that Steven wanted a Book of Mormon. I have never seen someone so excited to get a Book of Mormon! He was ecstatic! And he came to church on Sunday! He is so prepared! And he already started reading the Book of Mormon! We've been messaging with the elder, so hopefully he can be involved!

And then another of the full time missionaries from the ward, serving in Texas, texted us saying he sent us a referral, though we haven't gotten it yet because Area Book is down. But in any case, as soon as we get it, we are super excited to see her!

And then the family history activity went well. We had a few less active members, including one who called the elders quorum president to ask for a ride! It was so exciting! 

So it was a good week! We're excited to see what this next week holds!

Sister Cate

Week 24 (8/13/18): Down to the Wire

Okay, sorry, no time to write today. But have some pictures!

Love you bye!

Sister Cate