Hello Family,
This has been a week full of miracles! 1st miracle…. My stomach pains have gone down to the point of almost being gone 100% of the time!!! I know that everyone's prayers has played a huge role in that so THANK YOU! I really appreciate it. My companion and I were able to get out and really work for the first time this transfer and it was great!
Jonathan is still on fire and so ready to be ordained with the priesthood and receive his first church calling! He sent missionaries to His wife in Sierra Leone and also to his Mother in Law in Bowie, MD. He is such a great example of the Love of Christ to me! It is amazing to think that Sister Thompson and I have been allowed to be involved in the work in Africa! Elder Holland just released a video about the work in Sierra Leone and you should all watch it! The people there are so honest! They have been waiting for the Gospel for so long and now they have it!!! Amazing!
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-003-unto-all-the-world-the-stone-cut-out-of-the-mountain?category=prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world&cid=HPFR122713281&im=true
So we had a good new years! We planned to be asleep when the new year rolled in ha ha but we got woken up by fireworks ten minutes to the New Year. So… we were awake for 2014!!! Wahoo. It is going to be a great and crazy filled year. Our 2014 baptism goal went from 1200 souls to 1664 souls to be baptized in the year 2014! It is totally possible through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Read Alma 26:22!!! We just have to encircle ourselves more with the spirit of Christ. If we change ourselves others will change as well! We had a great conference this week that talked about this! We must convert ourselves daily and repent if we want to bring others to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our example will far out way anything we can say!
We were working with Alicia again this week. She has been planning to get baptized this next week but it was not looking promising because she refused to go with us to the font and practice walking down the stairs and such. So we rescheduled and took her to the font with an 8 yr. old friend of hers that has also not gotten baptized yet. Well a miracle happened! The spirit was so strong at the font and she went down into the font over five times! We also turned on the water and she was willing to walk into the font with a little water! Then we had her “practice” bending over backwards with someone holding her so that she could be comfortable for her actual baptism. The result? She is sooo on fire and wants to get baptized this Saturday Jan. 11th and she wants our ward mission leader, Brother Stewart, to baptize her!!!! And her little friend Jackie told another set of sister “When I was talking to my friend about her baptism, God was telling me in my heart that I need to be baptized” Ah sooo sweet! The Spirit was so strong and he truly touched the hearts of these two little girls. We shared a scripture in D&C that says “Doubt not, fear not” We know that with the Lord on our side we have nothing to fear! Such a great reminder for all of us to trust in our Lord and have no fear!!!! He knows exactly what he is doing and he is watching over ALL his people, whether they be in OR, WA, ID, MD, DC, UT, or Sierra Leone!!! (I think I got where all my loved ones are if I missed somewhere let me know ;) )
Sunday was a really great day! It was our fast and testimony meeting and I felt the Spirit soooo strongly. Sister Thompson and I have been working with a really sweet Less active named Lavell Wildon. Lavell is a young lad of 94 ha ha. We have had dinner with him twice now and we asked him to come to church with us! He agreed! So he Came and it was sooo sweet. He had an eye removed a few weeks ago and the other one is quite blind as well. So I got to help him take the sacrament. I couldn’t help but feel the spirit so strong as I helped this friend and Brother in Christ take part in such a special ordinance. It was so sweet to look around the chapel and see those I have come to love so much eat the Bread and drink the Water that helps them to become clean each and every week. Sister Latrece Bynum and her son Jeremiah were there, Brother Jonathan Tengbeh was there, and so was a few part member families, and Brother Lavell Wildon. I couldn’t help but just feel so overwhelmed with love. This ward is so special and they take care of each other. They really helped take care of me with my kidney stones, whether they brought us juice and meals, or by taking investigators in and teaching them for us! They are such a blessing! I shared my testimony on the Love of the Savior in observing the sacrament and by the wards assistance over the last transfer. After that Brother Jonathan Tengbeh got up and bore his first testimony in sacrament meeting. I couldn’t help but cry. It was so sweet to hear the love he has for this gospel, our Savior, and his family. It was a really sweet experience. After that we visited our dear friend Lavell and he said that it was really nice to be at church, and that it was something he hadn’t done in a really long time. He wants to come back again! So many miracles in one week!
One bummer thing of this week: We hit a rock while driving…. Sister Thompson and I are both very short and neither of us saw the rock but it got our car good. It left a nasty scratch on the bumper and it pushed our bumper in a little bit. So unfortunately that means one of us will be leaving for sure at transfers because Sister Thompson’s driving privilege has already been revoked but they allowed her to be the driver this transfer, but now she won’t be allowed again. :/ So I may be leaving Normandy Park this next Tuesday (Transfers). I will of course be sad to leave Normandy Park since I have come to love the people here SO much, but as far as Sundays go, this last one was as perfect as they come. So not a bad note to leave on. Especially since Alicia is getting baptized on Saturday! J
Here are a few tips I have found over this last transfer:
1. Have a prayer journal. A Journal that you keep next to you while you pray. Take the time DURING your prayer and right down all thoughts and inspiration you receive. Don’t wait until the end or you may forget. Write questions you have down before you pray and see how our Father in Heaven answers them for you WHILE you pray. It works I promise ;)
2. Play TIC TAC TOE. So we had a mission conference a while back where we were given an acronym for missionary work. We were given TIC. Well Sister Thompson and I came up with TIC TAC TOE and I quite like it. Here is is:
T alk with everyone
I nvite to be baptized
C ommit them
T estify of Christ
A sk inspired questions
C onvert yourself daily
T hank Heavenly Father
O bey always
E ndure to the end.
If we play TIC TAC TOE every day we cannot fail! When we do this we are LIVING the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Learning Heaven! I love you all and I will write more next week! Love you!
Sister Jennifer Franzen
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