Monday, November 16, 2015

Week 67: Welcome Back to Vermont, Sis Harper!

Hello!
Wow! It's been a good week, but a crazy one!

We had super awesome lessons with Nick and Crystal this week! At one
of their lessons, their friend Dan was there. Nick have him and
Articles of Faith pass along card! Dan stayed for and participated in
the lesson! He said that he wants to get back into church and he's
interested in our church. We gave him and Book of Mormon too! Nick and
Crystal are already super awesome member missionaries! They both
testified of how the gospel and blessed them and helped them! Oh my
goodness they are so great!

Thursday we had exchanges with the Concord sisters. I was in Concord
with Sis. Lewis and we had a such a great exchange! We did a lot of
service! We raked leaves for this cute little lady, Sis. Spaulding!
And we had a good lesson with their investigator Katherine!

We exchanged back that night at the Concord sisters apartment and then
drove home. We got back to our apartment and realized that we left our
apartment keys at the Concord sisters apartment! So we went back and
got our keys and got home around 9:45pm.

Then at 10:15pm we got a call from Pres. Stoker. We thought he was
calling because we were out late (the little boxes in our car that
yell at us when we speed also let President know if we're out past
curfew). He didn't say anything about that (whew!), but I think I
would've rather had him call about that than what he really called us
about. He called to tell us that on Saturday I was going to be
emergency transferred to Montpelier, VT. My heart sank! Normal
transfer calls weren't for another week, so I thought I still had at
least a week in Canterbury. So I had about a day to pack. Luckily we
had a lesson with Nick and Crystal and the MacAllen's the day before I
left so I got to say goodbye to them, but most of my goodbyes to the
ward members were over the phone. It was so sad to leave on such short
notice! I was especially bummed because I missed Nick and Crystal's
confirmation on Sunday. At least I got to be there for the baptism!
Nick and Crystal are doing great and I know that they're in good
hands.

So Sis. Tyler and Sis. Peterson were the sisters in Montpelier. Sis.
Tyler goes home next week and Sis. Peterson is needed in a different
area. So instead of pulling both of them out at the same time and
putting two new sisters in, Pres. Stoker ETed (emergency transferred)
me to Montpelier to make the transition smoother. So I'm here with
Sis. Tyler for a week and Sis. Peterson is in Canterbury with Sis.
Davis for a week. Then Sis. Tyler will go home, Sis. Peterson will go
to her new area, Sis. Davis will stay in Canterbury and get a new
companion and I'll stay in Montpelier and get a new companion. I know,
it's all sorts of consuming. But I have a week to get to know
Montpelier before I get a new companion! Things are going well so far,
hopefully it's not too stressful haha!

Saturday was a great day, bittersweet too, because I got transferred
that evening We had an all day zone conference with Elder Brent H.
Nielsen of the seventy. He's the head of the missionary department.
And last April conference he gave a talk called "Waiting For the
Prodigal." Super good! It was such an awesome zone conference! He
taught about the enabling power of the Atonement. I learned a lot and
really felt the spirit. There's two parts of the Atonement: the
redeeming power and the enabling power. We access the redeeming power
by living the gospel (exercising faith, reopening, being baptized and
renewing our covenants each week by partaking of the sacrament,
receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end). Elder
Nielsen taught that one way we access the enabling power is by putting
of the natural man by being humble and becoming a saint (Mosiah 3:19).
I really liked how he taught that, but I was still a little confused.
Then Sunday morning during my studies a found a scripture that
answered my question! D&C 44:4-5 "And many shall be converted,
insomuch that he shall obtain power to organize yourselves according
to the laws of man; That your enemies may not have power over you;
that you may be preserved in all things; that you may be enabled to
keep my laws; that every bond may be broken wherewith the enemy
seekers to destroy my people." So what I learned from that is that we
can obtain and access the enabling power of the Atonement by being
converted! How neat is that?

Well, I'm in Vermont now! Last week in Canterbury it was in the
60-70's and now in Vermont it's in the 40's! So cold! Even though it
was sad to leave Canterbury, I'm excited to be here in Montpelier! I
know that the Lord has a plan for all of us, sometimes we don't always
understand it, but His plan is always better for us. I love you all
and hope you have a great week!
Love, Sister Harper

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