Monday, January 26, 2015

Elder Ballard

Okie dokie, crazy experience, and kinda sad... so we were out pass the dam, no one answering but finally one of our referrals answered the door, she invited us in. We started talking and found out she has had the missionary lessons before. Well, she was nice to us until we brought up the gospel, its kinda funny how people invite us in and then think were not gonna talk religion. Idk haha this is what we do! Any who, back to the story, she started to get confritational and even though she wasn't interested, we shared our testimonies. The spirit came and it came strong. She stopped fighting with us and seemed to get emotional... then after a moment of silence she bursted out, "I AM NEVER GOING TO CHANGE!" And kicked us out.... after she kicked us out Sister Kennedy and I were just... hurt. It hurt. We bore sincere testimony and she wanted nothing to do with it and we KNOW she felt the spirit testify to her that what we were saying is true... I mean, it really stung. We said a prayer to ask why that happened. We did all we could and we know she felt something. 

Well our prayer was answered when we read 3 Nephi 7:15-18.

 And it came to pass that Nephi—having been visited by angeland also the voice of the Lord, therefore having seen angels, and being eye-witness, and having had power given unto him that he might know concerning the ministry of Christ, and also being eye-witness to their quick return from righteousness unto their wickedness and abominations; Therefore, beingrieved for the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds—went forth among them in that same year, and began to testify, boldlyrepentance and remission of sins through faith on the Lord JesuChrist.And he did minister many things unto them; and all of themcannot be written, and part of them would not suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and witgreat authority. And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for iwere not possible that they could disbelieve his words, foso great was his faith on thLord Jesus Christ that angeldid minister unto him daily.
What we got from that is like Nephi, we testified boldly and there is no way she could have disbelived what we were testifying to her, but still... she became angry with us and used her agency to choose to not want more.... It was just mind blowing. Why wouldn't you want to choose that good feeling? The Spirit? The gospel? Choose to come closer to Christ? Especially when you can feel it is good! I don't know.... I hope her heart may be softened...
I don't like negative... so back to positive!! :D

Elder Ballard came to our mission!!! We got to shake his hand. I was so nervous to meet him.... you could feel when he enter the room. He definitely is an apostle of the Lord. The reason why I was so stoked to meet him was because he is an APOSTLE! But I was also nervous because he probably can see right through my soul. When we were in line to shake his hand, I thought, "REPENT NOW! Do I have something to repent for? YOU BETTER REPENT NOW or you're gonna get struck down!" Haha I couldn't think of anything so I walked up, smiled, tried to play it cool, like ya know, no biggie he is only an apostle of the Lord. Hahaha when he shook my hand and said my name, it was pretty dang awesome, I felt the spirit, instant love, and I know he is called of God, then WOO HOO I wasn't nervous anymore. :) Anyway, Elder Ballard was so awesome to listen to. He said some things that really hit home. I loved when he said, "Christ is as close as we'll allow him to be." Love that! Its so true! We choose to either move closer to him or push him away. Another thing that hit me was how he kept repeating to "be IN missionary work." I want to be more consecrated to the work and another thing I think he helped with is, he helped sister Kennedy be more motivated to work. She has been struggling with time... as in, she is counting down the days. I know my prayers are being heard and she will start to forget the days and when she does, that's when the magic of missionary work comes! I also have been trying to be extra positive with her, always pointing out something she did good and letting her know not only do I believe in her, but the Lord believes in her. She has improved so much. She has been leading more lessons and talking to more people, she is so awesome! Just need to get her to know that! :)

This week was better, Sister Kennedy talked a lot more and we are building as a companionship.  We've been using preach my gospel every night in our planning session and its made the next day so much easier. We've realized that even though it says weekly planning session, its definitely the perfect guide for daily & nightly planning, and because we planned every night following PMG, we were able to make small changes that had huge effects. We also were able to receive revelation on who should invite Kaitlyn to church. Kaitlyn works on Sunday and said she will never be able to come but our prayers were answered. One of her friends who is the Laurel president invited her to church and she came! :)

So many stories I want to share but I gotta go again! Bye!
Sister Coats

PS: After hearing Elder Ballard, we made a commitment to get members more involved in our work. We decided to do the 21 day promise with members and set a follow up date for when we'd come back and see how the challenge turned out, yesterday we gave it to 3 families and I think our follow date has made the commitment more real. They seem more excited to help. 

PSPS: Picture  - Exchanges with Sister Bly! She is bomb! :D
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Monday, January 19, 2015

Macey's Baptism

Macy got baptized this week! Her baptism was wonderful. Her uncle Larry baptized her (it was his first time baptizing anyone) and almost all of Macy's family came. The room was packed with Macy's family and friends. :) When Macy was baptized the spirit was very strong, her family isn't active, and it was cool to see her sweet face when she came up out of the water and to also see her family's hearts be soften by the spirit. Right then are there, it was like we could see her Mom's heart open to the gospel. Her Mom even came to church for the first time in years to see Macy's confirmation. She did sit in the foyer, but still she came. (Her mom Debby is so awesome!!) I believe Macy is helping her family come back to the gospel. :) Something really sweet... Macy didn't want to share her testimony because there was so many people but Brother Jones had her stand up and he asked her questions in which basically had her share her testimony. The question that hit my heart the most was when he asked her how she felt about what the sisters had taught her, Macy said, "I knew what they were teaching me was true because I could feel it every time they came. I remember when I met them and thought that we'd be friends but I didn't think we could be this close of friends. They will never know how thankful I am for them." <3 As she said this, tears filled her eyes, and she looked right at me and smiled. I couldn't hold it in anymore and the water works came! Haha :) Macy touched my heart. I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to have helped her learn more about the gospel and to see how she has grown. She knows she has a testimony and she knows what the spirit feels like and she doesn't let doubt even enter into her mind! Macy is a blessing to me and to everyone around her. Her sweet innocence has taught me so much. There is a reason we are suppose to be like little children and I think some of that reason is because they are so pure, quick to forgive, quick to believe, and have a desire to obey the Father. :)

Sister Kennedy definitely is becoming more confident. She still doesn't talk much and our unity is still struggling but it is getting better. Something we are trying to work on is for her to trust the Lord and not be afraid to open her mouth. She did this very well when we were visiting the Rosencrances (PMF) and shared a spiritual message with them. After our visit she realized that its not that hard but Satan is the one scaring her to not do it. She is a very good listener and I am learning more about how to listen to others from her, the thing we are struggling with is when the silence in a lesson goes on for too long. Its good to be comfortable in silence but when we aren't unified and the silence starts to dominate the lesson, the spirit leaves... I've realized that I have a lot to improve on and while I was praying I felt like I need to be better at listening, which is something I am learning from Sister Kennedy, and I need to not talk so much, even when I feel like the silence is starting to dominate, I need to not talk so much so Sister Kennedy can. Overall, difficult week because its so hard not being in unity but we are trying. Hopefully very soon we will become more unified in our teaching. Also because we aren't very unified I feel like an awful trainer because I don't know what to do except to pray to know what to do... I know Heavenly Father will answer my prayers in His own time and in His own way but it is my responsibility to be prepared and ready for the instruction He will give me.

Anyway, gotta go again! (Jimmy Ippolito is gonna teach us another recipe!)

Love,
Sister Coats

PS: Quote I liked this week...
"In the moment when obedience stops being an irritant, and becomes our quest - in that moment God will endow you with power. When we choose to desire to be obedient - power will be given to us to withstand Satan and grow spiritually and prosper." 

Pics: Macy's baptism!  & Baptism F'Reals! :)

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Speak

This week has had its challenges and successes but let me tell you, I love training & I love 12 week! The extra hour of companionship study that we get has had a huge influence on the rest of our day and I feel like being the trainer is teaching me more than when I was the trainee!

It was sad to saying goodbye to Sister Dax but I'm excited to see how this transfer goes. :) So day of transfers, I had to get to transfer meeting early so I could go to President's training for trainers. It was a really neat meeting. As we were going over the responsibility of being a trainer, I felt both totally inadequate, a little overwhelmed, but more than anything, completely honored. President wrote me a letter in the trainer packet he gave me and he said he has complete trust and confidence in me. As I read his letter, saw his signature at the bottom, I had this renew of confidence. Like, "Hey you can do this!! You got this!" It was what I needed. Being a trainer is hard but I absolutely love it. I am so grateful to be training. I am learning so much and to know I have helped Sister Kennedy even a little bit, is a wonderful feeling. I feel honored to be training such a wonderful sister.

A little about Sister Kennedy... She is very quiet which makes it hard to teach in unity, since I am the only one speaking, but we have been setting goals to help her speak and we have been practicing "opening our mouth." She is very shy and so quiet but over the last few days she has been speaking more, has been testifying more, and has opened up to me. During weekly planning she had a little bit of a break down so we said a prayer and I had this prompting to ask her to reflect upon her patriarchal blessing. All I asked was, "does your blessing say you can do this mission?" She broke into tears and said, "it does." It was a cool experience. I am grateful the Spirit put that question into my head because it was exactly what Sister Kennedy needed. We then read our certificate signed by president Monson stating that we have been called to do this work and as we read that, we both felt extra strength from it. We set a goal to stay positive and to turn our negative thoughts about ourselves into positives. We did our 5 "I ams" that I remember from a training a while back, and we have been doing our 5 "I ams" everyday. We also wrote down a Trust in God sticky note that we put on our mirror in the bathroom. She looked at me like I was silly when I told her we were going to have a trust in God sticky note and that we were going to read it and say it to ourselves right there. So yeah, we basically made a cheer for ourselves. :) Anyway that's what we did and even though she looked at me like I was totally crazy, It worked and is still working! Us saying we trust the Lord out loud and saying how we trust Him, it has helped us get rid of doubts and I believe it has helped Sister Kennedy know I am here for her. Her confidence is increasing.

Anywho! I know Sister Kennedy will get the confidence to open her mouth and she told me last night that she didn't know a mission could be this much fun. Haha :) She told me I am the craziest companion she has ever had (even though she has only had 3 haha) and thinks its hilarious that I dance in the car to my Christian jams but hey, dancing in the car isn't against the rules! So yep, everything is going good and we are both improving every day. OH!! And Macy is getting baptized this weekend! We are soooo excited!!!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Sister Coats

Bye Sister Dax with the Jones!!! <3 Ya know sometimes I feel like Heavenly Father sends certain companions to an area... just for me:) Yeah I'm selfish like that ;P haha

Step Mother

I can't believe it.... I am going to be a step mother! President told me a while back that he wanted me to train but Mackay wouldn't be a good area for a trainee because its so far from the mission home. Well... guess what! I'm training! I am finishing out Sister Kennedy's training. I am really nervous to be training but I remember how I felt when President told me I was going to be training, so I need to remember that feeling. When he told me I could do it, it felt great to know that Heavenly Father and President trust me with this responsibility. When I was studying in 1 Corinthians 1 & 2, I felt like it totally applied to me because I feel weak and unqualified but as I was reading I felt that Heavenly Father will help me as long as I try my best to help Sister Kennedy and bring the spirit, it will all work out. (Being trained was a hard part of my mission, I hope I can help Sister Kennedy have a more positive experience then I did) I am excited to be learning from her as I help with her training. Knowing that Heavenly Father and President believe in me to do this, helps me believe in myself.

1 Corinthians 1:26-27 "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;"

New Years was fun. We had dinner with the Teicherts, brother Teichert got us some cowboy hats! And since it was an early night because of the holiday, we watched Baptist at my Barbecue and Saints & Soldiers. Saints & Soldiers was my favorite! It was intense. Hehe Sister Dax and I got so into the movie that we totally downed our hot Cheetos in like 15 minutes! Haha :) Man, I am going to miss Sister Dax. We just goof off together and get along so well. It was cool how we didn't have to work on our relationship just the work! But I know she is going to rock her new area. She is becoming a Spanish sister! Which I think is so awesome because most of her family is Mexican, her mom is Mexican, so now when she goes home she will be able to talk to her mom in her native language!!! I am so happy for her! But I want to be selfish and keep her as my companion hahah but its all good, she will rock it. 

Well, we gotta pack and what not so sorry this is short but one last thing, we are finalizing everything for Macey's baptism on the 17th and we believe her baptism is helping her family become active again. We also had a less active, Dakota, come back to church! He is one of our former investigators grandsons. I think him becoming active again is having a positive affect on his grandpa and less active grandma. 

Anyway, have an amazing week! Happy New Year! I can't believe its 2015! I'm training! And its my 10 month mark! This is crazy! 

Sister Coats

View from Teichert's backyard trail. Mackay is so beautiful! I am so grateful I get to stay! I never want to leave. This is paradise. It may be in the middle of no where but hey, I don't care! I love it here!!! (Yes, I have amazing photography skills. I took this hehe Mackay is just gorgeous.) 
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Merry Christmas!

This week was pretty rad. We got to pitch hay with a part member family on Christmas eve, we resolved some of our investigators concerns, and we are continuing to progress! Christmas was absolutely amazing! Talking to my mom and family was the best Christmas gift ever and we got to skype at the Ippolitos! They had Christmas dinner for us and everything! They're not even members and they've taken us under their wing. Okay so Christmas eve we got to pitch hay out to cows, super fun even though it took me a little bit to understand how to use a dang pitch fork but it was a blast. We got to go sledding too. It was pretty awesome because not only was it fun but it was with a part member family and they were like, "You girls are so fun! Come back anytime!" We've heard they are really reserved when it comes to missionaries so that was pretty neat. On Christmas the Summers taught us how to snowboard in their back yard. It was like the most non-steep hill ever, so basically I learned how to stand on the board hahah but it was way chill and then we headed out to go skype at the ippolitos. On our way to the ippolitos, it snowed a ton! A Few FEET! And we have a little Subaru... well, we totally got stuck in the middle of the road because of the snow. We said a prayer because Sister Dax was suppose to be skyping with her family so mini freak out haha but I understand, I'd freak out too if we were stuck during my skype time! So yeah totally stuck, said a prayer, and then literally 2 minutes later a plow comes by! We were both like, "if he had only come 2 minutes sooner this wouldn't have happened" hahah But we quickly realized it was an answer to our prayers. We called the Ippolitos and they came to shovel us out. Our car doesn't have anything you can pull on so it took us about an hour but it was pretty awesome how quick they were to help and Evelyn said, "Seeing you girls stuck, I now understand why my father was always so worried about me coming home late! I don't have any kids but I consider you two my daughters! Oh I'm so grateful nothing happened to you! Goodness! I know understand my father!" Haha It was pretty sweet and the best part of all was when we shared a message with them after Christmas dinner. Jimmy is very loud and when I first met him he would get so annoyed with us asking to say a prayer but now he expects us to say a prayer and only grumbles through it, doesn't totally interrupt haha and when we shared messages he would be like, "Girls really, every time!" And tease us haha but on Christmas he was quiet and the spirit hit him. He looked like he was about to water up hehe and when he realized that the spirit hit him, he quickly looked down, and acted like, "whatever" haha it was awesome! Huge improvement there! Man, I love them and we know the Lord is softening their hearts. He told us again how we are the only missionaries he has ever let in the door! Haha :D

Anyway great week, with miracles around every corner. :) I am so grateful for the people I have the opportunity to meet and more than anything how serving a mission has changed me. I have deeper understanding of my Savior and His gospel. I have found that pearl of great price talked about in the scriptures. Even though difficulties come, I know where and who to go to for help and guidance during the good and bad times. I have found peace that doesn't come from this world. I love being on a mission and dang, Mom and familia... I miss you like crazy!! But I know this is the biggest blessing my Heavenly Father has ever given me and its so cool how Heavenly Father gives me motivation to work harder when I think about y'all! Can't wait to skype again on Mothers day!!! LOVE YOU!

I hope you all had a beautiful christmas and I wish you a happy new year! :D

Sister Coats

www.christmas.mormon.org   <-CHECK THIS OUT!

Quote that hit me this week:
"Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can." 
~ President Thomas S. Monson

They let us borrow some of their overalls, they "packed us up too tight" Could barely move! Felt like Marshmellows! 
Elder Menlove made us hats!