Just Another Day in Paradise

Hello to all my Friends and Family in various areas of the Vineyard of the Lord!!! How's it going? I am doing quite well myself enjoying the beautiful Wyoming weather. (Not to hot, not to cold, just right.) It is a bright sunshiny day outside - perfect for a p-day. Things of note since last I wrote. (I could be a reincarnate Dr. Seuss.) Our investigator Kevin is doing well. He wasn't able to make it to church yesterday which was sad, but he did give up drinking alcohol. He is still struggling with the idea of having to quite smoking, and is very reluctant to try anything at the moment. He uses it as a stress reliever, so we are trying to help him find something to replace it with. Any suggestions? Or any ideas on how we can help him find the desire to quit? Our last lesson with him, we reviewed the Word of Wisdom a bit and talked a little about prayer and going to church. It was really good. Debbie M. is doing well too. We are trying to help her see past the knowledge of the gospel so that she can focus on the feelings/Spirit found in the gospel. At our next lesson we are going to talk about the temple a little bit because she said that was one of her concerns with the LDS church. "If they can't tell me about it, why would I want to participate in a religion that keeps secrets?" I learned at one of our visits with a less active sister named Joyce that I am allergic to cats. I was petting her 19 year old kitty-cat all precious like, and the next thing I knew, I touched my face and my eyes got all itchy and my nose got super congested and runny. So, Sister Bryans will now never touch cats again. (The odd thing is I can be in the same room as them and they can touch me just fine but if I go out of my way to be friendly and touch them. Pwoosh! There goes my face!) On Wednesday, our volunteer session at the VA hospital turned into a Birthday Party for one of the volunteers that brings the ice cream. That was fun. It was Mardi Gras themed, and the cake that was brought was almond poppy seed. YUMMY! We've been working really hard to encourage the members to participate and make goals as a family as part of the ward mission plan, so it was cool that you asked me about it Mom. Mission plans are tricky because unless you have the support of the leaders, it's really not going to accomplish anything. My suggestion is to read what it says in Preach My Gospel in chapter 13. I think it will help a lot. Also, if you can, put names to your numbers. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals and pray often about them. Have a special Fireside, combined Priesthood and Relief Society Meeting or Sacrament Meeting dedicated to the Ward Mission Plan. Think outside the box and be creative. INVITE, INVITE, INVITE!!! Those are my suggestions; they probably make no sense whatsoever, but hopefully.... Grandma, I tried bread and milk for cereal this past week. It was soooooo yummy! (Just thought you might like to know.) Service at the Habitat this last week was really fun. We did a lot which was awesome. I like being back in the Retail setting. Thursday was District Meeting, and I gave the recitation on "My Missionary Commission." (I don't remember who it's by, but I know it was a general authority.) We recite it every day as a new missionary and often as a "seasoned" missionary. Also on Thursday, Sister Z and I did 100 lunges. Let's just say my rump roast will someday be very lean if I can keep that up. Friday was a good day. I got 2 letters in the mail. THANKS GUYS! We also visited lots of people that day. We visited an 87 year old woman named La Bonnie. She is super sweet. She lives alone with her cat Mojo. And she is so positive about life. It makes me look like someone with major depressive disorder. We also visited Brother and Sister Smedly; they are some more really old members. He was telling us all about his time in the war (WWII) and about his first wife and the troubles with the church that he has in his life. He's such a good man though. And his wife Sister Smedly is super kind. She isn't a member, but she is very supportive of her husband and family that are members. She is also very hospitable. We walked in the door and she offered us a cookie, a glass of water, apple pie and a roast beef sandwich. We only took the water and apple pie, but she still gave us a box of cookies to take with us. :D I love that lady. Friday, we also had a fantastic planning session. I loved it! We got so much done and had so much energy for the up and coming week. I am excited! I hope it all works out like we planned. *crosses fingers* Saturday was a great day! We taught quite a few lessons. One of which was to Brook and Carli. They are single sisters that share a house. They are so spunky and super awesome. Someday I want to be like them. (Well....in some ways.) We had an awesome lesson where we shared John 17:3. The spirit was so strong. (I don't usually get choked up when I talk, but I did this time. [no tears were shed though.]) Anyways, it's amazing to know how important it is to LISTEN! Listen to your members, your less actives and your investigators (non-members). They will tell you what they are struggling with. They will tell you what the want to improve on. They will tell you what makes them a unique child of God. But, unless you're truly listening, you will miss it. You will miss what the Spirit shares with you about them too. I love the gospel. It was at that moment that I was grateful I'm a quiet person. I struggle a lot with being quiet. I don't always know what to say, and I don't say a lot ever. I am a very quiet/personal person. It's still hard for me because I feel like I have to be louder, to say more, but I don't always do that nor do I know how to do it. It's hard. But at that moment, I was grateful to be a quiet listener. Sunday was really good too even though it was hard. Brother Robertson gave an awesome lesson on Prayer in Gospel Principle. I loved it! He related it back to the story of Lieutenant Murphy a medal of honor recipient. It is so important to keep our communication lines open to a) communicate with the God and b) to receive revelation from him. I was so grateful for that story. I definitely have a testimony of prayer. I'm not very good at praying sometimes. I forget easily, or I say the wrong words, but I can definitely see that my prayers have changed. They help me out a lot, and they help out with the missionary efforts. My goal this week is to ALWAYS have a PRAYER in my HEART. I love you all and I hope you are doing well. I'm not sure what else to share, so I am going to go. ***Please share the blog on facebook again, and please share any and all Mormon.org profiles that you or I have created on the blog and on facebook as well.*** Love Always, Sister Bryans