This is Dad, I am just getting Shannon's letter from last week posted. There should be another letter day after tomorrow. So check back. Now, on to the regularly scheduled blog post.
Well I'm going to start this off by saying that next week is Temple p-day and so I won't be sending out anything until next Wednesday :)
Wow...this week...We've been biking again and so my tan is getting tanner. And the great thing about being in the south of the mission is that there is always a breeze from the ocean and so even if it gets hot, the wind is always there to save us. It makes biking in skirts a little challenging sometimes, especially when you're flying down some of the hills that exist in Harbor City/San Pedro but I love it. I'm thinking that I might even bike when I get back to Provo. Shocking, I know.
Oh goodness. There are so many people around me in the family history library up here at the VC...it's getting really hard to concentrate. ok. let me gather my thoughts....
As for our investigators, we were able to teach Txx 3 times this week! His smoking has been up and down, and we really felt prompted to have him pray about his baptismal date. We were able to have a member who speaks Samoan go to a lesson with him and that really helped us to gain a true understanding of where he's at as far as his baptism. When we saw him on Wednesday he hadn't had any cigarettes since Sunday, but he said it was hard. And so we told him that he could just cut back slowly instead of going cold-turkey and he seemed to feel better about everything. So now, we're working with him really trying to help him strengthen his testimony of the Book of Mormon and his faith in Jesus Christ.
We haven't been able to really get ahold of Nxxxx until yesterday, and we set an appointment for tomorrow and so hopefully there will be some good progress there as well.
Sxxxxx and Axxxxxx called the Sisters while I was on exchanges in another area and they had a really great lesson with them about the Restoration. We're planning to review it with them using the scriptures this week. Last night we stopped by and were able to watch some videos together from mormon.org which helped them to see how the Gospel blesses famililies and individuals from all over the world. It's pretty awesome, and if you haven't checked it out lately, here is my shameless plug to do so.
The most exciting thing that happened this week is that I received a call on Wednesday night from the elders who are serving over in Hawthorne telling me that Jxxxx was getting baptized on Saturday!! Yeah! She was one of the people we were working with when the area was closed and I got moved to Harbor City. I was so excited for her. And so, on Saturday Sister Malani and I were able to drive over to Hawthorne and attend her baptism! She asked if I would speak at the service about the Holy Ghost and I was honored. Especially because during the entire 6 weeks that Sister Johansen and I were teaching her the one thing that really kept her going was the presence of the Holy Ghost in her life. From the very first lesson she was able to recognize the Spirit when she was reading the scriptures, praying, and coming to church. And so being able to speak on the Gift of the Holy Ghost that she would be receiving the next day was truly inspired and a great opportunity for me. The Spirit during the service was very strong and very special, and I'll admit, I got a little teary eyed more than once. Being able to attend her baptism was such a testament to me that Heavenly Father is truly aware of all of his children, and that it's never too late to make those promises with Him.
Other than that it hasn't been too eventful here in Harbor City. Like I mentioned earlier, I went on exchanges but it was in a Spanish speaking area. I thought my brain was going to explode. I had such a hard time understanding the people, and an even harder time of being able to express myself. It was frustrating to say the least, but it just filled me with a determination and resolve to set specific language learning goals for myself and to try my best to improve while I'm serving in English. Who knows if the Lord will ever call me to serve in a Spanish-speaking area, but the most important thing is that I stay prepared.
Well, sorry this email is a little scattered, but I've been a little scattered today haha lots of things to do and so little time!
I love you all!
Until next Wednesday!
Sister Hensley
Monday, June 18, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Harbor City Week 08
Bulavinaka!
I've been learning some Fijian from my lovely companion...I can now count to 10 and say "Hello" and "I love you" ....and that's about it so far haha but hey! It's something, right?
I just want to start out this email by saying thank you so much for all of your prayers and love and thoughts. I seriously have felt them this week, both in my heart and in the hearts of those here in Harbor City. Our prayers are being answered all over the place in ways we never would have expected...and while there are still some hard days it truly has been a blessing to be in this area this week.
First a fun/funny fact about this week before we get down to spiritual business. I am now the proud owner of a farmer's tan. Yup. I don't know how California sun is different than Texas sun but it is and I'm "tanning up" to quote my companion. This might be due partly to the fact that we ran out of miles this past month, and so we biked for 2 days! It was a great experience. I can't believe that I biked what I did. We biked all the way from our apartment in Harbor City down to 7th street in San Pedro...I have no idea mile wise how far that is but it took us a little over an hour to do it. And our area is full of hills. Oy Vey. But they were good days, in fact many of the good things that happened this past week were/are a result of the time we spent biking. See? The Lord even blesses us when we have slightly poor planning for the month and run out of miles haha :)
We've recently started teaching a woman named N****. She's a single mother of a lovely 3 year old boy named B**** (She's actually the one that the Spirit lead us to a few weeks ago. She was in her neighbors apartment when we arrived. She told us that the night before she had prayed to God for help and guidance, and we showed up.) We had a wonderful lesson with the two of them on Tuesday. The Spirit was so strong. We talked about Jesus Christ and how much he loves us. In fact, the most wonderful part of this lesson was that right at the started. We were trying to get and keep her 3 year old's attention so we gave him a picture of Christ and the little children that's on the front of the Articles of Faith pass along card.
He looked at the picture, his eyes go really wide and he said, "Look! It's the king" and he pointed to Christ! It was amazing. At first we thought that maybe it was just because he was wearing a red robe, but as we flipped through the Gospel Art book and he looked at all the pictures, he would point to Christ in each of them and say, "It's the king!" If that wasn't sweet enough, his mom turned to us and said, "You know, I have no idea where that comes from. I don't really talk to him him about God because I don't really know much myself. But every night when we pray he asks me if I love him, and then if his God loves him. I don't know why, but he does"
How precious! It was just a testament to me that children are such sweet, precious souls and our Heavenly Father loves them so much. No wonder the scriptures tell us that we need to become like little children... Matt. 18:3, 3 Nephi 11:37.
Anyway so we had a great lesson with them and set up a return appointment for Friday. But the next morning she called and left us a voice mail asking to reschedule and to have us call her back. So we did. I happened to be the one who called, after rescheduling, I asked if there was anything that we could do for her. She just asked if we could pray for her. I said sure that is easy and then asked if there was anything specific we could pray about. That is when she started to cry. I was a little taken aback she had given no indication that she was upset. So, I just waited on the phone until she could get her composure. Then she started her story. It seems that right after we left that wonderful meeting she went right to her neighbors apartment to tell her all about our visit, how wonderful it made her feel. It was a long story and many things happened but at the end this lady attacked her for no reason. N**** ended in the hospital and the lady went to jail. And so N**** asked if we could move her appointment because she went to go stay with her mom for the weekend. As I sat and listened on the phone I was amazed at how Satan tries to keep people from the truth about God. We told her not to loose faith and that we would pray for her. Wow. We haven't seen her yet, but when we do it's going to be good. I can't wait to see her grow in her faith in Jesus Christ and in the Gospel.
We also had a great lesson with another investigator T** this week. He has a baptismal date for the 17th of June (Father's Day) but he also has a problem with smoking. He smokes 3 cigarettes a day. When we taught him on Monday he said he'd cut down this week but when we saw him yesterday he hadn't. We told him that we'd have to move his baptismal date because in order to be baptized he can't have had any cigarette for at least 2 weeks. This would mean stopping right then or we would have to move the date. So, as we started to plan his date he said, "Wait, when is the date I have right now? The 17th? I still want to be baptized on that day" and so we told him he'd have to quit smoking - no more cigarettes from that point on. And you know what he said? He said "Ok. No more. I quit right now". Wow! It was great. He wouldn't let us take his cigarettes from him, but we did set up an appointment for tonight and so we'll see if he's true to his word!
The last experience I want share is with S***** and A******, our wonderful family from India. We were finally able to have a lesson with them this week. Well, actually our lesson was only with A****** because S***** was sleeping. He had been up for the past 48 hours waiting for the Visa people to come by their apartment. After all that, he actually missed them because he decided to take a shower when they came by. When we came by he had just passed out, so we let him sleep and just taught A******. The Spirit of God that is present in their lessons is so beautiful and strong. This family is so humble, so loving, and so sincere in their desire to learn and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Feeling prompted of God, we changed the lesson we were planning and decided to tell her about Lehi's dream and focus it on the family. As we talked, A****** was so involved and attentively listening to everything we said. As she read the verses from 1 Nephi 8 she understood them and just kept saying how it was "So true!". We talked a little more about being baptised and she said that she and S***** still want to be baptized, but things just got crazy with the Visa that their date passed. But they want to set another date with us :) And the most wonderful part about that whole lesson was that she prayed. She's never prayed in a lesson with us before and her prayer was so sincere and lovely. I just wanted to cry right there on the floor (they still have no furniture) of their little apartment, but I didn't want to wake S***** up so I held it in until we got in the car, then I cried a good one. The Lord loves all of his children SO much. AH! The Gospel is SO true and it has the power to change people's lives for the better.
It's moments like these that really confirm my love for this work. Harbor City is flourishing this week. And like I said, while there certainly are days and moments that are better than others, when I look back on my time here so far, I can only smile and express my gratitude for my Heavenly Father for the opportunity He's given me to serve Him in this way.
I love you all more than words can express. And I love my Savior even more than that.
Until next week,
Au lomani iko
Sister Hensley
I've been learning some Fijian from my lovely companion...I can now count to 10 and say "Hello" and "I love you" ....and that's about it so far haha but hey! It's something, right?
I just want to start out this email by saying thank you so much for all of your prayers and love and thoughts. I seriously have felt them this week, both in my heart and in the hearts of those here in Harbor City. Our prayers are being answered all over the place in ways we never would have expected...and while there are still some hard days it truly has been a blessing to be in this area this week.
First a fun/funny fact about this week before we get down to spiritual business. I am now the proud owner of a farmer's tan. Yup. I don't know how California sun is different than Texas sun but it is and I'm "tanning up" to quote my companion. This might be due partly to the fact that we ran out of miles this past month, and so we biked for 2 days! It was a great experience. I can't believe that I biked what I did. We biked all the way from our apartment in Harbor City down to 7th street in San Pedro...I have no idea mile wise how far that is but it took us a little over an hour to do it. And our area is full of hills. Oy Vey. But they were good days, in fact many of the good things that happened this past week were/are a result of the time we spent biking. See? The Lord even blesses us when we have slightly poor planning for the month and run out of miles haha :)
We've recently started teaching a woman named N****. She's a single mother of a lovely 3 year old boy named B**** (She's actually the one that the Spirit lead us to a few weeks ago. She was in her neighbors apartment when we arrived. She told us that the night before she had prayed to God for help and guidance, and we showed up.) We had a wonderful lesson with the two of them on Tuesday. The Spirit was so strong. We talked about Jesus Christ and how much he loves us. In fact, the most wonderful part of this lesson was that right at the started. We were trying to get and keep her 3 year old's attention so we gave him a picture of Christ and the little children that's on the front of the Articles of Faith pass along card.
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| Christ and Children from around the World
By Del Parson
|
How precious! It was just a testament to me that children are such sweet, precious souls and our Heavenly Father loves them so much. No wonder the scriptures tell us that we need to become like little children... Matt. 18:3, 3 Nephi 11:37.
Anyway so we had a great lesson with them and set up a return appointment for Friday. But the next morning she called and left us a voice mail asking to reschedule and to have us call her back. So we did. I happened to be the one who called, after rescheduling, I asked if there was anything that we could do for her. She just asked if we could pray for her. I said sure that is easy and then asked if there was anything specific we could pray about. That is when she started to cry. I was a little taken aback she had given no indication that she was upset. So, I just waited on the phone until she could get her composure. Then she started her story. It seems that right after we left that wonderful meeting she went right to her neighbors apartment to tell her all about our visit, how wonderful it made her feel. It was a long story and many things happened but at the end this lady attacked her for no reason. N**** ended in the hospital and the lady went to jail. And so N**** asked if we could move her appointment because she went to go stay with her mom for the weekend. As I sat and listened on the phone I was amazed at how Satan tries to keep people from the truth about God. We told her not to loose faith and that we would pray for her. Wow. We haven't seen her yet, but when we do it's going to be good. I can't wait to see her grow in her faith in Jesus Christ and in the Gospel.
We also had a great lesson with another investigator T** this week. He has a baptismal date for the 17th of June (Father's Day) but he also has a problem with smoking. He smokes 3 cigarettes a day. When we taught him on Monday he said he'd cut down this week but when we saw him yesterday he hadn't. We told him that we'd have to move his baptismal date because in order to be baptized he can't have had any cigarette for at least 2 weeks. This would mean stopping right then or we would have to move the date. So, as we started to plan his date he said, "Wait, when is the date I have right now? The 17th? I still want to be baptized on that day" and so we told him he'd have to quit smoking - no more cigarettes from that point on. And you know what he said? He said "Ok. No more. I quit right now". Wow! It was great. He wouldn't let us take his cigarettes from him, but we did set up an appointment for tonight and so we'll see if he's true to his word!
The last experience I want share is with S***** and A******, our wonderful family from India. We were finally able to have a lesson with them this week. Well, actually our lesson was only with A****** because S***** was sleeping. He had been up for the past 48 hours waiting for the Visa people to come by their apartment. After all that, he actually missed them because he decided to take a shower when they came by. When we came by he had just passed out, so we let him sleep and just taught A******. The Spirit of God that is present in their lessons is so beautiful and strong. This family is so humble, so loving, and so sincere in their desire to learn and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Feeling prompted of God, we changed the lesson we were planning and decided to tell her about Lehi's dream and focus it on the family. As we talked, A****** was so involved and attentively listening to everything we said. As she read the verses from 1 Nephi 8 she understood them and just kept saying how it was "So true!". We talked a little more about being baptised and she said that she and S***** still want to be baptized, but things just got crazy with the Visa that their date passed. But they want to set another date with us :) And the most wonderful part about that whole lesson was that she prayed. She's never prayed in a lesson with us before and her prayer was so sincere and lovely. I just wanted to cry right there on the floor (they still have no furniture) of their little apartment, but I didn't want to wake S***** up so I held it in until we got in the car, then I cried a good one. The Lord loves all of his children SO much. AH! The Gospel is SO true and it has the power to change people's lives for the better.
It's moments like these that really confirm my love for this work. Harbor City is flourishing this week. And like I said, while there certainly are days and moments that are better than others, when I look back on my time here so far, I can only smile and express my gratitude for my Heavenly Father for the opportunity He's given me to serve Him in this way.
I love you all more than words can express. And I love my Savior even more than that.
Until next week,
Au lomani iko
Sister Hensley
Harbor City Week 07
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| Los Angeles Temple |
One would think that since neither of us were transferred that our week wouldn't have been a crazy one. Well, that was definitely not the case this week. In fact, it feels like I haven't emailed in ages because this week has been a slow one. But, such is life and I'm just living my mission day by day :) One of the reasons that this week has been so long is because I've been sick. It's really just that time of year and since everyone in the world is sick, and we talk to everyone in the world it was going to happen eventually. The usual cold/sinus/throat thing. I'm pretty much fine now except I have a pretty nasty sounding cough. Which is mostly annoying more than anything and hopefully that will be disappearing in the next day or so.
We've been doing a lot of service this week because everyone (OK not everyone, but several people) in our ward are moving. Seriously now I think I'm an expert and packing boxes, cleaning shelves and vacuuming. It's always rather exciting/interesting to see what kind of things people accumulate over the years and what they're willing and ready to throw away, give away and keep. It also makes me never want to move, EVER! Too bad that's a part of life too hahaha
Something that I've really learned more about this week, is patience. It's funny because my companion tells me that I'm an incredibly patient person, and yet I don't feel like I'm patient at all. Maybe I feel this way because I'm not as patience with myself as I should be. I have come to realize that this is actually the case. I work hard and want to give my all for the Lord, and sometimes when the reality of being human hits me (such as being sick) it's hard to be patient with myself. Anyway, I am rambling.
Our investigators are doing well. We had a little scare with S***** and A****** this week, the Indian family that we've been teaching. They came to the baptism last week and really seemed to have a good time, felt the Spirit and then disappeared. This whole week we haven't been able to get in touch of them. Our appointments with them fell through, we could never get through to them on their phones and they live in a gated apartment building and so it's hard to get in and 'just stop by'. We've been stopping by pretty much every night this week to try and get in touch with them but without success. So last night we decided to walk around the block to follow up on a lead that we planned as backup. Guess who we see walking across the parking lot! A******* and her son! And so we started talking to them and trying just to make sure everything was OK and it turns out that 1) their phone hasn't been working and so they're trying to get a new one 2) their son has been sick and 3) their visas are expiring on the 31st. The Visa is a surprise for them because they were told they wouldn't have any problems with that. Anyway, they've been trying to work it all out and may have to go across the country to talk to their attorney to work it all out and then come back to California. Crazy stuff, it's amazing how hard Satan will try to thwart people when he sees that they are on the path to learn of the truth about God.
Well, that's it for this beautiful memorial day weekend. Be safe, remember that the Lord loves you. Reach out and do your own missionary work! The members are the lifeblood of the Church missionary program. :)
All the best,
Sister Hensley
Monday, May 21, 2012
Harbor City week 6
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| Sister Malani, Sister Deskins and I after a spanish baptism we attended with one of our investigators. |
Well - I've officially been in Harbor City for a
whole transfer! I can hardly believe it! Seriously - with each passing
transfer the times just seems to fly by quicker and quicker. And with
that flying time means that transfers are this week....we will get the
call tomorrow night knowing whether we are staying are going, then
Wednesday all necessary changes will be made! Ah it's a stressful time,
but an exciting one as well. Sister Malani and I think we're going to be
staying together, especially because this is her last transfer (sad! I
know!) and so we don't think that President/The Lord will move either
one of us. But, we never know. So, you'll find out next week! haha I
just pray that whatever happens the Lord will help me to see why I'm
where I am and why I'm with who I'm with. It can be hard to accept
change sometimes, but accept it we do and then try to move on and keep
working. After all, it's not my work but His, and so I think He knows
what's best for it :D Better than I do at least....
This
week was amazing! We had some really great experiences by following
the Spirit. For this month, our zone is really focusing on working with
the members in our areas to help move the work forward. Sister Malani and I have really been
trying to do that, we haven't been spending as much time finding. Not to
say that we haven't been finding (cause appointments always fall
through, and there is always time to knock on
a few doors) but our focus has just been shifted. And so, this week we
decided that we were really going to follow the spirit when it came to
finding. We decided to go to a part of our area that we are almost
NEVER in, and just tract for 30 minutes. We both felt really good about
being there, but had no idea why. Stop and park the car and start walking.
We knock some doors, not many people are home and so we turn down a
little side street which ends in a cul-de-sac. We start knocking and
people are nice but nobody is interested. We had an appointment coming
up soon and so we decided to head back to the car when we realized that
there was one door left on the block that we hadn't knocked. Then we
turned around and when back to that house. When we knocked on the door a
GIGANTIC dog came barking and
running at the screen door (the actual door was open) and we thought for
sure it was going to break down the door and tackle us. Luckily, it
stopped short of coming outside. We just stood there. Trust me, we
contemplated just leaving but we felt like we should stay. I mean,
after all if a door is open someone ought to be home. Sure enough, out
comes a man and he opens the door and his big, giant golden lab comes
outside and starts licking us and being super friendly. He asked who we were, we told him we were missionaries and then he said,
"Ok. Share with me the good news" Slightly shocked we smiled and then
shared a message with him about prophets and The Book of Mormon. We gave
him a card to get a free copy and to check out mormon.org.
And you know what? He was super nice and told us that he works with
some Mormons and has always admired them and the way they live their
lives - and how they just seem like happy people. We testified that our
message/the Gospel of Jesus Christ would bless his life an he said, "yeah, I know" and
then he stopped and said, "You know, it's funny that you two girls
stopped by today. I've been going through a really tough time with my
parents and so I've been trying to really get closer to God lately. In
fact, the reason it took me a little to get to the door was that I had
actually been praying for guidance. And then I heard a knock. that's
crazy, huh?" WOW RIGHT?? Heavenly Father is SO good! He knew that we
would be in that area and that this man would be praying and everything.
What a beautiful experience. Then we tried to set a specific time to
come back but he just said he works a lot and so we could 'stop by
anytime' so...we'll see. If nothing else, this man now knows that God
answers prayers. Cool, huh?
And
to add to that experience the next day we had about 10 minutes before
our dinner appointment and so we turned to our backup plans and decided
to contact a potential named N****. When we went to her apartment and
knocked she wasn't there, but across the way in another apartment
visiting for a birthday party or something. Because the door was open
she saw us and came to talk for a bit. We introduced ourselves and got
to know her a little bit. After about 5 minutes we could see her kids
were running around so we asked for a return appointment she told us
"Absolutely, when are you guys free?" So, we set an appointment for the
next day. The cool thing about this experience was that as we were about
to leave she turned around and said, "You know, it's funny that you two
girls should come by today. I've been going through a lot lately and so
last night after I put my kids to bed I was talking to God and asking
him for his help and guidance, to know what I need to do in my life. And
then you girls came by today. Isn't that weird?" Sister Malani and I
were shocked, especially because the day before we had talked to the man
who said the same thing. So once again we testified of how the Gospel
blesses families and left her with a card. Sadly, when we went for our
appoitnemtn the next day she wasn't there, but she left us a note
telling us to please call her and reschedule, so we're in the process of
doing that now :)
So
this week, I've really learned that the Lord truly listens to an
answers all of our prayers. If I had more time, I could tell you about
many more experiences that we've had this week regarding prayer and
those that we teach. But just know that the Lord knows your desires, he
knows what you pray for, and if you put forth the study and effort and
faith he will answer you. Why? Because he LOVES you!!!
The work is great!
Sister Hensley
Oh
- and on a funnier note, I totally threw up after a dinner appointment
this week. On the sidewalk (or rather, the grass in between the sidewalk
and the road). About 3 houses down from the members we ate. It's
not that the food was bad....just too much and an odd combination of
things (including red kool aid and choclate brownies and ice cream) that
my body just didn't agree with. It was super awkward. And I felt bad
for anyone who walked by after we drove away....
Note from Dad. Shannon has almost always thrown up red kool-aide. We don't know why but we finally stopped making it when she was a kid.
Plus we had a baptism this week.
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| left to right: our ward mission leader, me, maya and her primary teacher's husband, sister malani, and maya's mom |
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| The son of a family that we have FHE (Family Home Evening) with every week...we came over and he had ong an astros shirt! (all the little league teams here are named after real teams, and I guess he's on the astros) anyway - had to take a picture! |
Monday, May 14, 2012
Harbor City Week 5
I can't believe that I've been here in Harbor City for 5 weeks already?? Oh man - the time really does fly on the mission.
And boy do I have exciting news! This weekend, we're having a baptism! Yeah! Its of a 10 year old girl named Maya. Her mother is a member, and they've just recently come back into activity and so we've been teaching Maya and she wants to be baptized! It's really exciting. It's a bit of a surprise, and at the same time it's not. We were planning on having her baptism this past weekend, but scheduling conflicts have kept the plans kind of up in the air. Then all of the sudden the schedule opened up and the baptism is moving forward! And the most wonderful thing about it all is how excited Maya is to be baptized. She reads her scriptures with her mom, watches the church movies, and even reads the stories in "The Friend" magazines that we've given her. She's very sweet and has a great testimony of the Gospel and so we're looking forward to this Saturday. It should be a very special day for everyone involved :)
Sister Malani and I had an interesting experience last night. It was the first time that I've ever really been attacked for what I believe. For the most part here on the mission people are respectful and even if they disagree usually take a "we'll agree to disagree" status and tell us to "be safe". However, last night that was not the case. We started to talking to a woman who was very set in her ways and was very knowledgeable about the Bible and about many religions. She talked for quite a while and then asked us about what we build our foundations on, and why we believe what we do. We hadn't even said 1/2 a sentence when we were interrupted and the bashed. We then tried to speak again, but any time we said the words "Book of Mormon" off she'd go an not let us get a word in. Even when we tried to take a different approach and talk about Christ, she brought it back to the Book of Mormon and then went off. Finally after we were able to find an opening we politely thanked her for her time and tried to go. It was unsuccessful. Finally we were able to get away. Boy what an experience it was. It just further strengthened my testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and of the truthfulness of this restored gospel. I knew what I believed, and while it hurt me that she was mistaken about us and our beliefs it didn't shake my testimony. And I am so grateful for the Gospel in my life and for the opportunity that I have to serve Him for this short time.
Well. I'm sure there are many more things to say and experiences to be recounted but....I can't think of them at the moment. Just know that I love you all!! And I hope that y'all had a very lovely Mother's Day
LOVE,
Hna Hensley
In case you haven't gone to the mission blog I have copied the pictures of Shannon and put them here.
Dad.
Her current zone.
And boy do I have exciting news! This weekend, we're having a baptism! Yeah! Its of a 10 year old girl named Maya. Her mother is a member, and they've just recently come back into activity and so we've been teaching Maya and she wants to be baptized! It's really exciting. It's a bit of a surprise, and at the same time it's not. We were planning on having her baptism this past weekend, but scheduling conflicts have kept the plans kind of up in the air. Then all of the sudden the schedule opened up and the baptism is moving forward! And the most wonderful thing about it all is how excited Maya is to be baptized. She reads her scriptures with her mom, watches the church movies, and even reads the stories in "The Friend" magazines that we've given her. She's very sweet and has a great testimony of the Gospel and so we're looking forward to this Saturday. It should be a very special day for everyone involved :)
Sister Malani and I had an interesting experience last night. It was the first time that I've ever really been attacked for what I believe. For the most part here on the mission people are respectful and even if they disagree usually take a "we'll agree to disagree" status and tell us to "be safe". However, last night that was not the case. We started to talking to a woman who was very set in her ways and was very knowledgeable about the Bible and about many religions. She talked for quite a while and then asked us about what we build our foundations on, and why we believe what we do. We hadn't even said 1/2 a sentence when we were interrupted and the bashed. We then tried to speak again, but any time we said the words "Book of Mormon" off she'd go an not let us get a word in. Even when we tried to take a different approach and talk about Christ, she brought it back to the Book of Mormon and then went off. Finally after we were able to find an opening we politely thanked her for her time and tried to go. It was unsuccessful. Finally we were able to get away. Boy what an experience it was. It just further strengthened my testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and of the truthfulness of this restored gospel. I knew what I believed, and while it hurt me that she was mistaken about us and our beliefs it didn't shake my testimony. And I am so grateful for the Gospel in my life and for the opportunity that I have to serve Him for this short time.
Well. I'm sure there are many more things to say and experiences to be recounted but....I can't think of them at the moment. Just know that I love you all!! And I hope that y'all had a very lovely Mother's Day
LOVE,
Hna Hensley
In case you haven't gone to the mission blog I have copied the pictures of Shannon and put them here.
Dad.
Her current zone.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Harbor City Week 4
Y'all will never guess where I just came from - THE BEACH!
Yeah! Today was beach preparation day! Once a year, all the missionaries get a turn to go with President and Sister Baker to the beach! Our zone went, along with 2 other zones. It was a blast! Oh how I miss being out in the sunshine and playing in the sand. I put on plenty of sunscreen and then played beach volleyball for about 2 hours and then just sat and relaxed and took some pictures :) it was nice! My feet are sore from running around in the sand, and I'm quite tired but it was all totally worth it!
And, in case you were wondering, "Bula" means "Hi" in Fijian :)
This week has been an amazing one. We were able to see a wonderful miracle the week with S***** and A******, the Indian couple we've been teaching. I was on splits with Hna Alcantara and we had an appointment with them - our final appointment of the day. At our last appointment they committed to read 3rd Nephi 11. When we started the lesson, A****** told us that they had started to read together but that it was difficult to understand, so they weren't able to get very far. We were ecstatic that they took the effort to even start reading! It's not every day that our investigators keep their commitments! Hahaha So we abandoned the "planned" lesson that we had and decided to just read the chapter with them. The Spirit was so strong. They are so sincerely learning the Gospel - it was beautiful. They are so humble and prepared to receive this message at this time. When we got to the section of the chapter where Jesus teaches about baptism we stopped reading and talked about baptism, then we talked a little bit more about baptism. We had talked to them in our first lesson about it but they were still a little confused on the concept and what exactly it meant. We decided to teach them a little bit more about Christ and His plan before approaching it again. This time, it was perfect. Like I said, the Spirit of God was so strong, We asked them if they would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God - and they said yes! They decided on the 26th of May to be baptized! It was a wonderful experience. They came to church this Sunday for the 2nd time and the ward members were great. Everyone was coming up and introducing themselves and saying hello. Ah - it was great! Such a testament to how much more effective the work of the Lord is when members and missionaries work together.
This week we also had many opportunities to do service for the members of the ward. A lot of people are moving (which is sad) but we've been able to help them. It was a lot with packing and cleaning and getting ready. It's always an amazing experience for me to see the personalities of the people around me through the items that they've accumulated over the years. No matter what, I love to serve and it's such a blessing of my missionary service to be able to help people out in that way, as well as in teaching them the Gospel.
Sister Malani and I had a rather interesting experience yesterday while we were out tracting.
We didn't have any set appointments for the afternoon after church and so we decided to try and go find some potentials and formers. None of them were home and so we decided to knock some doors around the area we were in. People were generally nice but nobody was interested in having us come back. So we decided to knock one last door before moving on. This time it was my turn. We take turns knocking and talking, and so I picked a door that seemed unintimidating. This older woman opened the door and she was holding a Rosary. So, I knew she was Catholic and didn't expect her to let us in - but she did! We walked into her house, and I've never seen so many statues in my life, almost all of them were different versions of 'Our Holy Mother". Right away she started to tell us all about her family and about the different statues and about her beliefs and some miracles that she's seen in her life. We could not get a word in edgewise. It took about an hour :) It was all very interesting and inspiring but by then we had to go and so we said about 3 minutes worth about ourselves and then set a time to come back tomorrow! So we'll see how that goes :)
Whelp, my time is about gone. I love you all! Don't forget to read and pray and go to church!
Love,
Sister Hensley
P.S. Here is another picture of the Sisters in our Zone.
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| Hola Familia! |
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| Bula |
And, in case you were wondering, "Bula" means "Hi" in Fijian :)
This week has been an amazing one. We were able to see a wonderful miracle the week with S***** and A******, the Indian couple we've been teaching. I was on splits with Hna Alcantara and we had an appointment with them - our final appointment of the day. At our last appointment they committed to read 3rd Nephi 11. When we started the lesson, A****** told us that they had started to read together but that it was difficult to understand, so they weren't able to get very far. We were ecstatic that they took the effort to even start reading! It's not every day that our investigators keep their commitments! Hahaha So we abandoned the "planned" lesson that we had and decided to just read the chapter with them. The Spirit was so strong. They are so sincerely learning the Gospel - it was beautiful. They are so humble and prepared to receive this message at this time. When we got to the section of the chapter where Jesus teaches about baptism we stopped reading and talked about baptism, then we talked a little bit more about baptism. We had talked to them in our first lesson about it but they were still a little confused on the concept and what exactly it meant. We decided to teach them a little bit more about Christ and His plan before approaching it again. This time, it was perfect. Like I said, the Spirit of God was so strong, We asked them if they would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God - and they said yes! They decided on the 26th of May to be baptized! It was a wonderful experience. They came to church this Sunday for the 2nd time and the ward members were great. Everyone was coming up and introducing themselves and saying hello. Ah - it was great! Such a testament to how much more effective the work of the Lord is when members and missionaries work together.
This week we also had many opportunities to do service for the members of the ward. A lot of people are moving (which is sad) but we've been able to help them. It was a lot with packing and cleaning and getting ready. It's always an amazing experience for me to see the personalities of the people around me through the items that they've accumulated over the years. No matter what, I love to serve and it's such a blessing of my missionary service to be able to help people out in that way, as well as in teaching them the Gospel.
Sister Malani and I had a rather interesting experience yesterday while we were out tracting.
Whelp, my time is about gone. I love you all! Don't forget to read and pray and go to church!
Love,
Sister Hensley
P.S. Here is another picture of the Sisters in our Zone.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Harbor City Week 3
Wow. I can't believe this transfer is halfway over! I mean...where does the time go?
This week,as always has been a very busy one for our companionship. We had zone conference,exchanges,and Mormon helping hands!
Not to mention all of the regular missionary duties to attend to. I hit the bed absolutely exhausted every day this week and it's a great feeling. Knowing that you've worked hard and done all you can for the Lord that day is very satisfying - and while I never seem to get enough sleep, I know that the Lord gives me strength to be able to carry out His work here in this part of the vineyard. However, just be prepared to have me hit a sleep-coma for about a week when I come home haha
Zone conference was amazing. It focused on working with the members of the church in further the missionary efforts. we talked about how we can help the members and allow them to help us as well. I learned so many things about the organization of the church and the Priesthood that I thought my head was going to explode. It can be overwhelming to think of all of the things that the Lord needs us to do in our short time on the Earth,but I know that if we (or I) just take it one day at a time then everything will be ok. It's much better for Him to be in charge of it all than me anyway :) He is perfect,after all. I attached a picture of Sister Bahr (she's one of the other sisters in the zone) and Sister Malani and me that was taken while we were waiting on the last few Elders to show up for the zone picture,which I'm assuming is on the CLAM blog -so check it out!
This week I also went on exchanges and was able to spend the day with Sister Lameko (she's from Samoa).
Exchanges can be difficult because you have to work with somebody new for the day and/or in a new area. Luckily this time I stayed in Harbor City and double luckily I was able to work with and learn from Sister Lameko. We're actually working with an investigator who is Samoan and so we were able to stop by and she spoke to him in Samoan and was able to communicated to him better than Sister Malani and I can in English. The Lord truly knows what he's doing when he inspires our leaders to make decisions - even ones so seemingly simple as who goes where for exchanges. Something else that we were able to do while we were on exchanges was more service! We missionaries were able to participate in our stake's Mormon Helping Hands project,which was cleaning up the streets of San Pedro. We basically walked up and down the streets picking up trash and debris for a few hours. While picking up other people's garbage is not one of my favorite past times, somehow when you're doing it to help others and the community it isn't that bad. And by the end of the day,I was only mildly sunburned -triple bonus!
The work here is going great. We have several people who are working towards being baptized in May and so it's a joy to help them grow. With the Lord's help we've been able to do good things here in Harbor City - and I'm looking forward to an even better week than the last! Don't forget to read and pray every day - it'll make all the difference in the world. I promise :)
Con amor,
Hna Hensley
This week,as always has been a very busy one for our companionship. We had zone conference,exchanges,and Mormon helping hands!
Not to mention all of the regular missionary duties to attend to. I hit the bed absolutely exhausted every day this week and it's a great feeling. Knowing that you've worked hard and done all you can for the Lord that day is very satisfying - and while I never seem to get enough sleep, I know that the Lord gives me strength to be able to carry out His work here in this part of the vineyard. However, just be prepared to have me hit a sleep-coma for about a week when I come home haha
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| The mission blog is in the links on the right in this blog. |
Exchanges can be difficult because you have to work with somebody new for the day and/or in a new area. Luckily this time I stayed in Harbor City and double luckily I was able to work with and learn from Sister Lameko. We're actually working with an investigator who is Samoan and so we were able to stop by and she spoke to him in Samoan and was able to communicated to him better than Sister Malani and I can in English. The Lord truly knows what he's doing when he inspires our leaders to make decisions - even ones so seemingly simple as who goes where for exchanges. Something else that we were able to do while we were on exchanges was more service! We missionaries were able to participate in our stake's Mormon Helping Hands project,which was cleaning up the streets of San Pedro. We basically walked up and down the streets picking up trash and debris for a few hours. While picking up other people's garbage is not one of my favorite past times, somehow when you're doing it to help others and the community it isn't that bad. And by the end of the day,I was only mildly sunburned -triple bonus!The work here is going great. We have several people who are working towards being baptized in May and so it's a joy to help them grow. With the Lord's help we've been able to do good things here in Harbor City - and I'm looking forward to an even better week than the last! Don't forget to read and pray every day - it'll make all the difference in the world. I promise :)
Con amor,
Hna Hensley
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