Laramie Letter #6

Rashauna & her fellow missionary hiking buddies.

 

The first three to the top!

 

 Rashauna.

One of the hiking destinations.

 

Rained on, while riding a bike, again!

 

Rashauna with other Sacramento area missionaries

who are serving in the Fort Collins Mission.

 

 

So last Tuesday, Sister De Voe and I got together to study and to create a vision for what we'd like to accomplish during the next 6 weeks. We made a vision board (a big square piece of scrapbooking paper with a tic tac toe board drawn on it) We put post it notes with our goals on each square. We only have 7 currently, but we're working up to having the board full with 9 goals that we are fully committed to. Well that night our Bishop called and said, "Hey I'm sitting in my office right now with a woman named A and she'd like to be baptized." WHAT!! It is truly amazing to see how Heavenly Father works with desire. Set goals and watch miracles happen, because they will. That's what I learned on Tuesday.

We have also been having some really good meetings with S. She's so sweet and has been through so much. Her heart is really open right now due to some recent trials. It's been a testimony building experience for me. I've really been able to see how hard times draw us closer to our Father in Heaven if we allow them to. We have seen her three times just this week and have centered our discussions on Christ and how we can receive strength to accomplish anything through Him. He is always there for us, always there to give us hope.

Wednesday night Sister De Voe hit a huge rock as we were riding our bikes home. The tire was completely flattened.... good thing we were pretty close and could walk the rest of the way. 

We went to a recent converts house for a scheduled appointment and we were excited to see that they had a friend there, T. He has been to church a few times before and talked with missionaries. We made sure that he felt welcome to participate in the lesson and he did so. I loved his answers. He really thought about the questions we asked him. He agreed to be there when we meet again next week :)

A woman in one of the student wards was baptized on Friday night. It was beautiful. There were so many people there for her which was incredible because she doesn't have a whole lot of family support. I love being able to see and feel the power of the Priesthood. I was reading 3 Nephi 12 this week and in verse one it talks about the purpose of the Priesthood - to serve others, to minister. Christ then goes on to explain that after the people are baptized, He will give them the gift of the Holy Ghost. Imagine Jesus Christ putting His hands on your head to perform that ordinance. Well, each time a worthy Priesthood holder performs an ordinance it is always in the name of Jesus Christ. The words they say are His words. In that reguard, He is placing his hands on your head to bless you. That is the power of the Priesthood. It is as if Christ Himself is there to bless you. 

We were able to see the Temple ground breaking ceremony on Saturday morning, broadcasted to our building here in Laramie. It was phenomenal. The speakers focused on the importance of the Temple, the simplicity of the Temple, the uniting of generations in the Temple. It truly is a place where God resides. It is a place to learn and receive revelation, direction, and peace. I'm glad we got that spiritual boost in the morning because on our way to Salvation Army to volunteer, Sister De Voe's pedal fell off... We tried to fix it but it was completely stripped where it should screw back in. So, I rode the one-pedaled bike all the way there. I was exhausted by the time we finally reached downtown, but we made it!! Eternal perspective is so nice to have in moments like that haha. We threw our bikes in the zone leaders truck and caught a ride home with some of the sisters. We walked for the rest of the day and were able to visit a few members and one less-active member, V, we had a really good visit with. 

Sunday was wonderful!! A and T were both at church!!!! A young woman came up to me towards the end and gave me a hug. She backed up and I realized it was P!! It's so cool to be able to see her occasionally :) We walked a long time in the rain on Sunday to pick up a bike that Elder Winterton acquired and fixed up for us to use. He has been so helpful (he also fixed the flat tire earlier this week). We were soaked by the time we got our bikes and rode through the rain to our dinner appointment. 

Yesterday, we went to Vedauwoo again!!! The zone leader's truck is the only car with 6 seats so I got to drive it up there so we could put all 6 sisters in one car. It was a blast. We got to do a little 4 wheeling getting out to where we were going to hike. I love being outside, absolutely love it. We just explored around again. No trail, no worries :)

We washed all the cars after our little adventure and then went to Stake President Dory's for dinner. He has all the new missionaries over each transfer to meet everybody. He had some inspiring words. I personally liked, "Roll up your sleeves and go to work" as well as, "You determine your influence here." I really like him and his family. They are such wonderful people. 

Sister De Voe and I packed a lunch today so we can have a picnic in the park when we leave the library. We want to take full advantage of the nice weather while it's still here. 

Love you all, (especially Kolette)

Sister Hoer