One Year To Go!! 17-3-14

Dear Family and Friends,

Lots of fun things happened this week. For starters we had an exciting Zone Conference. Word on the street for weeks was that big changes were going to be made in the way we teach. So everyone's like WOOOO IPADS and FACEBOOK and then we got there and President began the training and the big changes that are taking place are that we are going to be using the pamphlets for all our teaching. We have to use them like a flipchart, and we have to not deviate from doctrine by using analogies or stories or anything, and we have to show them every picture and say "what do you see here?" .. "why is this taking place?" etc so they teach themselves so it's kinda like going back in time and having the memorized discussions but not really because we can still use our own words. It's supposed to help us with teaching skills because the mission used to have a 3 to 1 ratio of investigators found to investigators baptized, and now it's gone up to 5 to 1 so President knows it's our teaching skills that stops them from progressing so he's trying to get it all sorted out! We role played a ton and I absolutely love it!

We had a baptism this week!!!!! M was baptized on Saturday morning. Wow it's been a rollercoaster with her! We didn't know if she'd get baptized or not but we spent like two hours with her the night before her interview going over everything because she just wouldn't answer any of the questions and we were scared she wouldn't pass the interview. But our Zone Leader did the interview and he is awesome with kids so he did a great job and got her to talk. She is 13 but has such social difficulties because of past problems with her Dad who is in prison now. She has scars on her wrists too. But it's been so amazing to see her grow in the Gospel. She is blossoming and her countenance is changing. It's so beautiful to see how the Gospel can heal the wounds that nobody else can see. It's been a privilege to work with her. When we first met her it was so frustrating cos she wouldn't look at us the whole lesson and wouldn't say anything but we've gained her trust and we're all good friends now. Her family are all inactive except her Grandad, and after her confirmation he greeted us and thanked us so sincerely for all the work we've done wtih her and for not giving up and he had tears in his eyes then all of us had sweaty eyeballs that spilled onto our cheeks because it's the best moment to see how someone has grown. He said he knows it needed to be us to teach her. The Baptism went really well. It was nerve racking because no one knew who was in charge of filling the font, the bishop and the ward mission leader and the ward missionary couldnt come, and the programs were done last minute, and then in walk President and Sister Center!!!! I was just praying that there would be some water in the font because then all would be well. But I had a cool experience when she was being baptized. Her Grandad said the prayer wrong and immersed her wrong and all these voices were trying to tell him what to change. Sister Garcia and I were behind the font watching from the sidelines and so couldn't see anyone who was shouting out, everyone saying different things and the Grandad didn't know who to follow. And then I heard the most Christ-like and loving yet authoritative voice say exactly what he needed to do, clearly and lovingly but full of authority. It was President Center, and I learned a valuable lesson from it. It reminded me of the apostasy, and how people wanted to be baptized but nobody really knew how to do it. All these other churches were saying "do it this way!" and "no, do it this way!" and the baptisms couldn't really happen and we needed Jesus Christ to restore His church to show us the right way. Only Jesus Christ can tell us how to truly perform these ordinances, and so even though it was President Center's kind and loving voice, to me it was like Jesus Christ. After the baptism I told him what he'd taught me and his eyes all filled with tears and he said thank you for sharing that with him. I love them so much!

Also I had some visitors at the Visitors' Centre this week. Well we always get visitors but I mean some special visitors. I think it was on Friday? While I was away from the front desk dealing with a situation that had come up Sister Garcia told me that someone had come in to see me, and that she had red hair and I just knew it was Nicky and I was devastated that I'd missed her! Then the best thing ever happened and 2 hours later she came back!!! With the whole family!! I was so happy I could've cried! It was so nice to see them all! I love them so much!! I took them through God's Plan For His Family and I just wanted them to stay all day! Then straight after they left the Christensen's came in!!! It was SO NICE to see them!! BEST DAY EVER!! I gave them a tour of the art work and again wished they could've stayed all day! They are such a great family. Then the Criddle's from Washington came and took Sister Garcia and I out for dinner! It was succhhhh a good day. I love the Criddle's so much! It's so great that M is going to baptize H in a few weeks and then they're going to go to the Temple in a few months!!! MISSIONARY WORK IS THE BEST!!!

The other day Sister Garcia and I were running a few minutes late and as we were driving to the appointment I said to her "There's a reason why we're a few minutes late. There's going to be someone on the street who needs us who would've been in their house if we'd been there a few minutes before." and we parked up and were walking to the appointment and this man on the other side of the road was just standing there crying and he saw us and waved us over so we mosied on over there and he burst out into fresh tears and told us that he needs help and that he can't pay his rent and was so heartbroken and so we got him in touch with the Bishop and that was that. It was just nice to be led by the Spirit to help people.

I was reading the scriptures this week and this verse really stuck out to me:-
Alma 37:36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

I thought about how that describes us as missionaries. I've really experienced this week how it feels to truly give yourself to the Saviour. To give Him all my pains and burdens and heartaches and insecurities and worries. I needed to humble myself and rely on Him rather than try to carry it all myself. I was like the children of Israel who wouldn't merely look at the staff to be healed. But this week I've pleaded with the Saviour to take it all, and I've felt the power and the hope that comes from truly handing it over to Him. I just needed to cast my eyes over to Him to be healed. And He has healed me. I'm really working on my humility. I want to be as the Saviour is, and to love as He does and to always rely on Him. It's a work in progress and will be forever but I've had my eyes opened to how much more I need to be doing.

I want to tell you all how much I love my companion. We are best friends forever! We laugh so much together, we cry together, we pray and study together. In short, we work together. We never want to be transferred away from each other. We lay in our beds and just laugh and laugh and laugh when we should be asleep. Everyone will know who trained her because she says all my phrases but with her thick accent. She says "oooh sista you crack me up!" haha and "bad timmesss" and "what on earth?!" hahahahahha and I've started saying "what happen here?" meaning what is going on? haha she says the cutest things. We had a great evening last night! I was in the VC in the daytime, and then there was an emergency transfer involving the VC Sisters so I had to completely redo the schedule for the next 4 weeks! It was crazyness. So I had to stay in the VC for hours more and didn't get to go to our area except for an hour and a half in the evening. It was the best though because we worked so hard and had two member present lessons and an other lesson where we put someone on date. It was E and she was so mad at God for not giving her money that we had to drop her last week but then this week we felt impressed to see her and so we went and she was crying and saying how she knows she needs to be baptized and we put her on date!! YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I love MISSIONARY WORK!!!!!

This week I was in a meeting with the Watkins' and my VCT companion (that happens like twice a week!) but this one was special because we Skyped Salt Lake headquarters and had a discussion about how to help the St George Visitors' Center progress in their teaching centre skills (the mormon.org chat and calls!). It was so cool to be involved with it and I learned so much! I need to be a better example to the Sisters and step up my teaching skills! It's a constant learning and growing experience.

I can't believe we're half way through March already!!!!!!! ONE YEAR TO GO!!!!!! I am so excited but don't want to think about it at the same time! I love you all SO MUCHHHHH! Please keep writing to me and praying for me because I need all the love and help I can get ;)

LOVE YOU ALL! Keep working miracles in everyone's lives!
Sister Nicholls