Hahaha so many funny memories from this week. First off, I want to tell you a funny story that I will remember my whole life. So, we got bikes this week. And it all originated because the Elders performed a deception on us. So on Friday night we were planning and got a phone call from the Zone Leaders. Worrying that it might be important, we picked it up. The Elders said "Sisters! We need help. Can you help us?" and we were like "Of course, what's wrong?" and they said "We are out in Ivins at a Hispanic party and someone stole our shoes and our keys and we don't have our bikes" and we were like "OH MY GOODNESS!" because it's not even in their area and they are the Zone Leaders who just said they were at a party haha. But we were worried about them so we were like "We can call someone to come and pick you up and we can get your bikes for you" because they left them outside the VC and they were like "Could you get our bikes for us? That would be great!" So we said "Of course!" and they were like "So we actually are just getting out of an appointment and are running late and don't have our bikes but we have a ride and our shoes!" So they lied to us to make us feel bad for them and get their bikes haha. They were like "We wondered who of all the VC sisters to call and we knew you would be the ones to do it!" haha. So anyway we finished planning and ventured out into the night to get the bikes from the Temple grounds. But! The gates were locked! So we walked around to the next gate and it was unlocked. We felt sketchy because it was dark but we did what any self respecting Sister missionary would do. We put the helmets on, got on the bikes and RODE home. As I was approaching the Temple apartments, it was super dark and no one was there and the funniest thing/most embarrassing thing ever happened. I was wearing a skirt that has buttons all the way down, like the pop buttons. And as I pressed down on the pedal, ALL the buttons popped open and EVERYTHING could be seen by EVERYONE! I screamed and jumped off the bike to do the buttons up again! It was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. At least everyone here is a Mormon #utahmissionprobz SO funny! Anyway after that we realized that we waste so much time walking everywhere and could save so much time riding bikes. So we decided that we needed bikes. Our District Leader and his companion never ride their bikes so they gave us their bikes! And then Sister Center heard we were riding bikes and has found girl bikes for us. So now we have girl bikes instead of painful boy bikes with no brakes haha. I nearly died riding Elder Cavazotti's bike because he conveniently didn't tell us he didn't have any brakes! ! I just shouted back to Sister Biery "Sister! I can't stop! You go! I'm going this way apparently haha". But we've ridden them so much that I think I'll have permanent saddle sore pain. Hahah we can barely walk we're in so much pain and when we sit down we groan and murmer because of the pain hahaha. But it's incredible riding around on bikes. It's helping me to be stripped of pride because it's SO EMBARRASSING. Try wearing a dress and a boys helmet riding a boys bike around a college campus hahah. When we get on our bikes and ride I always murmer "This is the lowest point of my life" hahaha but it's fun. We were trying to cross at a stop sign and when I tried to take off again my shoe fell off. All the traffic had to stop and watch while I retrieved my shoe and tried to hop back on the bike while EVERYONE EVERYWHERE sees my underwear and watches my failed start on the bike hahahahahah. Sister Biery was riding off and I was a solo missionary with a red face hahaha. We've swiped our legs on the pedals so much and ruined a dress that got caught in the chain. The bike pulled to a stop and I shouted to Sister Biery "I'M STUCK!" and she retrieved me but the dress is ruined! It's so fun though and you feel like a real missionary!Sunday was a fantastic day! We started off by attending the Ogden Temple rededication. It was incredible. Church was cancelled because it was just that, so our investigators had nowhere to go! So we wanted to make sure our investigators are committed to God on the Sabbath day so we held a special version of Church at the VC for them. We just wanted them to have that uplift on Sunday. We met them all there at the Christus and played it in Mandarin for our Chinese investigators, and then we showed Because of Him and read 3 Nephi 11 and watched the Restoration. The Spirit was so strong and we think it was great for them all to meet each other and support each other. It was so cool having them all in one place together! Anyway the Temple dedication was incredible. At the end when we did the Hosanna Shout and sung Praise To The Man, I had one of the most spiritual experiences of my whole life. I cant even explain what happened, but I just felt the Spirit more powerfully than ever before. It felt like electricity all over my body. And I actually cried #whendoesthateverhappen and couldn't sing the song because the Spirit was so strong. I felt the Spirit cleansing me and felt clean and pure all over. I felt Heavenly Father's gratitude for missionary service, and felt how holy and strong that Temple is. I felt Heavenly Father's overwhelming love and desire for our investigators to enter the holy Temple and be sealed with their families. I felt how temporal this life is and how imperative it is to get our investigators there. It was empowering and I felt the urge to go out and share it with EVERYONE. It was such a special moment for me and I will never forget those feelings. I aboslutely love being a missionary.
Our investigators are doing really well. We are pushing ourselves this week to meet our monthly goals. We need to find 6 more investigators this week and have 3 baptisms. We are on goal for 2 baptisms this Saturday, T and J. T is doing so well and he is so humble. He says the most touching prayers ever. He prays and says "Thank you for giving me the word of wisdom commandment. please bless me to have experiences that I can share with people on Sunday." He is the best! And he said he wants to serve a mission! I needed to teach him to learn from his humble example of accepting the commandments willingly. He even was worried that he has drunk coffee before and felt like he needed to repent! He is incredible. And then J who didn't get baptized two weeks ago finally prayed and felt goodness in his heart and knows that it is indeed true so he is getting baptized too! We are so blessed. Then out of our six, Heavenly Father has blessed us to find 3 already this week, just by giving us the courage to talk with everyone and putting us in the perfect place, down to the second, to meet the right people who will invite us back. P is doing incredibly as well! We taught the plan of salvation and she knelt down and said the best prayer ever. She said "Heavenly Father. I really want this to be true. If you tell me this is true I'll be baptized." and then she told us yesterday about a dream she had where she was praying in the dream and saw the words Jesus being spelled out. It was cool! She accepted a baptismal date and is doing great! There is something really special about her, I just love her a lot!
We had such a laugh with our Chinese investigators. We brought two Chinese members with us and they translated everything into Mandarin when we spoke. We mentioned baptism and J said "Baptism?" and they both immediately started jabbering away in Mandarin doing the same hand motions of pushing someone down and bringing them back up again. It was SO funny, you had to be there. We were CRACKING up! Then J prayed and in her thick Chinese accent started out by saying "Hello...Jesus....." hahhaha and we tried so hard not to laugh. We will have to go over that with her again. But she always ends the lesson by saying she can feel the warmth from our souls and that she is learning lots from us. I love her SO MUCH! Then yesterday we had a cool experience with A. We taught the Word of Wisdom and played the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Homeward Bound for him, and the Spirit was SO strong that we all just stopped and listened and were silent for a few mintues and then he lifted his hands together and shut his eyes and was praying throughout it all. It was such a special, blissful moment that I wish I could adequately describe. It was one of those moments you wish could last forever because you're having spritual experiences with your own investigators. He is SO ready to be baptized. His non member family are coming out for his baptism too. He wants to be married in the Temple really bad but will probably go on a mission first! It's great because with lots of our investigators I feel like I've known them forever. I just love them all so much and feel like we all promised we'd find each other and share the gospel together. This tranfer is just the most happiest and perfect transfer ever. I've learned to just love people and be happy.
Had GREAT VC experiences this week! We had a French bus come and they requested us to sing I Am A Child Of God because they were at Salt Lake City VC and they sang that there. So three of us got together in front of the Temple and sung I Am A Child Of God. They LOVED it and recorded it and clapped haha. It was such a sweet moment. Had a great tour with a man who wants to meet with local missionaries! And then there were some rude Catholic and Southern Baptist people in the VC that I tried to help but they didn't want help. They left and were taking photos by the Temple and I just felt so strongly that we needed to give them a Book of Mormon. So, I told Sister BIery and we prayed and just went outside and gave them a Book of Mormon. They accepted it and were still a bit rude. But, we followed the promptings and we don't know why but someone will benefit from that some day. Even if they leave it somewhere and someone else finds it! But it's great to have a compnaion who supports you when you feel the Spirit prompting you to do something. I want to write a whole paragraph about how much I love Sister Biery! We laugh SO MUCH together, we cry with laughter about 6 times a day and we are just so comfortable with each other and learn from each other and feel the Spirit together. I never want it to end but alas it's transfers this week. If we leave each other I'll cry for the rest of my mission haha!!
Well, just know I love being a missionary more than anything ever and never want this to end! But I love you all so much and can't wait to email you next week!
Sister Nicholls
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