Virginia's Mission

15 October 2009

2009-10-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

Hmmmm. It is hard to know how to start this letter. Part of me wants to tell you that it is with a heavy heart that I write this letter. I am sad to see my mission go. I love it so much. I will be sad to not have the Savior's name literally plastered over my heart every day on my name tag. I will be sad not to be able to teach the gospel 24-7. I will be sad to not have the opportunities to continue to grow in the way only a mission can provide. The other part of me wants to say, I can't wait to see you! I am excited for the new adventures that lie ahead. I am excited to finally persue my education again. And I am excited for the other missions the Lord has in store for me, whatever they may be. And of course, I know that though the Savior's name wont be on a tag for everyone to read, He will forever remain in my heart. It is a bittersweet feeling leaving the mission. As you know, I'd stay longer if they'd let me. But I'm confident that the Lord has even more work for me to do. I guess it will just look a little different. So feel free to choose whichever side of the equation you'd like to! Because I have lots of emotions about coming home!

This week I made a goal to tract for every hour that we don't have appointments. I haven't been perfect at it, because things always seem to get in the way of it, but we have done 8 hours of tracting in the last 3 days. So that is pretty good. There is still a ton of work to be done on the area books to get them up to par for the Elders. So we've been doing that in the 8 o'clock hour. It is good though. I just want the Elders to be set up for success. So we are tracting like crazy to help them find new investigators, and preparing the records, so it is easier for them.

As for my companion, Sister Ward, every day is an adventure! Sister Matthews (the Relief Society President) put it perfectly when she called she told me, "You have a great opportunity to influence her life!" I didn't realize how true that statement was until the end of this week. Sister Ward is great. She has some difficulties reading, so I have been having her still read with me like I would any companion. I have been trying to help teach her how to break down words so she can understand them. Plus I have been trying to build her confidence and help her to see that she has talents and gifts. It has been good. I have also started making her give all the spiritual thoughts at dinner. It is great because it helps her to find scriptures she likes and helps her learn how to teach. She still doesn't feel all that comfortable at the doors while tracting, or teaching whole principles in lessons. But, she has improved in leaps and bounds. On Saturday she did her first full OYM! She street contacted someone and left them with a card all by herself! I was so proud. And we role play TONS in companionship study. More than I ever have. While we are tracting, I ask her questions and try to get her to share her testimony. Sometimes it is like pulling teeth, because she isn't quite sure of her testimony. But I know her testimony is being strengthened. I have also been able to teach her gospel principles that she never really learned, or at least explain them in different ways that she seems to more fully understand. It has been a great experience. She doesn't really know how to bear her testimony. So we've been practicing bearing our testimonies to each other. It truly has been an adventure!

I am so grateful for the time I have spent with her because I have learned so much! When you train a new missionary, you are called the "Mom." And I do feel like her Mom. I feel like the Lord gave me this experience so I could learn how to teach the gospel to my own children, and how to help them find their own testimonies. Plus I have learned how important it is not to just do things for your children. I have learned that it is better to have my companion give the spiritual thoughts and fail, then have her not open her mouth. I have see a ton of growth in her. The other day, I read a talk from the October 2007 General Conference. It was called Raising the Bar. I explained to Sister Ward that just like in the story of the boy learning to raise the high jumping bar, that I was trying to do that to her too. I try to push her to stretch farther than she thinks she can go, and encourage her when she leaps over what seems like an impossible height to go. As I have done this, I have seen her grow in leaps and bounds. I am grateful for all I have learned in this short time with her. I also love her so much! She is so sweet and we laugh all the time. I know we will be forever friends.

On Saturday our District Leader called us and asked us to get 40 OYMs by the end of the week. We didn't have very many and the end of the week was the next day. So I drove around looking for a good place to street contact, which was hard because I was never shown a place before. Well, we found a good spot and got 31 OYMs in one hour! It was so productive! And we found out yesterday at District Meeting that we did better than the other two Elder companionships! WOO HOO! It felt good to work hard and to exceed our goals!

On Monday, we tracted this big country road for 3 hours! It was quite exhausting, and yet fun. I pushed us to go just a little further to get to the next road, and when we got there, we looked

over and saw 8 deer in a field! It was so beautiful!

We took some pretty pictures of fall too! On the way back to the car, and our dinner appointment, my companion was getting pretty tired. So I sang hymns and we laughed the whole way home. Well, we were going to be pretty late, so I called the member, and they said they'd come pick us up. Well, we kept walking and we saw a car pull over, so I instinctively opened the door (not knowing the member well enough to know what she looked like or the car she drove since this was the first time we had dinner at their home) and the driver said, "Are you okay? Do you need some help?" I then apologized and explained that we thought she was our ride. Then I explained that we were missionaries and handed her a pass-a-long card! It was quite amusing! It was definitely the most awkward OYM I have ever had! Well, the member came and picked us up only a block or so from her house. It was such a fun tracting day!

OH! I almost forgot to tell you the best news ever! I called the Dover Elders to get some info and found out that Amanda Kincade (now Amand Seigel) is getting baptized on November 14th! Isn't that amazing?!?! I am so excited for her. I just knew she would make it!

So this week we met with Taylor Ricks again, and he is doing swell. The Spirit is always so strong when we teach him.

Brother McElhaney teared up as I testified of the Book of Mormon and how Christ came and appeared to the Nephites. We taught a few others, and had some great lessons! Donna almost came to church! She even went and got her hair cut for it. But, she got really sick! Pray that she'll be there on Sunday!

Well, I need to get going. I guess the next time I talk to you it will be in person or on the phone! How exciting! On Tuesday, we will have a mission tour. Elder C. Scott Grow will speak to us. Then I will bear my departing testimony at transfers. I am also going to sing "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" in memory of Vikkiey Brenner. (I still can't wait to do her temple work)! Then we will go to Olive Garden for dinner with the Mission President and have our departing stuff. The next day I will fly home! it is crazy how fast the time flies. I want you to know that I do love this gospel. I know it is true because it has transformed my life. I have never been as happy as I am now. The more I love the gospel the more joy I feel. Before my mission I would

hear RMs say that they learned things on their mission that they couldn't learn unless they had served a mission. I now understand what that means. I have learned and grown so much from this experience. I am so glad I chose to serve. It was truly the best decision I have ever made. Thanks so much for all your love and support. Thanks for helping me get here, and encouraging me and supporting me while I was serving! I love and miss you! See you soon!

Love,
Sister Virginia Kay Deal

8 October 2009

2009-10-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

Okay, there is much to report on this week, and as usual very little time! Thanks for e-mailing me family! You are great! Let's just go ahead and start with the big news. On Sunday morning, my companion, Sister Gibbs got sent home. Her health just got worse and worse, so she had to go home. She is doing a little better, but just needed to be at home where she could rest and not have to worry about the stresses that come with missionary life. That being said, I got a new companion. I guess it is the story of my mission! I have seen many companions go home due to health and been a part of many emergency transfers. I guess Heavenly Father knew that I could handle it! My new companion's name is Sister Ward. That is my 14th companion on my mission (counting my MTC companion). So that makes 13 companions in 13 transfers! I guess I have lots of new friends :)

Okay, so a little about Sister Ward. She comes from Demseytown, PA.

She is serving what they call a mini-mission. She hasn't been a missionary before. She has always wanted to go, but due to heart problems and surgeries couldn't go. So it has been an adventure to say the least for

these last few days. She is the shyest companion I have ever had, and she didn't have the benefit of going to the MTC. A month ago, Sister Stinger (one of my companions who is home now) wrote me and said "At least you aren't white-washing or training your last transfer." Sister Stinger, you spoke too soon! :) Since, Sister Gibbs was sick, we didn't get out much, so I didn't really have much opportunity to learn the area. And the area books on the Pittsburgh side aren't like ours on the Harrisburg side. They aren't broken into sub-divisions, with maps that show where everyone lives and info about who the people are. So it has been fun. I finally found another map of our area, so I have been working on updating the area book and that has helped a lot! It has felt a little like a white-wash. My companion, has a few struggles. She has been in and out of hospitals for surgeries so many times, that she didn't get much education. So she struggles to read, and is way scared about talking to people. So I have been training my last transfer too! For the first few days, I couldn't seem to get more than two words out of her at a time. It is getting better though. I've broken her into reading aloud. She struggles, but is doing just fine. And I am role playing lessons with her and trying to help her find her testimony, so it will be easier to share. She has never bore her testimony at church before. So it is truly an adventure! I do love her like crazy though! And she has such a desire for missionary work! So she is willing to work. It is so nice! I'm sure her two week mini-mission will be a life changing experience. The Lord sure does turn every bad situation into a good one. I am excited to watch her blossom over the next couple of weeks!

Sunday was a bit different. Since Sister Gibbs went home, I needed a companion. So I was with a Sister in the ward on Sunday. Her name is Sister Campbell! It was so great to be with her on Sunday! It was wierd though. Since I was with her and her family, I didn't get to go to church to watch Conference. She cooked up a whole buffet of food and we watched Conference in her living room. It was so weird and wonderful all at the same time! It made me feel like I was right at home with the Springgays watching conference with our Costco snacks! It was nice. After Conference, Sister Campbell and I went out. I figured we could contact some less-actives that the Bishop had asked us to stop by. We visited Heather Holloway and had an amazing lesson with her. She let us right in and told us she had been praying that the Lord would send an angel to her. She said she felt like we were an answer to her prayer. We had a great lesson with her on making Christ the center of our lives. When we went in, I had no idea what we were going to teach, but by the end, it was an amazing lesson! The Spirit truly did guide our words and scriptures just kept pouring into my head. I shared 1 Nephi 21:14-16 with her. That is my favorite scripture about how the Lord never forgets us.

When I shared that one, she wrote down the reference and said it was exactly what she needed to hear because she had been feeling like He had forgotten her! I shared lots of other stuff, and ended with Helaman 5:12. It is about making Christ our foundation. Well, she said she had been feeling like the Lord had been telling her that she had her "house upon the rock" like it says in the New Testament. So she loved that scripture and felt it was for her too! AMAZING! Sister Campbell was perfect for her too. She was able to relate to her in such a powerful way. Heather cried and the Spirit was strong. I left her Mosiah 24 to read. We came back only two days later and she read it. We had another great lesson and tears again filled her eyes. We invited her to church. She struggles with the idea of church. So I commited her to pray about it and told her I'd pray every day that she will make it there. Please pray that she gets there!

Donna is doing great! She watched all of General Conference and the inbetween stuff. She was glued to the television, and begged Patrick not to turn off the tv! We met with her yesterday and she said she felt like every person who spoke was so powerful and were speaking right to her. We read with Patrick and Donna last night and commited them to read every day. Then I commited her to come to church and she accepted! AMAZING! Please pray that she will keep that commitment.

We stopped by the Lutz (a less-active family) last night. The lesson went well and Brother Lutz told us that they had read the first eleven chapters in the Book of Mormon since the last time we saw them (only two weeks earlier)! He said that when they miss a day, they read extra chapters to make up for lost time. He also said that as he is reading, things he has heard at church are making more sense! What a miracle! Pray that the Lutz Family will keep it up and come to church!

We visited Wes Omer. He is doing great as well. We commited him to read and pray every night, and he accepted. He also said that he will come to church with us this week. He is a great kid and is really making strides. I'm excited to teach him again next week.

Taylor Ricks continues to progress. He went to all of General Conference and the Priesthood session. He is really clinging on to the gospel. In no time at all, he will be fully reactivated. He has been asking suck great questions. The Spirit is always so strong when we are teaching him!

Well, I must get going, my time is up. Know that I love and miss you. I am grateful for all the love and support you have given me over these past 18 months. I guess I will be seeing some of

you in only two weeks. That is a bittersweet thought. I am excited to see you, but sad to leave the full time missionary life. It has changed me in more ways than I can adequately express. I am going to work as hard as I possibly can before I go home. Elders will probably replace us, so I want to leave them with lots of people to teach and great records. This week I learned how much I love tracting. I had missed it so much. It is great to talk to people about the gospel. Yesterday we met Elma. I just started bearing testimony of Christ and tears filled her eyes. We had a great lesson on her porch about prophets, commandments, prayer, the Savior and the Book of Mormon. She didn't accept a return appointment, but she felt the Spirit. That was definelty a tender mercy of the Lord. Recognize His hand in your life. I know He is blessing you and helping you, as I see Him helping me each and every day. I love and miss you! See ya soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

1 October 2009

2009-10-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you? I am doing well. First off, I would like to thank you for your constant love, prayers, and support over the past 18 months. It has been felt. Second, I would like to thank the many consistent snail mailers that write me. I guess a lot of my mail was still going to Dover, so this week, I got the mail from the beginning of last month delivered to me. That gave me a grand total of 14 letters with the mail I received in Cranberry! Let me just say, I feel VERY loved! So thank you. And if I don't get to all of you today, I'll write by next week! Promise!

Okay so, I kinda spent awhile responding to some of the personal e-mails from family wanting to know info of when I return and what my plans are, so this just may have to be a really short e-mail! Forgive me! Well, the most important news to report has to do with my companion, Sister Gibbs. As I mentioned to you earlier, she was really struggling with health issues. To put it bluntly she has severe depression problems, so we haven't been able to do very much work at all. Yesterday, we met with President Summerhays, and he has counseled her to return home at the end of the transfer, when I go. That is 6 weeks early. It is sad, but I think it will be the best thing for her. As missionaries we use silly little language. For example, when you start your mission, your trainer is you "mom" your first area is where you were "born" and when you go home you "die." If you see a missionary go home you "killed them off." So my joke to my companion has been that I want to stay so bad that I wont let anyone kill me off. But since I have to "die" I am going to take someone down with me, hence the joke that my companion is coming home now with me. It made her laugh a little at the situation. Anyway, it truly is the best thing for her and for the missionary work in this area. We have really done little to no work due to her health.

That being said, I was feeling kind of frustrated. I didn't understand why in my

last transfer when the mission president encouraged me to work hard and give it my all, I would be with a companion who just can't work. I was praying lots and trying to figure it out. Then, two nights ago, while I was comforting a crying companion in the middle of the night, I realized why I am here. The Lord has blessed me with the tools to help Sister Gibbs through this time. It's weird because I have served with a lot of sick companions, or companions struggling with depression. As I was comforting my companion the other night, I heard the voice of the Spirit speak to me and say, "It's not about having a baptism in your last area or how many doors you knock on in a transfer. It's about people. Each of my children are precious to me. Your purpose here, is to help save lost souls. Sometimes those who are lost, are those who are right next to you. Your purpose for being here in Cranberry is to help Sister Gibbs through this trying time. And that is a very important purpose that only you can fulfill." Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. I am grateful that the Lord is pleased with my efforts even if the work I am doing is different than what I would have pictured. Sister Gibbs is constantly thanking me for being her companion. Our testimonies have been strengthened while serving together. This week she gave me the sweetest compliment ever. She said that I am one of the most spiritual people she has ever met and her most spiritual companion! That one comment meant the world to me.

Okay, I am out of time so I must be quick with the rest. This week we got to perform musical numbers at the Seniors Conference in Pittsburgh. It was way fun! I was able to sing "This Is The Christ." The Spirit was so strong as I sang, and my companion played. It was great. We got to see the General Relief Society broadcast this week and it was amazing! I've been praying that the Lord will guide the leaders at General Conference to share what I need to hear before I go home. Kinda like counsel to me before I leave my mission. Well, President Eyring (my favorite) spoke at the General RS Broadcast. He talked about how the Savior had summoned men in the field to come work with him and promised them that they would have more joy. Well, he then went on to say, that they were already laboring in a field and doing great things. But he had an even greater work for them to do that would bring even more joy than they had already experienced. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like he was saying that serving my mission has been a great joy and a blessing, but the Lord has even more missions for me to perform, that will bring even more joy to my life, like it would add to the joy I've already experienced, not take away from it. That one statement brought me such peace about going home. Though I'd love to be engulfed in this work forever, the Lord is calling me to a new work that will fill my heart with joy! Exciting!

Last Thursday, we had dinner with the Fishers. Brother Fisher asked me about my conversion story, and he shared his story of how he became reactivated only 10 years ago when his wife was being taught the lessons. Well, it was a beautiful story. Then I shared Alma 36 with them. I talked of the joy that has come into my life because of the gospel. Anyway, the Spirit was really strong. Then Brother Fisher looked at me and said, "You are a great tool in the Lord's hands. He will use you to convert many!" Tears were in his eyes and mine as he spoke. What a tender mercy of the Lord to hear those words.

On Sunday, it was my last Fast and Testimony meeting on my mission. So, of

course, I bore my testimony. At this moment I can't really remember what I talked about. All I know is that the Spirit was really strong. I talked about the love the Savior has for each of us, how when I first started reading the Book of Mormon, it put a fire of reading the scriptures in my heart, and helped me to overcome sin and temptation. I bore testimony of how happy my life is because of the gospel. I cried through the whole thing. It was probably one of the times I've felt the Spirit strongest on my mission.

Speaking of feeling the Spirit, I got asked to write my "most spiritual experience" on my mission, to the mission president. Well as you can see from my "short" e-mail, that was a bit impossible! So instead, I shared a few spiritual experiences from each area I served in. It truned out to be a 9 page letter! Whoops! Anyway, I had interviews with the Misison President this week and he and his wife commented on how much they loved them and appreciated that I took the time to write them down. In my interview, President was very encouraging. He told me he was proud of all the great work I have done and was excited to hear about the many miracles I have been blessed to see. It was a great interview.

Well, our investigator pool is dwindling. We aren't teaching much due to my companion's health. But we are having great success with Taylor Ricks! He is coming to church consistently each week and staying all three hours. We are meeting him every Thursday and the Spirit is always very strong. He is on his way back to being fully reactivated! Yay!

Speaking of not teaching much, yesterday we had interviews and the Zone Leaders did role plays with us. As I roleplayed teaching the First Vision and the Book of Mormon, I felt the Spirit really strong. Then I got asked two different questions. The first was "Who is Jesus Christ?" The second was "What does the Savior mean to you." As I shared I felt the Spirit so strong. The Zone Leader, Elder Page, was trying to get us to see the difference between stating facts (the first question) and bearing our testimonies (the second question). It was very powerful and I was drawn to tears the second time. Teaching even during roleplays got me thinking. It made me realize how strong the Spirit is when we are teaching. When you teach all day, every day, you kind of take the feelings of the Spirit for granted because you feel it all the time. When you are stuck inside the apartment for hours, and then you get to teach one lesson, the Spirit feels amazing! The contrast of helping to lift a depressed companion, versus teaching the gospel is so vast! I am grateful to have noticed how powerful the Spirit really is as we teach. What a lesson to learn!

Well, I must be going! I love and miss you guys! Keep writing! It makes my day!

All My Love and Prayers,
Sister Deal

24 September 2009

2009-09-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you doing? I am doing great.This week is kind of a weird week because Monday (September 21) marked one month until I am home, and Saturday (September 26) marks me being being a missionary for 18 months! It sure is crazy how fast the time flies, and it continues to go faster and faster!

This week, we had a great lesson with a less-active young man named Taylor Ricks. He is originally from Idaho and is just here for work for a few months. Well, the Bishop wanted us to reteach him the lessons since he hasn't been active in church since he was 13 (he is now 21).
Well, we taught him the first lesson and it went so well. The Spirit was so strong. After I shared the First Vision, I paused and then asked him how he felt at that moment. With tears in his eyes, he looked up and said, "Good. Really Good." I then testified that those good feelings he was having was the Spirit whispering to him that the things we had taught him were true. It was amazing! He is doing well at working his way back. He came to church last week, and we are still going to teach him. It turns out that he's headed home to Idaho in November, so I may see him at school when I return home. Ironic!

We had dinner with an active woman this week, named Sister Ellis. She shared with us some struggles she had been having. I then felt prompted to share Mosiah 24 with her. It wasn't what we had planned to share, so I almost didn't share it. But I felt like the Spirit kept whispering that was what she needed to hear. So I shared it. I explained that the Lord explains why he doesn't just take their burdens away, but lightens them. He says, "And this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hearafter, and that you may know of a surety that I the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." I explained that the Lord uses every bad situation for good and that He helps use us as a tool in His hands to help others out of similar bondage situations that we were once in. The Spirit was really strong. And then she laughed. She explained that I am the third person in a matter of just a few weeks to share that same chapter with her, and that she felt the Lord really wanted her to get the message that she needed it! Amazing! The Lord really does use us as tools in His hands to help others. I'm so very grateful I listened to that prompting and was able to help her.

We had another great lesson with August. We taught him the first half of the plan of salvation. It went really well. He loved it. He continues to consistently read. Throughout the lesson he kept saying, "You know, I'm really thinking about becoming Mormon." So I challenged him to pray about baptism! Please pray for August. His hurdle is that he hasn't come out to church. Things just keep getting in the way. One week he was really sick, and the next he had a family emergency. So pray that he'll make it there. He's so excited about the gospel and has great fellowshippers. He really wants to come.

Well, the combining of the missions has been a bit tough. It was interesting to see some of the things the Pittsburgh Missionaries do and don't do. Well, I have remembered the words that President Pugh told us before he left. He told us not to lower our standards, but if their standard was higher to come up to theirs, and if ours was higher to help lift them to it. Well, lots of the Sisters seem to dress a bit too casual for missionaries. They wear t-shirts instead of button up ones, and don't ever wear suit jackets. Well, I told my companion why I always wear suit jackets in the chapel and why I dress the way I do. I explained that we are representatives of Christ and should look like it. That we shouldn't be too casual in our dress, so that people can recognize us as servants of Christ. She then started adjusting her wardrobe. Now she wears a suit jacket every time we are in the chapel and has been wearing more button up shirts. It was really neat. She even thanked me for inspiring her to do that more. So I am being an example to my companion. We are both learning lots from each other!

Well this week we taught Carlos Levia (our recent convert) and his

non-member friends Cornelio and Alejandro. Well, we had an amazing lesson with them. They were all asking lots of questions. By the end Alejandro said he wants to come to church this Sunday. Amazing! It turned out though, that yesterday Carlos and Cornelio moved to Pittsburgh :( We were way sad. But hopefully we can still teach Alejandro. I love teaching the Spanish people. They are way awesome and I love following along in my "El Libro De Mormon." It is fun.

This week we had to get our car checked for emssions. Well, while it was happening, I felt prompted to go tracting. The only person we ended up talking to was Darren. He was working in a yard a little ways away. So I ran over and started talking to him. The Spirit was way strong and he became a new investigator! Infact, he is the first investigator we have found though tracting since I have been here! Amazing! I love following the promptings of the Spirit.

We got to serve at the Senior Center this week. It was a highlight. I loved playing Scrabble with one of the cute older women. Plus it was so cute to watch them line dance. I just love opportunities to serve. Since my companion had been so sick, I hadn't been able to do any service in two weeks. I didn't realize how much I missed it! I just love serving others.

Well, my time is up for the week. Know that I love and miss you! Thanks for your letters. They make my week. It's nice to know that after 18 months, you still haven't forgotten me. Have a great week, and know that you are in my thoughts and prayers!

Love,
Sister Deal

17 September 2009

2009-09-28T06:12:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

Well, there isn't a ton to report this week. It has been kind of a crazy week. My companion, Sister Gibbs, has been way sick. So we were able to do very little work this week. She has been having similar stomach problems as I have had my whole mission. She too has suffered with it her whole mission. She has other struggles as well. So it has been a tough week. It was tough trying to work with combining our different personalities and ways of doing missionary work, since we come from different missions. At first, it was really hard. But I spent a lot of time in prayer and trying to serve her. Now I can honestly say, that I do love my companion, and despite the challenges we are facing, I am learning a lot from serving with her. Plus we have really learned how to laugh and just have fun together, despite the challenges we are facing.

That being said, there isn't much to report. But I will share a few fun stories with you. This week we had 5 investigators at church and 3 less-actives at church! One of our investigators who came to church, was Wes Omer. He is a cute 15 year-old boy. We met with him last night and had a great lesson with him. He has TONS of questions, and really seems to be searching. It is great. He LOVED church and said he wants to come again. After the lesson, we visited with his parents for a little bit (Wes doesn't like them to sit in on the lessons- he's a teenager) anyway, they started asking us questions. His dad asked if we have ever heard stories of spirits who have passed on communicating with people. The temple just kept coming to my mind. My companion talked about the Spirit world and I pulled out a temple pass-a-long card. I talked about how the temple is where our families can be together forever and how many people have felt the presence of those who have passed on, in the sacred house of the Lord. It was really neat. They felt the Spirit as we talked, and shared how they had visit the San Diego and Salt Lake City temples! Amazing! I am excited to work with them more. The whole family came to church this last week. Please pray for the Omers.

I also got to help teach a first lesson to a less-active member's, Patrick Maggard, Mom. It was a great lesson. As we talked about families, she started to cry as she expressed her love for her son, Patrick. She was so excited about the message we were sent to bring. Patrick said he caught her over and over reading the Book of Mormon. He said she seems so into it, and that it has answered many of his prayers. Patrick has been working on coming back. We are so excited for him and his Mom. Please keep them in your prayers.

We also visited with a less-active family this week, the Penlands. They are amazing. They have such strong testimonies. As I shared a favorite scripture, their son, open his scriptures and shared 2 Nephi 4 and how it helped him in a hard time. Then I related how that scripture also helped me in a hard time. Then before I knew it, we sang the song that goes along with it, "I Need Thee Every Hour." My companion plays the piano, so she played it and we sang along. The Spirit was so strong. It is amazing how the Lord uses the scriptures to bless each of our lives and to change us. I love this gospel so much!

Well, this week I have done tons of reading and cleaning because I have been stuck inside. It is funny. But it turns out I have discovered I am kind of a neat freak. Our apartment had been so unorganized and cluttered and dirty. So I have been working on it so hard, and it looks much more like a home. I love it. Plus I got the Zone Leaders to give me more materials to make the area book more organized. I guess Pittsburgh just didn't have some of the great tools we had in our mission, to make our area books more effective. I am grateful to have the opportunity to get it more organized. So, even though I have been in a lot this last week, I am doing all I can to make every minute count and to leave this area better than I found it.

Well, time is short. I want you to know, that I love and miss each and every one of you. Write me soon. I didn't get any snail mail this week. So don't forget my address changed to:

2727 Chelsey Court
Cranberrry TWP, PA 16066

Oh and don't forget that I love mail...especially when I am stuck inside for hours at a time with a companion who is in bed sleeping most of the day because she's sick. So write soon, and I guess I'll see you soon too.

All my love and prayers,
Sister Deal

10 September 2009

2009-09-10T12:40:00.001-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you doing? I am doing well. I will start with the big news first today. Transfers came and......drumroll please......I got transfered?!? And so did Sister LaMont! They closed our area to Sisters and moved in Elders! We had only been there for 2 transfers (3 months) so that was really odd and something I defintely didn't anticipate happening. Of course it was way sad to leave Dover, with only 6 weeks left. I was especially sad to leave Cody and Amanda. Cody is still on for being baptized on September 26th and is way excited for it. He was sad to have me leave. But luckily Sister LaMont got transfered to Lititz, so hopefully she can go to his baptism and take pictures for me. It's funny because Lititz was my longest areas, and both of the Sisters I trianed, went to Lititz right after I finished training them. Crazy! Well, we had to pack like crazy and leave extra notes for the Elders, and say good-bye to everyone. Amanda and Ernie's wedding was yesterday. They were way sad that we both left. And we volunteered to help them at their reception, so I guess the Elders were busy doing that.

The hardest part of leaving was saying goodbye to the Shoemakers. Brother Shoemaker is the Ward Mission Leader there. We would have dinner with their family every Wednesday night, and do our laundry in the morning, on p-day. They were our home away from home. On our last day, they invited us over for dinner. Then Brother Shoemaker asked his whole family to bear their testimonies to us. It was a sweet Testimony Meeting, we were all crying. They expressed thier love for us and how much they would miss us, as well as the things they have come to know are true. I too, expressed my love for them and how much I would miss them. They really are part of my extended family. I will miss Dover so very much!

As far as the work in Dover, the Elders have it good. When we got there, if you'll recall, the Elders had left us with no records, no investigators, and no appointments. These new Elders get to come to an area with Cody set with a date and a lot of potential for others. Plus, I'm a great record keeper and left good notes. They have quite a few appointments too. I feel good about those Elders though. I think they will do good work.

We did have lots of people at church this week. Brother Choate,

Sister Gonzalez, Brother Holmes, and Brother John Bubb came. Brother Choate stayed for all three hours again. I had called and left him another funny message Sunday morning to help inspire him to come. I guess it worked! When I called to tell Brother Choate good-bye, he thanked me for all we have done to help him and said he'd really miss us. That is a miracle, because he is always a jokester. It was great to feel like we had impacted his life. It was also great to have Brother Bubb at church, because him and his wife have been less-active for awhile. He even brought his kids! Miracle!

This last week, the Elders came and Blitzed our area (Dover). It means that the whole district went tracting in our area. Well, none of the Elders found new investigators, but we did! We found and awesome man named Stanely. He told us how Christ had helped save him from the bad life he was living. I then recounted the story of Alma the Younger, and it really seemed to hit him. He literally said, "Wow! That is amazing!" after I read a few versus of Alma 36. It was a great experience. It was also an affirmation that we were doing great work in Dover. During the Blitz, Sister LaMont and I taught half of the lessons of the whole district (4 sets of missionaries) and we street contacted half of the people too. It was wonderful to see the Lord bless our efforts and to feel like we are doing great work, especially since they just kicked us out of the area. I do know that the Lord had a purpose for us there. I guess we just fulfilled it. Of course, the ward was sad that we left. They hadn't had Sisters in the ward for over a year, and were so glad to have us back. We also were seeing more success than other missionaries had seen in a long time. I guess we were just supposed to get the area going again, so the Elders could keep it rolling.

Well, by now, you are probably wondering where I am? Any guesses? Well, let's talk about the transformation that occurred. They took Sisters out of Meadville (the Pittsburgh side) and us out of Dover. Then they moved to sets of Sisters into State College (that has been an Elders area for years). Well, I got moved to an area on the Pittsburgh side of the mission, called Cranberry. The travel over here was kind of odd because I was the only Sister to transfer to this side of the mission, so I rode in a van with two Elders!?!? Weird! Well, I am excited to be here in Cranberry and excited for the adventures that lie ahead. My new companion is Sister Gibbs. She has been out for awhile too. She is only serving for 12 transfers so she has two more transfers left and goes home in December. I am enjoying serving with her, but it was sad to say goodbye to Sister LaMont.

Yesterday, I had the most amazing experience of my mission thus far. We knocked on this door (it was the first street we tracted in this area), and a deaf woman named, Angela, answered the

door. She was trying to tell us she was deaf, so I started to sign to her. I haven’t taken a sign language class in probably two years, and it was only one quarter at college, before that it has been since I was a junior in High School. Well, the Spirit is amazing, because I was able to remember way more words than I ever should have. I also talked with her for awhile. I testified of the Savior and the Book of Mormon and even prayed in Sign Language. It was amazing! The Spirit was so strong too, I felt overcome by it, and was fighting back the tears. It is amazing what the Spirit can do, and how he can use you to bless the lives of others. I know I was supposed to be in Cranberry yesterday, so I could meet Angela. She didn't invite us back, but we are going to see if there is an interpreter in the ward, that we can bring to meet her, so who knows.

We also met an amazing man last night who was a member referral. His name is August. His friends (the Cruvers) gave him a Book of Mormon and he has already read a few chapters. We were able to teach him the first lesson and he wants to come to church! I think he has a lot of potential. Who knows, maybe he’ll get baptized before I leave. We also met a recent convert, Carlos, who speaks only Spanish. He comes to church every week and only understands Sunday School (where they teach in Spanish). What an amazing man he is! I am excited to get to know him more, and am starting to read the Book of Mormon in Spanish again, so I can hopefully learn a few more words.

Well, it feels as if my mission, is flying by so fast. I will be home at Halloween. Everyone, keeps putting up Halloween stuff in the stores, so I am trying not to notice it. Plus the leaves are changing colors and beginning to fall, which means Halloween is coming. The other night Sister LaMont and I were tracting, and it was a full moon, a black cat crossed our path, and their were tons of spider webs in doorways. Well, I am trying to hide from Halloween, but it is just no use! I guess the end of my mission will come, no matter how hard I try to hide from it. So, I am just going to work really hard every moment and make every minute count.

Oh! I saw Elder Smart this week at transfers! He is an Elder who lived in the same ward the Springgays live in. I had met him a few times before when I would go to the family ward with them. Well, I led the music at transfers (a talent I have learned on my mission) and afterwards, he came up to me and said hello. Marilyn, I told him you said hi, and he said you were amazing and his all time favorite teacher. He is doing well. It was neat to meet an Elder who is from the same town as me back home. But he is pretty new in his mission, so I probably won’t see him again. It was fun though! It’s funny that President Murray (my old Bishop) got called to Philly, I got called to Harrisburg, and Elder Smart got called to Pittsburg, and we all live in the same town back home. I guess Pennsylvania really needed the Washington influence!

Well, this letter has gotten long! Sorry I am so long winded, but there was much to report. Know that I love and miss you…oh and I almost forgot to give you my new address. Here it is:

2727 Chelsey Court
Cranberry TWP, PA 16066

There may not be a ton of time left on my mission, but I expect you to keep writing me! I love and miss you. Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Deal

3 September 2009

2009-09-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

How are you doing? I am doing great. This week was pretty good, but unfortunately we had a lot of cancelations. Luckily, we were blessed to see many friendly faces come out to church. The Evans came and this was their second time coming since we've been here. Before that, they hadn't been for 6 months! So it was a treat to have them come and to see them stay for Sunday School. We had a great lesson with them this week. They really opened up as we shared the Plan of Salvation and even invited us to stay for dinner. It was great. They are progressing nicely. Ernie and Becky Seigel came to Sacrament meeting again this week. It is great to see them coming more regularly. Cody and Brother Holmes also came to church! So it was a great Sunday!

On Sunday though, we did get some shocking news. One of the areas we cover (New Cumberland) is getting moved into the other ward. So that means, the Evans, will get turned over to the Elders. It is sad. But hopefully it will be a good thing. We saw a lot of success working in that area with less-actives and investigators. So it will be sad to let it go. But the Elders in the other ward are amazing, so I am sure they will all be in good hands.

This week, a family in that area called us. Sister Cheryl King called us to ask if we could come visit them. Well, she is less-active, and the only member of their family. So there is potential for her 3 children and husband to join. We had a great lesson with them. They seem to have great potential. Unfortunately, we'll only be able to work with them for another week or two and then they move into the other ward.

We went to Chocolate World again last week for p-day with the Sisters and President and Sister Summerhays. It was way fun. We went out to lunch, visited chocolate world, and then he sent us home with a lot of chocolate! It was sweet of them to spoil us so much!

Unfortunately, we haven't met with Cody since my last letter. Hopefully he will meet with us again in the next couple of days! Pray for it! He did come to church though, they said they needed to check their schedule at work before setting another appointment. They (Rebecca & Cody) did seem excited about meeting with us again though. Rebecca called and told me that Cody was way excited after our last appointment and even more excited that I invited him to be baptized on the first appointment! AMAZING! He is also excited that I am a convert too, and can relate to him. It is amazing how the Lord blesses us to see miracles. I am very grateful to be able to have more opportunities to work with Cody.

This week we stopped by to visit with the Gholsons. We had a wonderful lesson with the. During the lesson, Brother Gholson (Dave) who isn't a member, sat in on the lesson! This was a miracle because he is never involved in the lessons and usually excuses himself when we teach or even pray. Well, as I was teaching about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis, he started asking lots of questions.

Then, he applied the story to the family! AMAZING! Well, he told us that he isn't into church, but completely supports his family. Then he invited us to a party. I explained that our time was valuable, and we probably wouldn't be able to go. I could see it was really important to him, so I softened and compromised that we could stay for an hour. Anyway, the lesson went on, and we invited the whole family to church. Sister Gholson started making excuses, and then Brother Gholson jumped in and said, "No. You were involved in that church for 9 months, while I was away. You even taught in Sunday School. As soon as I get home, you decide not to go anymore. I don't think that is right. We will all be at church on Sunday, myself included." So he invited himself to church and the whole family was shocked but agreed to go! I then went into explain fast and testimony meeting. Well, as I did, he tried to commit Amber (the 10-year-old girl) to bear her testimony on Sunday. It was cute. We shall see what happens. Oh! The next day, Sister Gholson called us to "un-invite" us to the party. She expalined that there would be drinking there. I explained that was why I was so apprehensive was because I was afraid there might be. She said she talked to Dave and that he agrees it is best we shouldn't go but that he told her to tell us he'll still be at church on Sunday! AMAZING! Please pray that the Gholsons will keep their commitment and come to church on Sunday!

This Sunday we were part of teaching BYD. It was fun. They asked us to share experiences from Seminary or Institiute (in my case). It was fun to reflect on how much Institute prepared me for my mission, and strengthened my testimony.

This week, we tracted Mulberry Court, and I sang, "Round and round the Mulberry court, the Sisters went a knocking..." It was pretty funny. I know, I am a bit cheesy. But it is fun to sing while tracting!

Okay, so time for me to be just a wee bit trunky. Many of you have been asking what my plans are for when I retrun home. So here they are. I will arrive home on October 21. October to December is a bit of a blur. Some plans are, that my little brother, Robert is taking leave in October, so I will get to see him. My Mom and I are headed to Disney and to Florida to visit family for a week in November. Then there is always fun holiday stuff. In January I will be headed to BYU-Idaho. I start on January 5. I got accepted to the Winter/Spring track, which means I will be going to school from January to July. As far as other plans, who knows. But that is the basis of it. I am way excited to go to BYU-Idaho. I am also way excited to see all of you. Transfers are this week, which means I only have one transfer left. I am pretty sure I am staying in Dover until the end, so keep the letters coming! Well, if you have any more questions, just ask.

Well, time is short. Know that I love and miss you guys. And I guess it will be no time at all before I see you again. But don't worry, I'm not too trunky. I love this gospel! I love this work! I am excited for the miracles that lie ahead. I am excited to work hard until I come home, so I can see many more miracles. I love and miss y'all. Have a great week.

Love,
Sister Deal

27 August 2009

2009-08-31T11:52:00.000-07:00

Hello Family & Friends!

How are you doing? I am doing great! This week was full of ups and downs! And time just seems to race faster and faster. Yesterday, I realized I have been a missionary for 17 months! When I realized it, an Elder asked if it felt like it flew by. I told him it did. I told him it feels like a rollercoaster ride. You go really slow up the big huge hill to start, but once you get over the hill, the ride seems to just go faster and faster and you want it to slow down, so you can enjoy the ride, but then the ride is over, and you wish you could go again. That's a lot how I am feeling. This transfer is almost over. Then I only have 6 weeks left. That is crazy. We still have one more week of this transfer though. So it will be nice to enjoy another week with my companion, Sister LaMont. We had interviews this week with the Mission President and it looks like she will be transferred to a new area in a week. I'm glad to stay, but sad to see her go.

Okay, so for the week, it was pretty good. Unfortunately some of our investigators dropped themselves again, but we picked up a few new ones. So that is nice. Plus we had 3 less-actives and 3 investigators at church! And we met our golden investigator just a few days ago. He is amazing. But I'll get to that later. Time is short this week because we are going to Hershey again. President Summerhays called us up to invite us to go to Chocolate World. We couldn't resist. It will be fun to spend a p-day with the Mission President.

Okay, so let's talk investigators. Ronald Dixon, our investigator set for baptism on Spetember 5, called and said he doens't want to meet us for awhile because he is going to be out of town for awhile. I think he was just feeling pressure from his wife. It was really sad, but I have no doubts that he'll make it there someday! Margie Gise came to church on Sunday! Amazing! She absolutely loved it. This week we found out that every Sunday morning she wakes up at 6:30 am to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir "Music and the Spoke Word." Isn't that amazing! She is so prepared. We watched the Restoration DVD with her and she said she knows the Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith is a prophet. Then I tried to set her with a date, but it didn't work. I think it is hard for her to think of leaving

her church. Please pray for her to gain a testimony that will cause her to act. Amanda Kincade also came to church this week! And she has been reading on her own, without Ernie having to prompt her! That is a miracle and great progress for her. Since I am staying, I will look forward to helping out at their wedding that is only a few weeks away. Brother Holmes also came to church again. This week we made jelly with Sister Holmes and she gave us some (strawberry jam and pear jelly-my favorite)!

Okay, our new investigator, Cody needs his own paragraph because he is amazing! Rebecca Walters introduced us. We taught him for the first time on Tuesday night. He told us he had investigated the church many years ago, but the timing just wasn't right. Well, his friend who had first introdued him to the church passed away. Anyway, we taught him the message of the Restoration, but treated it more as a review and asked him how he felt about Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. He said he knows the Book of Mormon is true. He read from 1 Nephi 1 to somewhere in Mosiah in one week! He told us that after he started reading it, his friend who first introduced the Book of Mormon to him, appeared to him in a dream and told him he is on the right path! He took that as a sign from the Lord, then woke up and read 50 more pages of the Book of Mormon! AMAZING! Well, he also has a testimony that Joseph Smith is a prophet. Rebecca shared a really sacred experience of how she came to know it was true as the youth took a trip to Kirtland, OH to visit the temple there. Well, it turns out she also introduced Cody to the DC temple! They went there on the way to DC the other day. After it all she said he was really quiet and said he felt something he never has before and that it was really good! Well, of course she pointed out that it was the Spirit he was feeling. To make a long story short, I felt prompted to invite him to be baptized, and he accepted a baptismal date for September 26th! So please pray that he will keep his commitments to come to church, and that his testimony will continue to grow. He truly is a miracle. He reminds me so much of me and my on fire desires to learn more of the gospel! What a miracle it is to be a part of his conversion.to him! Exciting!

Well, we had Amber Mosely come on exchange with us this week. She just received her call to the St. George Visitors Center. So she is coming on exchange with us more regularly. She is so cute. It is great to have her come out and remember the times that I was so excited to go on a mission and how I felt when I first got here. She is such an inspiration to me.

We got to eat with our hands this week! We were having dinner with the Gonzales family and they have a friend from the Phillipines with them. She insisted we eat with our hands. It was way fun! It's not every day a missionary eats with their hands! We had some strides with our less-actives this week. Sister Meacher-Roberts, and her daughter Jackie, came to church! I think it was the first time they have come to church in over a year! What a

miracle! We are having dinner with them tonight and will hopefully start visiting them more. Thanks for your prayers! We also had Sister Gonzales come to church. It is so nice to see her become more regular. Yesterday, we visited with Bonnie Bubb. She is a less-active Sister that we have been trying to see for awhile. She finally let us visit. She was so open with us about her concerns and really seemed to enjoy our visits. Then she even called to thank us for visiting her. How sweet!

Well, sorry this e-mail is so scattered. There was just so much to tell you! Well, I am out of time and it is time to head to Hershey. Know that I love and miss you. Keep writing me. Missionaries love mail! I love and miss y'all!

Love,
Sister Deal

20 August 2009

2009-08-20T18:21:00.001-07:00

Hello Family & Friends!

How are you guys doing? I am doing well. This week was another adventure. I don't have too many amazing stories for you, but I'm sure I will have more next week. This week we had 5 less-actives at church (the Gholsons, Bro. Rentzel, and Christina Peterson). We also had an investigator at church too (Bro. Holmes).

Well, I basically just have fun stories for you, due to the fact that a lot of lessons fell through, or investigators dropped themselves. Ron is still progressing nicely and so is Amanda. She really opened up to us this week. Please continue to pray for them both.

As you know, we went to Hershey last P-day. It was way fun! We even visited the Milton Hershey school and ate ice cream. Oh! And the best part was that we went to Red Robin for lunch! That was the first time I have ate at Red Robin in almost 17 months! Yummmy! It was so great to have a Sisters P-day. We also had a Sisters exchange this week. That was loads of fun. I enjoyed working with other sisters and changing things up a little bit. So this week we discovered other Sisters do still exist :)

This week, we started to serve the Holmes. Sister Holmes is active, and Brother Holmes is an active non-member. He comes to church every week, but just hasn't made the leap of

baptism. Anyway, we are trying to serve them and befriend him. Hopefully we can start to teach him more soon. We are just planting seeds for now. His home teacher, Brother Liechty is helping a lot. He has invited him to pray about baptism. So please pray for Brother Holmes! So, what service have we been doing for the Holmes? We have been canning! How fun! I learned to can pickles and peaches this week. I had never canned before, and never realized how much fun it is. So I look forward to serving them more :)

So, now I am going to test your memories! Do you remember when I was serving in Red Lion a year ago? Well, I mentioned a sweet woman who the Elders had baptized, named Vikkiey Brenner. Well, she was a sister we had visited as well. And then she passed away from a stroke, after being a member only a few months. We could see such a great change in her. Anyway, I felt called to help her, because I had faced similar challenges as she had. I helped encourage her that she is a daughter of God. Anyway, one of the Elders who baptized her, had his mom contact me, and they got the info together and I will be doing her temple work for her when I get home! This week I received her card in the mail! I am so excited. I look forward to the opportunity to do her work, because I know she is waiting for it to be done. I feel honored to help Vikkiey in this great thing. So I thought you would enjoy hearing about it. It is truly a dream come true! And it is one of the few things motivating me to actually get on the plane in a few months and come back home. I love this work so much, but I am also way excited to get back into doing temple work, and especially temple work for Vikkiey!

Well, last night we had a cottage meeting. Isaac Heartsch was able to teach part of the lesson. He is the boy in the ward who looks exactly like my brother Robert. Isaac will being leaving for his mission to Guatemala in October. Anyway, when he bore his testimony last night, it was so powerful. I was drawn to tears. It made me think of my little brother and how much I love and miss him. In turn I also thought of all of you. Just know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. It is amazing how the Lord uses other people out here to remind me of those I love back home.

Well, tomorrow will be exactly 2 months until I get home. It's crazy to believe how fast the time is passing. I love this work. I love the miracles I am witnessing each day. This week, I felt called to this area for Sister LaMont. She is having some serious health issues. Please pray for her. She needs all the prayers she can get. I felt like the Lord used me this week to comfort her in her time of need. I love her tons! Anyway, I should go for now. The Elders are waiting for us to play volleyball with them. Write soon! I love and miss you!

Love,
Sister Deal

13 August 2009

2009-08-13T10:15:00.001-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

There are so many stories to recount, but time is not on my side. Today is our Sisters p-day in Hershey, so I have to be quick. So I will just try to highlight the best stuff. How was my week you ask? Well, last week we had 12 canceled appointments! That was really tough. But we kept pressing on. I told Sister LaMont that all those canceled appointments just meant that something amazing was about to happen! And...I was right!

I guess I will start with the most exciting news...Ronald Dixon. As you'll recall, he is the investigator who highlights all his scriptures, and fills out all the study questions in the pamphlets. He is truly golden. Well, we were teaching him the third lesson this week (faith, repentance, baptism, holy ghost, enduring to the end) and when Sister LaMont started talking about enduring to the end, I felt prompted to invite him to baptism. We had talked about inviting him, but we hadn't picked a specific date. So, I decided to pull out my mini calendar that Sister Ransom had made me. I looked at it to pick a date because I felt like the Spirit was telling me that I needed a specific date in mind. So I looked at the calendar and felt good about September 5. Well, then I went into extending the invitation to be baptized. After asking him, he said that he definitely felt like we were led to him and that there is something God wants him to do, but he isn't sure what that is. I then went on to bear my testimony to him. I told him I understood that baptism was a sacrifice, because it was for me. He then explained that his wife wasn't supportive and that it would be a great sacrifice. Then I explained that any sacrifice he made would be worth it all, and he would be blessed much more than he would have to sacrifice.

Then I kept feeling like I needed to extend a date. So, I told him I felt prompted to ask him to prepare himself for baptism on September 5. He then responded, "The Spirit works in mysterious ways. My wife leaves for a two week vacation on September 4. I will prepare myself to be baptized on September 5." I just wanted to cry. It was great to see this miracle happen after a week full of canceled appointments. He is so excited, and of course, we are too.

As we left the appointment, Sister Barnett (our exchange) looked at me. She said, "Do you realize what a tool you are in the Lord's hands? Ron told you he was baptized as a baptist, and then later a penticostal, and you were able to look at him and say, 'So was I. But I realized that though I felt good things at those baptisms, it wasn't by the proper authority. My Bishop told me that the third time was the charm. Maybe it will be the same for you too.' Do you realize, Sister Deal, what you bring to the lessons being a convert? You are able to relate in ways we can't. I don't know if you realize this, but I am sure that the reason you stayed in Dover is so you could help Ron get baptized and relate to him in ways that others cannot!" It was so wonderful to hear those words. I know she is right. Part of the reason I am here in Dover is for Ron! What a blessing to be used as a tool in the Lord's hands to bring about his great purposes! Please pray that Ron will do all he can to prepare for and keep his baptismal date of September 5!

This week was also Zone Conference, there was some good stuff and also some hard stuff. I guess there have been some missionaries who haven't been as obedient as they should. So, Zone Conference was a lot about rules and obedience. It was really hard for me to hear it all and not beat myself up and think that I wasn't doing enough (especially because the week before was our 12 canceled appointments, and I was also really sick, so we couldn't tract as much as I would have liked too). So when we came home, I kinda broke down in tears. I just want to be able to do all I can and work hard so that I can help as many people as I can before I come back home. Well, my companion tried to comfort me, but I was really struggling. So she convinced me to call the mission president. I had hoped to be uplifted and strengthened at Zone Conference, but just felt like I wasn't doing enough.

Anyway, here comes the tender mercy of the Lord. President and I played phonetag, that day. So the next morning, when I was reading the Book of Mormon, I prayed that the Lord would speak to me through the scriptures and help me to know how He felt about the work I am doing. Well, I just so happened to read Jacob 2 and 3. If you read those chapters Jacob starts out saying that he has been instructed by God to address the sins of the people. He explains that he wished he didn't have to be so harsh, because he knew that there were some pure women who were there who had hoped to hear the word of God that heals the wounded soul. But he would have to speak harsh so that those who were committing the sins would repent. In chapter 3:1-2 he goes on to speak to the pure in heart. I have read these verses to a lot of people on my mission. They have always been my favorite. But when I read them that morning, it hit me like a ton of bricks. He tells the pure in heart to look unto God and he will console us in our afflictions. He also tells us to feast upon the love of God. After reading that I felt like the Lord was saying that I was doing a good job and that the message was meant for those who weren't being obedient. As soon as I received that confirmation, President Summerhays called and told me that he is proud of the work I am doing, and to just keep doing my best, that his message wasn't intended for me, but for those who aren't doing what they are supposed to. It was a neat moment for me.

At Zone Conference we had time to recite scriptures we had been memorizing. Well, Sister LaMont and I have been putting scriptures to songs, and the first one we did was Romans 8:16 to the tune of "The Spirit of God." When Sister Summerhays said Romans 8:16, my hand went up like a bullet. I am sure I looked like a little kid. Anyway, she picked on me to recite it, and I asked if I could sing it. The whole chapel burst into laughter. Then I sang it and we were rewarded free candy. It was so hard to keep from laughing! A great moment. Then later, the Elders in our Zone asked us to sing a song at Zone Conference (five minutes before we had to sing it). We sang "Let Us All Press On." That is one of my favorite tracting songs! So I had to do all I could not to laugh while I looked out at Sister Bradshaw and sang.

Last of the funny moments. Sister LaMont finally went to see Dr. Knudsen and found out that the reason she has been in pain for the last month and a half is because she tore a muscle that happens most often when you are frequently getting in and out of the car! How funny! This week while tracting, Sister LaMont was feeling kinda down, so I started the first few doors. When it was her turn she said, "Hi my name is Sister Deal and this is Sister LaMont...." It took everything in me not to crack up! We are truly unified companions :)

Well, time is up. Have a great week and write soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

6 August 2009

2009-08-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

How are you doing? It has been a whole week with no mail...I'm sure it is due to the delay with transfers...but I'd love to get some snail mail this week with updates on your life :) Things are going great for us here in Dover. We are working hard and playing hard. Today we get to play tennis with the Elders again and I am so excited! I love Tennis!

As for the work, it is going well. Unfortunately we've had a lot of cancelations this week, but we are still seeing miracles! Ronald Dixon is still doing amazing! He has been reading his Book of Mormon and highlighting it. He even has been doing all the additional study questions in the pamphlet we left for him. He is progressing nicely. He should be at church this week, please pray that he will keep his commitment to come to church this week. Deb and Gabe Varsanyi are also doing well. They have tons of questions! We took Brother and Sister LaFrance with us to visit them and they were amazing! I love having members help us with missionary work! Vincent came to church again this week. He is doing pretty good. We had an amazing lesson with him this week. We were teaching him the plan of salvation, and baptism just kept coming up. We asked him how he enjoyed 3 Nephi 11 and he mentioned baptism, then we had him read Alma 7:11-13 and he went on to read 14 which talks about baptism and when we asked what he got from the scripture (we were talking about the atonement) he said, "you need to be baptized." In District Meeting we had talked about inviting to baptism when the Spirit is strong. So I followed the Spirit and extended a baptismal invite. He said he would be baptized if he knew it was true! But then he said he wanted to learn more before meeting us again :( But the cool thing was that both Sister LaMont and I felt that he will be baptized! So pray that he will have desires to meet with us again soon.

This week we also had 5 less-actives at church. The Gholsons came again, as well as Becky Siegel and Brother Rentzel. Brother Rentzel hasn't been to church in awhile. So it was great to have him there. We have been doing service for his wife, Sister Rentzel, each week. She is really coming along. We watched Finding Faith in Christ with her, and it was a great lesson. We also visited with Cati Meacher for the first time this week. We had an amazing lesson with her. As we were getting to know her, I asked her about what she remembers from her baptism. She said that she was 10 and doesn't remember much, but what she did remember was being sealed to her family in the temple for time and all eternity. As she shared her feelings of that time, tears filled her eyes. I then pulled out some pictures I had been sent from a friend of the Seattle Temple. She said that is where her family was supposed to be sealed in, but they ended up getting sealed in the Portland Temple. Anyway, I encouraged her to focus on getting to the temple and remember it is just one step at a time that we get back to him. Then we sang a hymn for her, "The Lord is My Light." As we sang the tears returned to her eyes. When we gave her a hug as we left she said, "I am just so grateful someone finally came!" It was a sweet experience. We actually didn't have her records in our ward, but found her through teaching her mom, Sister Meacher-Roberts. It was great to know the Lord had used us to help lighten someone's load and to feel loved.

This week we had dinner with the Ashtons. It was great. Sister Ashton asked me to share my conversion story. I shared it with her, and as I did, she began to cry. She thanked me for sharing my testimony, and said that it strenghtened her desires to share the gospel. It was a sweet experience for me. I love the gospel!

Okay, so time for a few funny stories. Last week, after finishing my e-mail, I went to tell the Elders that they could e-mail too. Well, I walked in to find them playing volleyball. We have felt left out of a lot of activities for awhile. Anyway, I kinda lost it and said, "Sister LaMont, they are playing volleyball and didn't even invite us! You know Elders, you should think about inviting us sometimes so we don't feel so much like outcasts." Then they invited us to play, and I asked Sister LaMont if she wanted to and she wanted to go shopping. So I said, "No. We're going shopping." Well it was funny because it was the first thing I had said to half of our new district. Of course later, I felt bad, and appoligized to our District Leader. Then I explained how there aren't any sisters near us, and how the elders are constantly leaving us out. So our District Leader called the Zone Leaders, and next week we are having a Sisters P-day! So the moral of the story is, whining pays off ;-)

Okay, I'm not sure about the timing of this story, so if I wrote about it last week, just move on. This week? I was sleeping and my companion was awake. Well, I started singing in my sleep the song from Pocahontas. I sang, "Should I choose the surest course, steady as the beating drum...or do you still wait for me dreamgiver, just around the riverbend?" She cracked up laughing, and I guess I did too. She asked if her laughing woke me up, and I guess I said, "And my singing!" So looks like I'm a singing princess in my sleep!

Okay last funny story! The Bishop's son, Nathan Toone and the Relief Society President's daughter, Alison Laird, just got engaged! How cute is that?!? Anyway, it is way funny, because everyone called it. It is straight out of a mormon film!

Well, time is short. Time for Tennis. Have a fabulous week. Please write soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

30 July 2009

2009-08-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

How are you? I am doing well. I guesss I will start this week off by telling you about transfers. Transfers came...and drumroll please....we both stayed in Dover! Crazy! It was definetly not what we expected to happen. All the Sisters in the mission either got a new companion, or went to a new area...all but us :( So all the Sisters got to go to transfer meeting and meet each other in Pittsburg...all but us :( But, life goes on. We are getting used to being the loner sisters (our area is far away from all the other Sisters, so we never see any missionaries except Elders). We are excited to still be together and to be here in Dover. It is way fun. I really do love serving with Sister LaMont, I was just surprised that we would stay together for 3 transfers in a row. That doesn't happen very often. In my last letter before transfers I told the President that all the spaces for Companion names were filled in my Preach My Gospel and that there just wasn't room for any more companions. I guess I got my wish! So it's likely I will finish my mission here in Dover. We shall see.

Okay, so for the week. I guess we should start with Sunday. On Sunday we had 6 less actives (The Gholsons, Sister Gonzales, Brother Choate and Christina Peterson) and 2 investigators (Vinny and Dana) come to church! It was wonderful to see so many people at church. They all seemed to really enjoy it too. It was a good sacrament meeting too. They talked about pioneers. The primary children sang a primary song that goes something like this: The pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked. Well, I had to laugh, because I have been singing that song a lot with my companion but changed the words to: The missionaries sang as they knocked and knocked and knocked and knocked. It has sort of been our theme song for last transfer. So it was hilarious when they broke out and sang it.

The ward is way excited to have us stay. They keep saying we are such a "dynamic duo" that we can't be split up. They have been taking care of us. Thier gardens are still producing and they keep blessing us with fruits and veggies. We've been helping the Whitneys a lot in thier garden too. This week we also helped Sister Rentzel shell a whole bunch of lima beans. It was way fun. And they are feeding us so much! I'm pretty sure I will gain some weight right before I go home. This week we had eleven meals with members! Of course all of them didn't sign up, they would just go on exchange with us and decide we needed to go to lunch or dinner. So no worries, even if I wanted to, I can't go hungry in this Ward!

The weather has been wierd this summer. It hasn't felt much like last summer. But this week, summer finally arrived. It was hot and humid like I remembered it from last summer. We've been having lots of rainy days here. I keep joking that the rain is trying to prepare me for going back to Seattle. Of course we've had some crazy rain storms like you wouldn't see in Seattle. One day, we were driving to a dinner appointment, and big rain drops kept slowly falling. I then said to my companion, "This weather should make up it's mind. It looks like it is ready to pour on us, but all we get is an occasional big rain drop. It should either rain or not." A moment later, the rain poured down so hard I could barely see anything while I was driving. We arrived to our dinner appointment and were soaked! It was pretty funny. That's the last time I give the rain a hard time right before an appointment. Well, there was one more funny rain story. We went to go visit our investigator, Sid. Right before the appointment the rain just came down like crazy. So we had to run up to his door. We arrived soaked for our appointment. When he opened the door he said, "I thought you might call to cancel due to the rain." I looked him in the eye and said, "No Sid. You are more important than a little rain." It was pretty funny. I love Pennsylvania rain!

Well, our teaching pool is getting pretty big. We have been teaching lots of lessons. As you can see from church on Sunday, we are seeing much success with our less-actives and investigators. The first week of last transfer we had no investigators, now we have 13! Amazing. And yesterday we found 4 more. The work really is picking up in Dover. It is great.

This week we taught Ronald Dixon again. He is amazing! When we went back to see him he had read all of the intro to the Book of Mormon, the testimonies, and several chapters in the Book of Mormon. He has tons of questions too. We had a great lesson with him and are going back to see him tomorrow. He should be coming to church this week! Unfortunately, Brenda's husband cracked down and has asked us to only come once a month. She is reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning now and even started a study journal. She is so cute. Amanda Kincade is a work in process. Every time we teach her, the Spirit is so strong, but she has a wall up. We can't seem to figure out how to break it down. On Monday, we had a movie night with her and watched the Restoration DVD. The Spirit was way strong. I think she'll get there, but she needs a lot of prayers. I think she is afraid to find out if it is true for herself because her family is completely against the idea, and if she finds out, then she'd have even more opposition. Please pray for her. We also taught Jane this week. She is a sweet older woman with cancer. Seeing her have so much faith amidst this hard time has strengthened my faith. Shingles is nothing compared to cancer. It was great to see the faith she had amidst the trials she has been thrown. It has given me faith to endure through sickness and the strength to work hard. And by the way, I am feeling much better now! We saw Carl again this week and had a great lesson with him. He really felt the Spirit as we watched the Restoration DVD, despite Lisa being distracting and talking loudly on the phone through the whole thing. He wants to come to church this week! We had a lesson with Vinny this week (Vincent) at the Mirandas home. The lesson went well and Brother Miranda bore a powerful testimony. We are excited to go back and teach him again.

A cool finding story happened yesterday. We were tracting and we knocked on this man's door. His name is Alan. Well, we started teaching him the message of the Restoration, and he told us he was watching Glen Beck (he's a member). He said he loved the things Glen Beck shared and had learned a little about the church through listening to him. He seemed excited to read the Book of Mormon. We are excited to see him again!

Sister Laird is amazing! She is our Relief Society President. She has been going on excahnges with us like crazy. Her testimony is so strong and she is so powerful when she speaks. Yesterday we had a great lesson with Sister Rentzel, one of our less-actives. Sister Rentzel opened up to us a lot about why she hasn't been coming to church. We decided we are going to fast for Sister Rentzel this week. She has just been through a lot and really just needs to learn to let the Savior and others help her. I really think Sister Laird will help her out a ton.

Brother Choate came to church! This is a miracle. He has been less-active for many years. We have been calling him each week to invite him to church. This week I called him and left a message that said, "Hey Brother Choate! This is your favorite Sister Missionaries calling. We just called to remind you that Sunday is a special day and we'd love to see you at church." Well, he just showed up to church! When I saw him I told him it looked like he got my message. He smiled and said he can't seem to escape me and liked my message. Well, we taught him yesterday and he and his son are coming to church this Sunday! Exciting!

Well, I could recount so many more stories, but I have probably taken up enough of your time. Last story. The other day, the Dover Security stopped us and asked us if we had a "Peddlers Permit." We explained that we were just out sharing messages about Jesus Christ. He smiled and said, "Oh, well keep up the good work." Then he left. Our hearts probably stopped because we were so afraid we were going to get yelled at for sharing the gospel in the town we live in. Luckily, Heavenly Father is watching out for us :)

Well I am still in Dover. Write me lots of letters. In case you have forgotten I am at:

20 A Stony Lane
Dover, PA 17315

I love you guys! Thanks for all you do for me. Thanks for your prayers and letters. Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Deal

23 July 2009

2009-07-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

Well, there were lots of adventures this week, but to be honest, it all feels like a blur. I guess I will start with last p-day. We went to Gettysburg! We actually made it out there! It was seriously amazing. It was great to reflect on all that our ancestors did to protect our freedoms. I wished I could have spent the whole day there, but we saw a lot of great things and had a blast, if you are ever out here, you should come check it out. Oh! That reminds me, we ran into so many people who couldn't help but say hi to us because they saw our nametags! It was fun running into members of the church from all over the country. We never see that many in one day!

Okay, so now for a little downer news. As you know, I have been struggling with sickness off and on my whole mission. This transfer has been a little rough. One week I had to go to the doctor because there was something literally stuck in my eye. He had to take a needle to my eye to get it out. Well, it left my eye pretty irritated, but healed quickly. Of course there is always the stomach issues. This week topped the transfer off when I discovered that I contracted Shingles! I really can't do anything but laugh it all off. Sometimes I think the adversary is trying to slow me down, so when one thing doesn't work, he throws out another. Luckily Heavenly Father is more powerful than he is. I went to see the Doctor and then had the Shoemakers give me a blessing because I was in so much pain. Well, after the blessing, a miracle happened! The pain just ceased. I still have the shingles, but they are healing and the pain is gone. I love the power of the Priesthood. It is real! So, no worries my health is on its way up, I'm sure I'll be good in no time, prayers are always appreciated though!

As far as the work, it is going great. Let's see there is much to report and so little time. I'm sure you'll recall me talking about how hard the area was when we first got here. Well, the ward can't stop raving about us now, especially the Bishop. We had dinner at his house on Sunday and he kept telling everyone there what hard workers we are and how we had so much to report one week that we ended up taking up the entire PEC meeting. It is great to see his enthusiasm. Our ward mission leader continues to be a blessing to us. He and the other ward missionaries went out last night to meet our investigators and just let them know that they were there if the investigators had questions or needed anything. AMAZING!

As far as our investigators are going, they are great. We are still teaching Amanda (Ernie Seigel's fiance). She is doing great but has a few questions. We have been teaching her twice a week and the lessons are going great. The Spirit is so strong as we teach her. She actually lives in our apartment complex so that is fun. We have been teaching her at her apartment and Ernie joins us for the lessons. He has been great. You can just see his testimony growing through the whole process. She is a sweetheart too. So far we've made it through the first 3 lessons. This week, when we taught her lesson 3 and talked about baptism and the holy ghost, I felt prompted to share how I received my answer that I should be baptized and receive the gift of the holy ghost. I don't usually share it with investigators. But it was perfect for her. The Spirit was so strong as I bore testimony of how I came to know it was what I needed to do, and everyone in the room was in tears. We invited her to baptism, but she still isn't quite ready. I think it will take a little time for her, but she will get there. Please pray for Amanda!

Last week I didn't take enough time to tell you about the cute family we found. Last week, we tracted Elder Trail (that's the name of the road). Then when we were about to get into the car, I saw this couple sitting on thier porch on an adjacent road. So I ran over to talk to them. Their names are Deb and Gabe Barsanyi. They are so cute. They invited us to sit on the porch with them and started asking us questions, well we were able to answer their questions by teaching a first lesson. The lesson went really well and they seemed to feel the Spirit as we taught. Well, this week we went back to teach them lesson 2. We only got into a few principles when we discovered that they had some concerns. We addressed thier questions and it was another great lesson. Deb had read several chapters in the Book of Mormon. It was great. They have so much potential and we are so excited about them. Sister LaMont loves it all. She says she never even saw them sitting on the porch until I took off to go meet them. It is neat to have such great people to teach as a result of an OYM.

I don't know if I mentioned how many referrals we have received this transfer. So many! It is amazing. We have been doing the set-a-date program with the ward. It is a program where we basically teach a lesson to a family in the ward and invite them to do something specific to invite a non-member friend to come closer to Christ and they have to do it by a specific date. It has been wonderful. We usually try to do one a week, but have increased our efforts this transfer and are doing 2 a week. We wanted to build member trust since the Elders before us lost a little. Plus we needed help finding people to teach. The members in turn have given us tons of referrals, and we've also received many media referrals. I think the Lord is blessing us for our efforts to invite the ward to help us.

We are seeing great progress with some of our less-actives too. The Gholsons came to church again this week. We had a great lesson with them this week, and the Spirit was way strong too. Melody opened up with us about her concerns with feeling like she doesn't fit in at Young Womens. She said she feels so new in the church, and doesn't know much and feels like she doesn't dress like they do and that they are all so pure. It was great because I could relate to her and tell her that I felt all those same things as a new member. I explained that on my mission I have learned how important it is to have people who are born in the church, as well as converts. I explained that the Lord uses our unique experiences to bless others lives. Anyway, the Spirit was really strong and Sister Gholson started to cry. Hopefully they will come this week and stay for all three hours. Please keep them in your prayers, especially Melody.

Well, I could go on forever, but my time is up. Transfers are on Tuesday, July 28th. We aren't sure who will leave and we wont know until Monday night. So you might not want to send me any mail until you get my e-mail next week so you can know if I transferred or not. The time is flying! This week marks 16 months on my mission, and only 3 months left. If anyone can figure out how to stop time, I'd love to know! Well have a great week. I love and miss you!

Love,
Sister Deal

16 July 2009

2009-07-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

This is going to be a quick e-mail, because time is really short today. We are heading out to Gettysburg!!!! I am so excited because I planned a district trip up there last summer and got emergency transferred a week before we left. So I am way pumped to go.

Well, this week was full of many adventures. The work is really picking up. I love this gospel! We are teaching wonderful people and seeing many mighty miracles. We are teaching an excommunicated man, Nick DaCosta, and he made it out to church this week and then told us he wants to prepare himself to be rebaptized by his son who is returning from his mission in a few months! Exciting! This week, we had two less-active families make it out to church. The Evans and the Gholsons. The Evans are a family that moved into the ward six months ago, and haven't made it out to church once. This was their first time! It was great to see them there. We also saw the Gholsons come to church. When we taught them last week, and I invited them to church, they said that they weren't sure. Then I said, "Will you be at church this Sunday?" Their response was, "Well, maybe. We will have to see." I then said,"This is like one of those questions that has a yes box and a no box. We'd like you to pick the yes box. So which is it?" Well, the boldness payed off and they made it out to church! Hooray! It was great to have them there, because they hadn't been to church in months.

The ward is taking great care of us. This week there was a day where we didn't have a dinner scheduled, and got fed three times! We started out the day doing service in the Whitneys' garden and then they surprised us with a huge lunch and desert. Then we went on exchange with the Liechtys and they invited us over for steak and fresh corn-on-the-cob and desert. Then we stopped by the Holmes to see if we could get to know them better, and Brother Holmes just kept giving us all the junk food he could find. We were really full! This week we have also been berry picking at the Holmes and been given fresh vegetables from the ward members gardens. It is so wonderful to be given fresh fruits and vegetables! Yum! I am excited to have my own garden someday!

We had a bit of a fiasco at the ER this week. No worries, we are fine. My companion was having sharp pains in her lower abdomen and Sister Summerhays thought it might be her apendix, so she told us to go to the ER. Well, we have stopped doing follow up calls with our District Leader every night (we only do them once or twice a week). So I didn't expect our District Leader to call us. Well, we went to the ER and were there forever. Well, our cell phone lost reception and wouldn't let me even see if we had missed calls. At about 11:30 pm, out District Leader found us in the hospital, and told us that he had called the mission president because he couldn't find us, and they told him to check here. Well, the APs were on the phone with us and the Mission President. Apparently, we had 8 missed calls, and everyone was worried about us. It was a huge ordeal. But no worries, my companion didn't have to get her apendix out, and we made it home about 3 am. Crazy! It was an adventure. We felt bad that everyone was worried, we had just assumed that Sister Summerhays knew we were in the ER and that would suffice. I guess we were wrong. So we made chocolate treats to try and make it up to everyone who had to stay up late on our behalf.

Well, we are teaching some great people and seeing many miracles. Please pray for: Brenda, Dana, Ronald, Amanda, Deb & Gabe Barsanyi and for us to find more investigators. Those are a few of the great ones we are working with right now! Oh! One last story. We visited with Sister Meacher this week (who is a less-active) she said she had just had a dream that she was in Relief Society and we needed her to play the piano. Well, we were with the Relief Society President, Sister Laird, and Sister Laird exclaimed, "We do need you! We don't have a pianist!" Crazy how the Lord speaks to some of us through dreams! Miracle!

Well, I'd love to recount all the other amazing experiences we've had this week, but there just isn't time. Gettysburg awaits! I love and miss you! Write soon, and if I didn't write you this week, know I will respond next week.

Love,
Sister Deal

6 July 2009

2009-07-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you? How was your 4th of July? I hope it was great! We had a fun 4th too. I'll get to that later though. As for the week, it was probably the best week we have had so far. We found 3 new investigators in one day! It felt great to find more investigators. Our teaching pool has increased too. That is a blessing!

So, I guess we shall start with investigators. This week we taught Brenda Stone again. The lesson went well. We made her a birthday cake to celebrate her birthday. We also taught her the plan of salvation. She remembered a lot of what she had been taught before. It was a great lesson. The only downfall, is her husband. When we went over on Friday, he yelled at us and told us that she was "handicapped." If you met Brenda, you would not think there was anything wrong with her. We ended up being able to teach her the next day, and still deliver her cake. But we can tell that her husband really doesn't want us there. The sad part is that she seems to embrace so much of the gospel. So hopefully his heart will soften towards us.

We also were able to connect with Robert again. We had a great lesson on faith with him, and primarily answered his questions. He is excited about the gospel. We plan to go back and teach the Plan of Salvation. Please pray that he will keep his appointment. He isn't always the most solid on his appointments.

The 4th of July Picnic proved very fruitful for us. We went to the Ward BBQ and were able to meet a lot of non-members. We even had the opportunity to commit a less active and his non-member fiance to come to church this week. The good news is that they kept their commitment! We even get to teach the non-member fiance (Amanda) tonight. We are so excited to start working with her. She is a sweet girl and actually lives in our apartment complex. The picnic was a lot of fun, except that it was on a lake, and all the activities were water based. So we primarily mingled and watched activites. We had to be in before the fireworks started, but my companion could not bear to miss them. So when they started going off around our apartment complex, she ran outside and I...HAD to follow ;-D So we were able to watch a cute fireworks show. It was a fun fourth. We even wore red, white and blue clothes. So festive!

We had some great lessons with less-actives, but none of them made it out to church :( We were able to visit with Christina Peterson this week. We taught her the plan of salvation. It was great to see how much she remembered. We also taught the Gotwalts. They are a new family in our ward. We taught them the message of the Restoration. The lesson went great. It was wonderful to see all that they remembered from being taught by the missionaries. Brother Gotwalt also bore a powerful testimony on how he came to know that the Book of Mormon was true. It was really neat. Then he told us that he notices a difference when their family goes to church, versus when they don't. He said that they fight less and are happier when they go to church and that he really wants to come back. So hopefully they will. We also taught the Gholsons this week. Brother Liechty happened to show up in the middle of the lesson. We taught a first lesson and it was really good. The Spirit was so strong as we bore testimony of Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the gospel. Unfortunately, they haven't been to church in over a month, and didn't make it out again this week. Hopefully we can get them there soon!

Okay, now for a few funny moments. This week we were driving to our dinner appointment, and this crazy rain came from out of nowhere. It was raining so hard, that everyone had thier hazard lights on so you could more easily see each other. We were all going 40 in a 55 to try and make space between each car so we could see each other. It was fun and scary all at once. Of course, my companion said a pray for us, and the rain let up. As much rain as we get in Seattle, you wouldn't ever see anything like that out there! Pennsylvania has what I like to call real rain! It has thunder, lightening and if you are in it for more than thirty seconds, you are soaked!

Well, I'm not sure if I told you this story or not, but at Christmas Departing Fireside, while we were singing "Called to Serve" I looked out in the audience and swore that my little brother, Robert, was sitting in the crowd. Of course he wasn't, but it was just his twin. Well, I met his twin in this ward. His name is Isaac Heartsh. Well, he just put in his mission papers and is going to Guatemala in October. I thought it would be fun to bring him a picture of my little brother to see if he agrees that they look alike. Well, he did, and his old young men's president, and his mom agreed! It was funny because they all laughed and were as shocked as me. They said that he is definetely Robert's twin! Crazy! So, little brother, if you are reading this, I found your twin!

This week was Zone Conference and we finally met President and Sister Summerhays. They are sweet people. They informed us that a few changes would be made. One of which, is that our P-day is changing to Thursday. So I wont e-mail you next Monday, but next Thursday. Also, for all those who have been questioning when I go home. My official date is now October 21st, NOT October 19th. They send missionaries home on Wednesdays. So that's the date. Unless I can extend of course! Well, that is highly unlikely, but I can always dream. So bank on October 21st. Oh and I should give you my new mission address:

Sister Virginia Deal
2589 Washington Rd
Suite #410
Pittsburgh, PA 15241

Again, they would rather you write me directly, but if you aren't sure of my address, you can write me at the mission home. It will just take longer for me to get it. Again my current address is:

Sister Virginia Deal
20A Stony Lane
Dover, PA 17315

Well, time is up for today. Transfers on July 28th, so if I get transfered I will give you the new address. I love and miss you all! I hope you are having a wonderful summer. Go swimming for me and to the temple! I miss them both so much!

All my love,
Sister Deal

29 June 2009

2009-06-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!!!

How are you? I am doing well. This week, was another cloudy week, with a few moments of sunshine. And no, that's not a weather forecast. All of the investigators we have found this transfer, have fallen through. We will find someone to teach, set a return appointment, and then they wont keep their appointment. It is very sad. So there are days, where we fight discouragement and dissapointment. So what ends up happening is the title of this email. We go and get some kind of food to boost our attitudes. This transfer has consisted of a lot of small ice cream shops, Rita's Italian Ice, cake, brownies, pizza, etc. This week, we also treated ourselves to Panera Bread. Yummmm!

The sunshine of our week is Brenda Stone. Brenda was a former investigator who was a media referral. She had called us to get a DVD that the Elders never delivered to her when they were visiting her. We stopped by to see her, because it was hard to get a hold of her to set up a time to meet with her. She is truly heaven sent! The lesson went well. We read from Enos with her. She said that she prays for an hour every night. As we read from the Book of Enos, she qouted parts of the Restoration DVD that she loved. It was so amazing. She says she wants to get baptized, but her husband doesn't approve. So we are praying for a miracle that her husband will be open to the idea. And we are going to continue to teach her. Please pray for Brenda and for her husband. Brenda is literally our only investigator, so please continue to pray that we will find more, and that we will have the faith to find.

This week we tried to make tracting fun by picking fun street names to tract. We tracted Holly (Sister LaMont's first name), Virginia, and Spend-a-Buck Drive. We obviously tracted other streets as prompted by the Spirit, but those were our favorites!

The ward is still amazing! They are really trying to do all they can to help us. This week we mentioned that we would like someone to go on exchange with us to see Brenda. Brother Lichty, a bishopric member, spoke up and said, "Well, it looks like she lives near us. I could take off work and stay home with the kids, so my wife can go out with you!" AMAZING! So that is what he is going to do. The ward is so willing to help us in whatever way they can.

This week Brother Shoemaker, our ward mission leader, set up a dinner with us and a less-active member whose records aren't in our ward, but who lives in our ward. His name is Brother Choate. Well, we had a great dinner appoinment with him. As we were talking, he talked about how his daughter really wants to get piercings and tatoos, and how he didn't think it was a good idea. I opened up to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20(it talks about our bodies being like temples for the holy spirit). I explained that before I joined the church I didn't know the importance of that scripture until I saw a temple. Then it gave me desires to take better care of my body. It was a really neat lesson. He expressed how his ultimate goal is to make it to the temple. His children aren't members, so we are going to teach the whole family. Please pray for the Choate Family.

We had a great lesson with the Gonzales Family. We shared 3 Nephi 17 with them and talked to them about prayer. The Spirit was so strong, they even had tears in their eyes. Emmanuel told us that he had gone home teaching and had been teaching others about prayer, but that our lesson was really powerful and it hit him. We are seeing them again tonight. We were referred to them by Sister Afutiti, because they are less-active. We are excited to see them again tonight.

We had a great lesson with a recent convert this week. His name is David Diaz. He is contemplating going on a mission. We were able to bear our testimonies of how much missions have changed our lives and blessed us. We also explained how we came to know we should serve a mission (ironically, my companion and I were led to the same scripture D&C 15). Anyway, it was a great lesson. He said he is going to continue to pray about it and wants to bear his testimony for the first time this coming Sunday.

We are still meeting with Christina Peterson. Your prayers worked! She is mostly sure she isn't going to have an abortion! Keep praying for her. She came to church this week, and Sister Bubb has been fellowshipping her a ton. We really think she has a lot of potential to progress.

We also saw the Gotwalts this week. They are one of our five less active families. They have real desires to come back to church, so we are going to do what we can to help them get there. Brother Gotwalt is trying to quit smoking. They are having real financial difficulties that make it hard for him not to work on Sundays. Please pray for thier family.

Well, time is short. We are headed out to play Tennis with the Elders. I love and miss you all. Miracles continue to happen. This week our miracle was Brenda. We are so grateful to be teaching her. Please continue to write often. Your prayers and support are felt. Oh! This week marks 15 months of me serving the Lord on my mission. My how fast the time flies. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. It truly has changed me. I love you and miss you so very much!

All my love,
Sister Deal

22 June 2009

2009-06-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!!!!

How are you doing? I hope all is going well for you. I miss and love y'all! As for me, this week was a bit rough. We have really been struggling here in Dover. It is so hard to get an area started where no work was being done. Luckily, we have Heavenly Father on our side. He has been helping us a lot. We keep looking around the riverbend in hopes that another small miracle is hiding there. I'm sure we'll find some soon!

As far as our investigators go, we pretty much have none. As you'll recall, we found two investigators last week, Brian and Robert. Brian dropped himself and Robert has been a bit flaky and keep rescheduling his appointments. We did some tracting this week, but it felt like everyone was pretty much rejecting us, which was hard. On Sunday night, we were to say the least, a bit discouraged. So, before we went tracting, I poured out my heart in prayer to my Heavenly Father. I basically said, "Heavenly Father, I am really struggling with a desire to go tracting right now. As you know, I've been feeling sick, but I really want to go and work, so we can find people to teach. Last week Thou helped us to find 2 new investigators. This week, we haven't found any. Please help us to find 2 new investigators now as we go out tracting...." Well, the Lord answered my prayer. That night was the best time we have had tracting all week. We did find 2 new investigators (Lisa and Dan). They both have families so there is potential to teach many more. We also taught more lessons during that time of tracting than we had taught all week. It was truly a miracle. Though I wish we had tons of progressing investigators, I am grateful that the Lord is helping us to find people to teach.

This week we had our last Zone Conference with the Pughs. It was really sad to say good-bye to them, but the Conference was great. Everything that was talked about was exactly what I needed to hear. Near the end of the conference, President Pugh asked us if we had any questions. Elder Lucherini raised his hand. He explained that sometimes he works really hard but then feels like maybe he could do better and that maybe he isn't doing enough. He explained that at times he just doesn't know how to tell if he is doing all he should. A few people gave him some suggestions, and then I raised my hand. I told him that I times I have felt the same way. I then said, "We know that 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God' If we have a question about anything, we can take it to the Lord in prayer and He will answer us. If ever you aren't sure if your work is acceptable to the Lord, then ask Him. He will tell you. I know that at times, I haven't been sure I am giving enough and I have felt the Spirit confirm to me that the Lord is pleased with my efforts. I know that He is proud of me. God sees us in greater light than we see ourselves. I know that if you ask, He will tell you how He sees you, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if He is very proud of your efforts." As I said these words, Elder Lucherini started to cry. I felt like it was a moment where the Lord was using me to help someone else. It was a really neat experience.

Something else that was neat at Zone Conference was when we all bore our testimonies. I got up and talked about the temple. I struggled through my whole testimony because I couldn't stop crying. Maybe it was because I knew the Pughs were leaving, maybe it was the Spirit, I'm not sure, either way there were lots of tears. I talked about how much I miss going to the temple. I talked about how I am always making excuses as to why we need to leave mission boundaries to go. (My lastest was that it was the only thing that would make me feel physically better). Then I talked about some spiritual experiences I have had while on temple grounds. I talked about how it is where I feel most at home, because it is my Heavenly Father's home. Then I talked about how clean and pure I felt on the day of my baptism, and how when I went to the temple for the first time, I felt not only clean and pure, but like I had being doing what my Heavenly Father wanted me to do and that He was proud of me. I bore testimony of how much the gospel has changed my life and how much happier I am because of it. I cried through every minute of it. I also expressed my love and gratitude for the Pughs and all they have done to help me. I expressed how they feel like my parents out here because they are always full of such love and concern for us. I also expressed that I will always see them as Bellevue, because Bellevue is where the temple is and where I found my Savior, and how they helped me to come even closer to the Savior. I really will miss them.

Well, time came to say good-bye to the Pughs. When Sister Pugh bore her testimony she said, "I am like Sister Deal, I am always trying to be wherever the Spirit is." That was a huge compliment. At every departing fireside, Sister Pugh says things about all the missionaries going home. I have always wondered what she would say about me if she were here and if we still had the firesides. At that moment, I felt like that is what she would say. It meant a lot to me. As we exited the room, President and Sister Pugh hugged all of us. President said, "I've been waiting a long time to give you a hug." My response was, "Me too." It was nice to get a good-bye hug from them both. I really will miss them. Sister Pugh started to cry as I hugged them good-bye. She is so sweet.

The members helped us out more this week. Brother Hoopes gave us 5 referrals! That was a big blessing, unfortunately nothing came out of them. The ward really is a blessing. They are constantly feeding us and trying to do all they can to help us out. If not for the ward, we would be really sad right now. I am grateful to have them. We also seem to have a habit of running into members while tracting. It has happened 3 different times since we have been here. I guess that is good. Hopefully they will see us as hard workers.

We had dinner at Sister Holmes house this week. She has a beautiful garden and in the center of the garden is every little girl's dream house. It is a little princess play house. There is a broom to signify Cinderella, a glass window with flowers on it, to signify Belle, a painted fireplace for Sleeping Beauty, carvings in the ceiling to represent Snow White, a pond outside for Ariel, and a place to climb a tree and stand on Aladin's magic carpet for Jasmine. It was really cute! We had fun.

As far as our less-actives go, we are still struggling to contact any of them. Our recent convert, Christina, is contemplating an abortion. Please pray that the Lord will help her to be healthy enough to keep the baby. We did have some lessons with less-actives. When we taught the Meachers, the Spirit was really strong. Sister Meacher even started to cry. We think they have a lot of potential, and her husband isn't a member, so hopefully, there is potential there. We helped do service for Sister Rentzel. It was fun to serve her. We helped her move things and weed her yard. We really enjoyed it.

One last story. This week there was a day that Sister LaMont forgot to make her bed. She always makes it. So I entered the room only to see her bed not made. As I entered, I gasped in shock. I guess she thought I saw a spider or something because she jumped back in fear. It was great. I must have really scared her. When she realized it was just over her bed, she and I laughed for quite awhile. It may sound like a simple thing, but I thought it was hilarious.

Oh! One more story! On Saturday, we were having a really rough time tracting. No one would even give us two minutes. It was hard. In the middle of tracting, I saw someone get out of their car. I asked Sister LaMont if she would like to go talk to the people while I knocked on the door. She said, "Oh they are so far away. We'll just get them when we knock on their door." I responded, "What if they don't answer?" She just kind of looked at me, and I felt like I should go. So I literally ran half way across the parking lot to talk to them. I think I startled the lady a little. They ended up being Jehovah's Witnesses and didn't want to talk. But it made tracting more adventurous!

Again, things are pretty tough. We are working through it though. Please pray that the Lord will lead us to people who are prepared to receive the gospel. We need all the prayers we can get. Even though it has been hard, I love being a missionary. I am grateful for every moment I have to be here. I know the church is true. It continues to change and bless my life! Well, keep sending me mail. Mail makes up for hard moments in a day! I love and miss y'all!

Love,
Sister Deal

15 June 2009

2009-06-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

15 June 2009

Hello family and friends!

How are you? I hope all is well. As for me, all I can say is "it was the best of days, it was the worst of days!" It has been a pretty rough week, but luckily there are always sunshining moments amidst dark cloudy days.

So, I guess I should start by explaining why it was all so hard. Well, we did move to Dover, which you already heard. What I didn't realize is that not only were we white washing an Elders area, but we are white washing a whole ward! This is the first time I've been in a ward that didn't have a set of Elders in it too! So that was a shocker. I thought that there would surely be a set of Elders who would help us get acquainted with the ward. I guess not! When we left E-Town, I was releaved that we wouldn't have to take over all of the Lancaster 2nd Ward. Now looking back, that would have been easier than taking over a whole ward where we know no one. So, when I first found this information out, I was a bit nervous. But I am better about the idea of just having us in the ward. The silver lining in this cloud is that the ward is amazing! They are doing all they can to help us. We received so many calls this week from members of the ward just calling to welcome us to the ward and let us know that they were there if we needed anything. They are great.

The other thing that made this week tough was that we discovered that one of the Elders that was serving here last transfer was way trunky. He went home at the end of the transfer, so I guess that was all he could think about last transfer. So basically, the Elders did little to no work last transfer. What does that have to do with us? It means that we came to an area with no investigators, and no records kept for several months. We have a program called the "Five Less-Actives Program." It is basically where the Bishop gives us a list of five families to see every week. Well, there weren't even teaching records for those families. We didn't even know who they were until we talked to the Bishop. I was really disappointed with the Elders. Record keeping has always been important to me. Infact, it is so important that I put off packing until the last minute to get our area books up to par as much as possible for the Elders who were taking over our area. I guess I just hoped for the same, or at least teaching records filled out with the last lessons taught. But what can you do? Just grin and bear it.

So needless to say, I've spent a lot of time this week getting our area books up to par. Also our week was basically tracting. We spent a lot of time trying to contact less-actives and potential investigators too. Unfortunately, the Elders didn't set us up with even one appointment. So we basically are starting from scratch. We had a rough time tracting this week because we were struggling to find anyone.

Then came another silver lining. We found two investigators this weekend! That may sound like nothing, but when you have no investigators two is a miracle! We prayed so hard to find investigators and spent a lot of time tracting. This week we found Brian and Robert. Brian was a nice man we found while tracting. When we first started talking to him, he told us he had a church that he was happy with. Then we asked him how he has found peace and joy in his life? That is when he opened up. He said he had been in a war and had really struggled to feel like God was there as he watched his friends die. My companion went on to share Mosiah 2:41 which talks about how if we keep the commandments we will find joy. Then I opened up to a scripture (Alma 7:11-13) and explained that the Savior truly felt all that he had experienced. As I explained how the Savior knew his pain, Brian fought back tears. It was a powerful lesson, and he was excited to read from the Book of Mormon. We are excited to teach him again. We met Robert when I OYMed him in his car. We stopped by his house last night and had a wonderful lesson with him. We taught him the message of the Restoration. It was great and he seemed to really agree with everything. We are excited to go back and teach him again this week. Please pray that Brian and Robert will keep thier appointments and feel the Spirit as they read from the Book of Mormon.

So let's share more good stuff. My birthday was the highlight of my week. The night before my birthday, the Shoemakers (the Ward Mission Leader and his family) showed up on our porch with a birthday cake, candles and a balloon, and sang me happy birthday. It was a great surprise. The morning of my birthday, my companion, Sister LaMont, made me banana pancakes with coconut syrup. Yummm! She also found a birthday hat, streamers and noisemakers in the apartment. She made me a "Happy Birthday, Sister Deal" banner and decorated the couch while I was showering. It was also a great surprise. I had a dew sets of missionaries call me and sing me happy birthday. That was fun too. For my birthday lunch, we ordered pizza in from Pizza Hut, since we were weekly planning. (The Elders did do one good thing for us- they left us $20 that the members had given them for food, so we used it to order in pizza). Then Sister LaMont sang me a birthday song and I blew out candles. It was way fun. I felt very loved on my birthday. Plus I ended up getting a lot of mail on my birthday too! Including a birthday package from my mom on the day of my birthday. That made me smile.

So this week, I talked in my sleep again. My companion said I recited the whole first vision out loud. I said, "I saw a pillar of light..." well you know how the rest goes! I thought it was hillarious. The next day, we taught Robert and I was able to share that part. She was sure that I was just practicing for him. She said she felt the Spirit really strongly as I shared. It made me smile.

Well, we taught a recent convert/less active member this week. Her name is Chirstina Peterson. She has had some pretty bad struggles in her life. It is amazing to see how much I can relate to her since I had similar rough experiences. I really do feel like the Lord sent me to this area to help her. I am excited to work with her and to help her find healing through the atonement of Jesus Christ. So I guess there is at least one reason I am here.

Well, I must be going now. I love and miss you guys! Write me soon! And pray that we will find new investigators! We need all the prayers we can get!

Love,
Sister Deal

One more thing! We have been instructed to have everyone send our mail directly to us from now on. So here is my new address:

Sister Virginia Deal
20 A Stony Lane
Dover, PA 17315

Please send all my mail there. I will be there until at least July 27. The week before July 27, you will want to make sure you give mail ample time to get to me or it may not get there. It usually takes about a week for me to get your letters. If I move on July 27, I will let you know my new address, as soon as I do! Thanks for all of your letters and support, they mean the world to me. Oh! I have officially decided that I am NOT lactose intollerant anymore. So feel free to send cookies and chocolate often!

Love ya!

Sister Deal

8 June 2009

2009-06-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

Okay, so this is going to probably be the shortest e-mail I have ever written that will be packed full of info! I am short on time due to the many e-mails that I received from you wishing me a happy birthday or just writing to say hi. So thanks for thinking of me. Your letters make me smile tons!

I'll start with the biggest news. On Tuesday, we had interviews with President Pugh and he basically told me that me and my companion would be staying together and that all the sisters would stay in their areas. Well, that didn't last long, because I called Sister Pugh on Friday to ask her a question and she put President Pugh on. He then told us that they were going to close Elizabethtown and that the Millersville Elders would just take over the whole ward. We were shocked! I asked him if he could tell me where we were going and he said, "Sure. 11am on Monday, at transfer meeting." So I put in another plug to go to Scranton, so I could have President Murray as my Mission President, but alas, it didn't work. Well, my old companion (Sister Axtell) who is home right now, had written me a letter this week saying that it would be really neat if they would reopen the area she served in last summer before coming to Red Lion. Well, she predicted it! Sister LaMont and I are white washing Dover! It is going to be an adventure, but we are way excited. It is near my first area, Red Lion. I am so excited for our new adventure!

This week we had some crazy lessons. We were teaching a lot of men and a few of them just don't seem all there. Well, we had some crazy experiences and told our District Leader (before we found out we were leaving) that they should just take over our investigators. Well...I guess we predicted it too! That is exactly what is happening. The best part about the transistion is that I had a "great" idea to rearrange the apartment since President had said we were staying. It was major rearranging. We even carried desks upstairs and moved couches! And the saddest part is that no one can benefit from our hard work because the apartment is being closed. We ate at our new dinner table once, the day we finished rearranging everything, and the day we found out we were leaving. Ironic, huh?

Well, the greatest news is that Sister Troutman made it! She is the one I was teaching in Lititz. She got baptized on Saturday and it was beautiful. She asked a few of us sisters to sing Amazing Grace! It was wonderful because that was the same song I had sung at my baptism. As we sang, she cried, and so did I. I could barely make it through. It was a miracle to see her get baptized, and I was fortunate enough to still be in E-town, so the travel time was way short. I couldn't stop crying throughout the baptism because I had prayed so many times that she would get baptized. It was nice to see all those prayers answered. She couldn't stop smiling either!

We also had to attend a funeral for a 1 year old boy who had did from a tumor in his brain. It was sudden and undexpected. It was so hard not to cry. But it strengthened my testimony. I know that he is in the Lord's hands now. The family seemed so calm and full of faith. They are truly my heros!

I bore my testimony one last time in the Lancater 2nd ward. I cried as I expressed how much I loved each of them and would miss them. It is amazing how fast you form friendships. One of the families in the ward, the Bodes, found out that I was leaving, so they surprised me and bought me a princess birthday cake and sang happy birthday to me. It was so sweet. I felt so special and wished that you all could have been there. When we left the Bodes we all cried. I am going to miss that family so much!

Well, I am out of time. I wish I could tell you more of the week because it was crazy and fun! Oh! Rosie and Paul made it to church!!!! It was great to see them there. Joan Rios was also at church. We gave her a great big hug good-bye. It was hard to leave E-Town. I saw so many miracles there. But I am excited for the next adventure. Sister LaMont and I are also stoked that we get to stay together. We are so alike and have so much fun together. Oh! The last departing missionary fireside was last night. I cried so much. There were so many people there that it was full all the way to the back of the gym. It was hard to say good-bye to so many of the missionaries that I have grown to love. It will be hard to say good-bye to President and Sister Pugh too. I love them all. It was neat to see all those that I have grown to love and to have some members come up and tell me that I had influenced their lives and they would miss me. This work is truly the best thing I could be involved in. Okay really out of time now. I love you!

Love,
Sister Deal

1 June 2009

2009-06-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

This week has been another good one. But unfortunately, we've seen some sad stuff too. This week we lost a lot of investigators. We also saw some miracles though. We were able to see David (one of our investigators that we found this week) come to church. He seemed to fit in quite nicely and was very interactive during the classes.

Okay, let's see...my mind is going a million miles a minute as I am trying to figure out what to report with the small amount of time I have. First, I guess I will just share a few experiences of people noticing the light of Christ in my companion and I. On Saturday, we were tracting, and this kind woman named Karen, allowed us to talk to her for a few minutes. Then she told us that she wasn't interested in our message, but that we should continue doing what we were doing. She said that we were beautiful girls and she could see Jesus in our eyes. It was really neat to feel like she could recognize the Savior in our countenances.

Andrea dropped herself this week. But as she was dropping herself she said that she loved the times she met with us and the reason she decided to listen to us was because I had said these things had changed my life. She asked me before we left how I saw these things change me. I bore my testimony and she was in tears. She also said that she could see the light that was in our eyes and that we truly love the Savior and stand for what we believe in. She thanked us for knocking on her door and walking up her long gravel driveway. We ended the lesson by her praying the most beautiful prayer for us. It was so sad to say good-bye to her. It was neat to know that a few simple words that I said to her, had an impact and that was what caused her to want to learn more. We left her a few more pamphlets and she was excited to read them. We also told her to call us if she ever had any questions or wanted to meet again. Though both of them didn't let us teach them again, I am grateful for the moments that I was able to feel like I was being used by the Lord and that they could see the light of Christ in our eyes.

This week we found out that all of the missionaries serving in the Scranton Stake (part of our mission) on July 1st will be heading to the Philadelphia Mission, instead of the Pittsburgh Mission with the rest of us. So, in a sense, it is like our mission is being split down the middle, or at least, that is how it feels. When President Pugh called to tell us, I asked if I could be transfered to Scranton. He lauged and said that couldn't happen becuase there isn't a Sisters area up there (we are all serving pretty close to Harrisburg and each other in the same Zone). Anyway, I told him that he should think about it because then President Murray (my first Bishop) could be my Mission President. He laughed again and said that he would tell President Murray that I was lobbying to have him as my Mission President. Still so close...yet so far away.

Last week we had a super fun Memorial Day! We got to go fishing at the Brandvold's pond and I caught 6 or 7 fish! I caught so many, I stopped counting. It was way fun! Then we went to the ward picnic. It was way fun and we got to play sand volleyball. I was really there for the sand and not the sport, because I am so bad at volleyball, but it was fun!

We taught Joe again this week. He has been really struggling. It was a great lesson and he seemed to really feel the Spirit. I think he will come to church next week. As we reminded him of the love Heavenly Father had for him, there were tears in his eyes. He is a sweet man, but has a lot of trials going on right now. Please pray for Joe Skowron. Pray that he will feel comfort as he reads from the Book of Mormon and prays.

This week we visited a few less-actives. We visited Sister Norton. She has really been opening up to us. I think some of my experiences have been able to help her. I have been able to relate to her and help her to trust that Heavenly Father loves her. We also taught Sister Kimbrell this week. During the lesson she looked at me and said that I am really good at always knowing where to find the scriptures. It was a great compliment because she is amazing at her scriptures. I explained that the reason I am good with my scriptures is because when I first started to read from the Book of Mormon, it started a fire and a love of the scriptures in me, and since then I want to learn as much as I can. She said that it did the same for her and the first time she read the Book of Mormon she read it in 3 days. She said she couldn't seem to put it down. She said it was difficult to sleep or eat, she just had to read it all! She is truly an amazing woman! She doesn't come to church though because she is 91 with serious health issues, but her testimony is still so strong.

Well, I wish I had more amazing stories for you this week, but our investigators are kind of struggling or dropping themselves. Oh! i guess I should mention a little more about David. He is friends of Rosie's dad. So we met him while teaching Rosie. We had a great lesson with him. After we taught him, I bore testimony of how the gospel could heal ourselves and our families, since he is struggling with his family right now. Then we got to talking more and he said, "You have been healed from so much!" He also looked at us during the lesson and said he could see that we were some of the "Lord's elect." He seems like he is accepting everything. He loved church, and we are excited to teach him more.

It's crazy how many people saw the light of Christ in our eyes this week. I remember my missionaries and how I could see that same light in thier eyes. I hope the light of Christ is always in my eyes and that the Lord can continue to use me to help His children come back to Him. I love this gospel! It continues to change me!

Today, we are going to a place called Intercourse. It is where we will get to see a whole bunch of Amish shops, and hopefully some Amish. I am so excited! I will let you know how it is next week. Oh! Last good news, Sister Troutman is on to be baptized this Saturday (June 6). Please pray that it will happen and all go smoothly. She's asked for me to sing Amazing Grace at her baptism!!!!! How exciting! That is the same song I had a friend sing at my baptism! Miracles still are happening, even if I can't seem to name them all. I love and miss you! Please write more often. Your words of love and encouragement brighten my day!

Love,
Sister Deal

25 May 2009

2009-05-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

How are you? I hope all is going well for you. This week is a busy P-day because we are going fishing and to a BBQ at some members home (the Brandvolds) and then we are going to a ward picnic and BBQ, so I will have to make my e-mail short so we can get there on time. Hopefully I will be able to keep the details short. But you know me...long winded :)

Okay, so let's start with the most exciting news. Joan Elizabeth Rios was baptized on Saturday, May 23. She was then confirmed yesterday in church. It was all so beautiful. I do have to admit I got a bit stressed this week trying to get it all planned. At first we weren't even sure who would baptize her because the men in the church that she knew seemed like they would be busy. But luckily, Brother Fox made some sacrifices and performed her baptism for her. The baptism was beautiful. Joan looked like an angel all dressed in white. Her family even surprised her by showing up to the baptism. It was wonderful to see her son, Matthew, and her grandson, Josh, attend. We had a pretty good turn out for her baptism too. It was extra special for me because I was baptized on the 23rd of April and she was baptized on the 23rd of May. I've decided that 23 is my lucky number. I was privledged to speak at her baptism. It was so wonderful. She seemed so happy.

I want to share with you a moment of stress that I had this week, so you can feel the peace I felt. Friday was Joan's baptism interview. We had everything set up to have the interview at a member's home in E-Town, so we wouldn't have to take her very far and so she could have the interview in a private place that was condusive to the Spirit. Anyway, 4:00pm on Friday the members called and cancelled. We, unfortunately didn't get the message until 6:30pm because we had been at appointments. So, needless to say, I started to stress out. Sister LaMont made some phonecalls, as I was driving to our next appointment, to see if we could find out somewhere else to do the interview. Finally, we found someone. It turned out that it was the Bishop's family that agreed to help us out. Well, the moment they agreed on the phone, I said I silent, "Thank you so much Heavenly Father!" And I heard the words, "Fear not. I am with you. I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and mine angels round about you to bear you up." Such peace filled my soul as I heard those words. It was a great reminder that all week I had been stressing about different details of the baptism, and it was like Heavenly Father was reminding me that I didn't need to stress, that He was there to help me and would take care of every little detail. It was a nice reminder. I truly know that His hand is in every part of this work, even every detail of planning and organizing. What a blessing it has been to see the hand of the Lord in my life this week as he has helped me fulfill the calling He has given me. It is nice to know that whenever I feel inadequate for the call He has extended to me, that He steps in and helps me out. Oh how I love Him!

Another interesting detail that I left out of my last letter was that Joan told us last week at church, that she had been thinking about her husband that has been dead for almost 2 years. Well, it was Sunday, and church was about to start as she was sharing this. So I reminded her that families could be together forever, and that death wasn't the end. I told her that I knew he was still aware of her, and that she would see him again. She then said, "I know I will. I felt his presence very strongly today." It was a Sunday. I just felt like she was receiving a comformation from him that he approved of her baptism. It was really neat. I really do believe that they will be together forever after this life. They seemed to have a love for each other that is eternal.

Another miracle that we were able to witness this week is that Sister Reeves (our investigator) came to church! It was wonderful! She is Sister Nixon's mother. The last time she has stepped foot in an LDS church was over 20 years ago! It was wonderful to see her there. It was great to see her finally keep that commitment. We had a few bold lessons with her recently helping her to understand the importance of coming to church and set her with a date that she would attend. It was so great to see her keep that commitment.

Well, we also had a great lesson with Rosie this week. She seems to have had a pretty rough life. I was able to relate to some of her experiences. Then I opened to scriptures that has helped me to feel of Heavenly Father's love for me. It was great to see tears fill her eyes as she realized that Heavenly Father does love her and is aware of her. I think she has a lot of potential. It was great to focus also on the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the fact that He is always here for us, and knows and understands our pain. I think it really helped her. Please pray for Rosie. I think she struggles to read, so please pray that she will be able to read the Book of Mormon and feel the power of the Holy Ghost.

We ended up teaching a pastor and his wife this week, Andrew and Jamie. The lesson went much better than I anticapted. They asked a lot of questions, but it felt the the Holy Ghost gave me the words to speak. Analogies and scriptures just came to my mind. Things were worded much clearer than I could have done on my own. It was truly the Spirit speaking through me. It was a great feeling. I think the Spirit helped us to dispell some false ideas they had about the church. Please pray that they will be open and receptive to the message the Lord has asked us to bring to them.

Well, unfortunately, we had to drop Sandy this week. It was so hard! We all cried lots. We didn't want to drop her, but she just isn't willing to come to church right now. She did promise that she would continue to read from the Book of Mormon and pray about things and she promised to call us, if she changed her mind. Please pray that Sandy will gain a desire to come to church and that she will call us. I feel like she knows the Book of Mormon is true. She just needs the courage to act. Please pray for her to have that strength.

Well, it was truly a miracle to witness Joan's baptism. I am in such awe that the Lord led us to her door, and she was baptized. When I first got to E-town, the Sisters said, "E-town is dead. The Elders tracted it all out." I am grateful that Heavenly Father gave us the faith to believe that it wasn't dead. We were able to not only find someone to teach in E-Town, but to witness their baptism. What a miracle! Joan is 77 years old! Her baptism strengthened my testimony that miracles do happen. It helped me to see that we can find someone who is prepared, from tracting, and that anyone at anytime at any age can change. It has been great to witness the changes in her life.

Well, time is up for today. I guess it wasn't the shortest letter, but hey, I tried. Thanks for all you are doing for me. I love and miss each one of you. I also appreciate all my friends and family who are serving the country this day, and those who have served our country in the past. I am grateful to live in a country where we truly can worship the Lord in the ways that we choose. It is because of those men and women who went before us, who are serving now, and who will follow them, that I am here with the ability to preach the gospel and witness the miraclous changes is peoples lives. Thank you, to all who are serving! Well, enjoy your Memorial Day. I love and miss you tons! Write soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

18 May 2009

2009-05-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

How are you? I am doing fabulous! This week was another miracle of a week. This week our Zone Leaders set a goal of us teaching 20 other lessons, so we taught 28! We also had 88 OYMs! And we found 8 new investigators! We saw many mighty miracles this week. Plus we had tons of fun together.

Our biggest miracle of all this week had to be Joan Rios. On Monday we decided to buy Joan some apples and hot chocolate to help her overcome her coffee addiction. They say if you eat an apple it will give you more energy than a cup of coffee. Anyway, we brought them to her on Tuesday and taught her about obedience. Then we read Alma 24 with her. We told her the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis and how they were Lamanites who had been murdering people, but once they were converted they covenanted with the Lord that they would burry their swords and never pick them up again. When the Lamanites came to war against them, they just allowed themselves to be killed rather than killing their brothers. It is such a sweet story and one of my favorites. We commited her to bury her coffee sword and she agreed that she would. She said that morning she hadn't had any coffee because she didn't even have the desire. Thanks for your prayers! I'm sure they helped her not to have a desire to drink her coffee.

Well, we went to see her on Saturday as well. We finished teaching her the lessons and got her excited about her baptism. Well, while we were there, her son offered us coffee. She looked at him and said, " Don't do that! They don't drink coffee!" He asked why and we taught him a little about the word of wisdom. Then he said, "Well, what do you drink?" And Joan responded, "Hot chocolate!" It was so cute. She even tried to commit her son to come to church. She came to church on Sunday, and they announced her baptism, which will be this Saturday, May 23. Everytime they announced it she got excited and had the biggest smile on her face. We got to help her pick out baptism clothes too. She is so solid! I am excited to see her progress towards baptism. It should be good. Please continue to pray that Joan will continue to live the word of wisdom and that she'll be baptized on the 23rd!

As for our other investigators, we found a lot of them. We worked hard and were also able to teach others. This week we OYMed a man outside his music shop. His name is Joe. When we went back yesterday to teach him, we had a wonderful lesson with him. He seemed excited about receiving the Book of Mormon. He said that he has seen copies in hotel rooms before but never felt right about taking one, so he was glad he finally has his own copy and can read it cover to cover. He has read the Bible several times all the way through and seemed to comprehend the scriptures really well. It was really good. He also believes that we need a prophet on the earth today. We are excited to meet with him again. He will be out of town for a few weeks, so pray that he will read lots while he is gone.

Well, we also saw Paul and Rosie this week. We were really nervous about meeting with Paul because he has met with several sets of missionaries over the last 35 years and has read the entire Book of Mormon. Well, we taught him and his daughter Rosie and the lesson went really well. At the end he asked if we could just meet with his daughter. He said he didn't think the church was for him, but she could really use it. He talked about us getting her involved with activites. She seemed really excited. We are looking forward to seeing her again on Wednesday. We really think that she will be the key to getting her Dad interested. Please pray for Paul and Rosie.

We also met many, many others this week, but time is short, so I will move to other things. We taught a few of our less-actives this week and things went well. We were able to find out some of thier concerns which was good. And Sister Scheaffer came to church with two of her girls. That was really nice to see.

Well, I wanted to share how I learned to overcome pre-conceived notions. Sometimes you meet missionaires who lack faith to see miracles. Well, I had been told when I first got into E-town that it was overworked and everything had been tracted out. Last transfer and this transfer we have overcome that Missionary Myth. We have been able to find many new investigators in E-town, including Joan Rios. Well, I've often heard missionaries say that tracting isn't effective and that people likely wont be baptized if you find them tracting. Well, Joan also broke that mold. I am so grateful to know that the Lord led my companions and I to Joan as we were tracting and that she will be baptized this Saturday. Miracles haven't ceased and neither has our faith!

My companion Sister LaMont, is amazing. We are always calling ourselves twins because we are the same hieght, same age and people often ask if we are really sisters because they think we look alike. Well, we are so the same! This week, after planning we went upstairs to change into our pajamas and I broke out into a "Pajama Time" song that I got from reading to the Beal kids (who I used to Nanny) the "Pajama Time" book. Well, she instantly broke out into the same song and we started jumping and dancing. It was so much fun. That is just a picture of how much fun we have together.

This week we went on exchange and Sister Dewey came here with Sister LaMont. She asked Sister LaMont what her funniest experience was thusfar in her mission. Sister LaMont said, "Well, I have had a lot of great experiences, but my absolute favorite is when I saw Sister Deal turn around and go running with a jogger to try and OYM her." Well, I would probably agree that it was her funniest moment. You should have seen the look on her face and her outburst of laughter. I thought she was going to fall over. But, the good news is, I have been able to teach her not to let anyone pass you by, even runners. Life as a missionary is always an adventure and often so much fun.

Well, I am sadly, out of time. Today we have to go to a Sisters Conference in Camp Hill. So we have to be quick. Next week is a holiday. Memorial Day I think? As a missionary, you also forget holidays. Well, we are going to go to a members house and go fishing and go to a BBQ. It should be way fun. But I think many places will be closed. So, if I don't get to e-mail until Tuesday, you will know why. Well, just know that I love and miss you guys so very much! Please write me soon! I enjoy your letters.

All my love,
Sister Deal

11 May 2009

2009-05-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

How are you? I am doing great! To the many Mothers of mine out there, thank you for all you are and all you have done to change and influence my life. To my dear Mother, I love you more than words can express. I am grateful to call you mine. I hope that each of the wonderful mothers in my life, and friends who are soon to be mothers, had a joyous Mother's Day.

This week was a wonderful week. We worked so hard. This week we had a goal of getting 100 OYMs (OYM= Open your mouth, some call it street contacting). That was something I have never been able to do yet, but we did it! This week we talked to 106 people on the street and one day we had a carfast and talked to 43 people! It was great to reach that goal and to really not let anyone pass us by. You should have seen my companions face when I went running with a runner to try and share the gospel with her. My companion couldn't stop laughing. It was great.

We had a miracle happen this week. We were able to set Joan Rios with a baptismal date for May 23rd. We are so excited for her. She seems way excited too! She is struggling with the Word of Wisdom though, since she drinks coffee. Please pray that she will quit drinking coffee so she can be baptized on the 23rd. We will visit her tonight and see what we can do to help her get there.

As for our other investigators, it was a tought week. Almost every appointment we had fell through. And the Geibs and Heather are really struggling. They had issues with everyone being dressed up for church. They said they just didn't feel comfortable. As we continued talking we had an amazing lesson. The Spirit was so strong and all of us ended up crying. I helped them to understand that though the church services may feel a little different, it is more about whether or not they believe that the Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith is a prophet. I explained that once they have a testimony of those things, they realize that it is the Lord's church and He can set it up however He wants. The lesson really did go well, considering the circumstances. A funny thing happened though. Tina said that on Saturday before church started, she started coming up with all the reasons why she shouldn't come to church. That night, she said that she dreamt about me and I was telling her all the reasons why she needed to go to church. So that is why she came! Pretty neat story, huh? If only I could be in everyone's dreams encouraging them even in their sleep to do the right thing!

We also had a tough lesson with Sandy. She told us that she wasn't going to leave her church and she was even going to talk to her Pastor about baptism in her church. I was so sad. So the bold fire that my companions know me for, came out. I recounted the many times she received answers to her prayers. I recounted that she knew the Book of Mormon was true and that the plan of salvation really hit her as she was taught things she wouldn't hear in any other church. Then I told her it made me sad that she would even consider baptism in another church before being willing to come and check out another service in the Savior's church. Then when said the closing prayer. Afterwords I looked at Sandy and expressed my love for her. I told her that I may be bold with her, but it is because I love her so much and want her to receive the same blessings I have. She bagan to cry, then we hugged her good-bye. I'm not sure how our lesson will go this week. If she doesn't act, we may have to drop her. Please pray that she will have desires to come back to church.

We also visited Sister Reeves this week. I boldly commited her to church on the 24th of this month. Hopefully she keeps that commitment. It turns out that she hasn't stepped foot in an LDS church in over 15 years! Please pray that she will keep her commitment and come to church on the 24th!

We had some great lessons with our less-actives this week. Sister Norton really opened up to us and helped us to see that she was struggling feeling like God did not answer her prayer when she was sick for three years. We shared scriptures and experiences and showed our love to her. She was in tears for most of the lesson. I really think she has great potential to come back to church. Please pray for Sister Norton to have a desire to come back to church. We also taught Sister Scheaffer this week. She told us that she has started reading everyday and she came to church last week. We taught her kids too. It was so cute to see her two-year old fold her arms as we prayed together.

The Mother's Day program was great at church. The talks were really good and one of the girls had me crying. It was just so beautiful to see the impact mothers have on their children and to realize that one day I will be able to love my children and raise them in righteousness. What a miracle motherhood is! There was also a fun part of the meeting when Brother McBride took his kids up to surprise his wife by having him and his kids sing her a primary song about mothers. The best part is that their shyest child, took the microphone at the podium and was hogging it and singing loudly into it. Sometimes he'd forget the words, and then he'd remember and start singing loudly again. He totally drowned out the rest of the family. It was so cute and so funny. The whole congregation was fighting back tears of laughter.

I forgot to share another story a few weeks back. Well, it was Fast and Testimony Meeting and their were a few children that got up to bear their testimonies. Their testimonies were sweet, simple and powerful. I got up to bear my testimony after one of them. I was just so grateful for the church. I was grateful for the parents who raise their children in the gospel. It was a miracle to me to see a child stand and say, "I know Jesus Christ loves me"..or.."I know Joseph Smith is a prophet"...or..."I know that this church is true"...or..."I love my family and know we can be together forever." The testimonies were so simple, but the fact that those children have that knowledge so young, was such a miracle to witness. It made me think of what kind of mother I want to be and how I can help my children gain testimonies of their own. I am so overjoyed everytime I see just one child share their testimony. Of course, after my testimony, many more children followed. It was so sweet. I am grateful for this gospel. I know that what I am out here teaching is true. It has changed my life and continues to change the lives of many around me. I am grateful to know that the gospel blesses families. I am grateful for my family, and my friends who have become family. I love and miss each one of you. Write me soon. I love hearing all the updates of your life! Have a great week.

Love,
Sister Deal

4 May 2009

2009-05-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!!!!

How are you? I miss y'all so very much! Things are going great. This week was amazing! We taught 5 member present lessons, and 30 lessons overall. We found 11 new investigators this week too! On Saturday we gave out 9 copies of the Book of Mormon. We also had 4 investigators out to church this week (Tina Geib, Joey Geib, Heather and Joan Rios)! What miracles!

The big news of the day is that Sister Bradshaw is leaving our companionship today :( It turns out Sister Stinger is really struggling with health issues, so they are sending her to serve in the office, so Sister Bradshaw is moving to Lititz. So it will just be me and Sister LaMont here. It should be fun though.

There is so much to report and so little time to do it in. So I guess I will have to limit myself to my favorite stories this week. We taught one of our Less-Actives, Sister Schaeffer this week. We went in to teach her and she had completely forgotten about our appointment, and was in the middle of cutting her son's hair. So we decided to change our lesson plan and just read from Enos. As we read a question came to mind. I asked her how she saw her relationship with Jesus Christ. She explained that she really was struggling feeling like the atonement applied to her and had a hard time forgiving herself for past mistakes. It was amazing to see the Lord inspire us as to the words to say to her and the scriptures to share. She said she grew up in a rough childhood and therefore had a really hard time trusting God. It was neat to see how many of the experiences I had in my childhood, as well as learning to forgive myself and accept Christ's atonement, helped her. I shared scriptures and experiences, and the other sisters jumped in too. She was in tears and really seemed to feel the Spirit. I think she is on the path back. Please pray for Angie Scheaffer!

So, as you know, we are working with the Geib family. This week we visited a potential investigator that Sister Stinger and Sister Bradshaw tracted into on a day that I was teaching with a member. Well, her name is Heather, and it turns out she is related to Tina Geib! It was neat to see them all at church, and Heather is interested in learning more, so we are going to teach her at the Geib's house! The gospel truly is about bringing families together!

A cute thing happened this week. I had to stop the car so a mother duck and her ducklings could cross the street. A truck driver also stopped. Once they had crossed, the truck driver smiled and waved at me. It was so cute! It is definetly spring here in PA. All the ducks and bunnies are out. I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but bunnies run around in neighborhoods wild all the time! Yesterday we spotted a pure white one. There are also cardinals here. So pretty! I love PA! It is so pretty right now with all the flowering trees and wildlife!

I had a neat experience while I was on a split. My companions went out tracting, and I went to teach Joan with Sister Herbert. While we were there, her grandson poked his head in. He is attending a Bible College. Eventually he started asking questions. We ended up turning his questions into teaching a first lesson. We left him with the Book of Mormon and he was excited to read from it. He wants to meet with us again, but alas, he is in the Lititz area. So luckily, Sister Bradshaw and Sister Dewey will get to teach him. That will be wonderful! It was neat to find a new investigator while teaching our other investigator.

We had fun serving at the Senior Center this week. There were some older men playing a game of Rummikub and I went over to watch them play. One of them asked if I could help him. So I helped him win! It was way fun. Then an older lady asked us to play with her and I won two more times. I knew my Rummikub skills would come in hand someday :)

The new investigator I am most excited about this week is Ben & Carol Hershey. We found them tracting and Ben was so excited about the Book of Mormon. It was really neat because we were talking to them and trying to start the lesson, but there were tons of distractions. At one point we started talking about the temple and I pulled out a picture of the Washington DC temple that the Spriggays had sent me. Carol was so excited about it that she ran in and took my picture. I couldn't bear to ask for it back. When she came back, we were about to start the lesson and they said they had to go. I pulled out a Book of Mormon and asked if I could leave one with them. Then, they both sat down and listened to a full first lesson. It was neat to see someone react that way to the Book of Mormon. Ben was so excited to read it and wants to come to church this week. Please keep them in your prayers.

Sandy is really struggling and didn't make it out to church. Please pray for her to let go of her fears and have desires to act. Well, I am out of time. Know that I love and miss you very much! I know this gospel is true as it continues to bless my life and change me for the better every day! Write me soon! I love hearing how your life is going too!

Love,
Sister Deal

27 April 2009

2009-05-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you doing? I am great! This week was kind of a rollercoaster week, there were some ups, but also a few downs. This week was also transfers, so I guess I will start there. Sister Stinger got transferred, I think to Lititz to serve with Sister Dewey. Sister Bradshaw and I are staying here in E-town and it looks like I will be training again! I'm excited to meet the new sister tomorrow. I think her name is Sister Lamont (not sure if it is spelt right). Anyway, it will be fun.

As for some of the sad news, Sister Troutman (from the Lititz area) didn't get baptized this weekend. It looks like she will still get baptized, but I guess she was struggling with some word of wisdom issues, so hopefully it will happen for her soon. Please keep Cathy Troutman in your prayers. We also lost a few investigators this week, and Sandy told us she didn't want to get baptized. It was sad. The good news is that she agreed to continue to pray about it and came to church this week. It was good to have her there.

We had an interesting experience this week with Joan Rios, one of our investigators. I called to remind her about our appointment for Saturday, and it appeared that she didn't remember who I was. I explained to her that we took her to church last week and then I think it jogged her memory. I asked her if she had read from the Book of Mormon and she said that she hadn't. So I challenged her to read and she agreed that she would. Then we went to our appointment with another investigator. When we got out of the appointment we realized we had missed a call from Joan, so we called her back. It turned out she had misplaced her Book of Mormon and didn't know how she would read it, if she couldn't find it. I told her that we could drop one by for her. So we stopped by and shared some of our favorite scriptures with her. It turned out that there was a Book of Mormon sitting on another table in her living room. We still gave her a new one and wrote down her reading assignment. We weren't sure what to think about the whole thing, but we came back the next day to teach her again. It was cute watching the Restoration DVD with her. She seemed to really like it. The only problem was that one of her sons had his friends over and they were loudly making breakfast in the other room, so it was hard to focus. After the movie, we moved back into the living room, and she got up to close the door so it would be quiter. We asked her how she liked her reading and she seemed to retain most of it, so that was good. She also came to church again this week and seemed to enjoy it. She is a cute older woman in her 80s. Please pray that Joan will take the time to read the Book of Mormon and that she will be able to remember it and feel the Spirit as she reads it.

We met a neat woman named Tina Elliot this week. We were tracting in the hot sun, and as we approached the door, I said a silent prayer that they would listen and she did. It was one of the most amazing lessons ever. We ended up teaching her on her enclosed porch, so it was really hot. But the lesson went so well. We discovered that she had met missionaries in the past so, it was great to talk with her. We also learned that she has had 5 deaths in the family since November. It was amazing to see the Lord lead us to the exact scriptures she needed at that time. We were able to share personal experiences and also several scriptures from the Book of Mormon. She seemed to feel the power behind the scriptures. We would share one, and she would say, "Wow! That is powerful!" It was amazing. She was excited to accept a copy of the Book of Mormon and wants us to meet with her again. Visiting with Tina was definetly one of those moments when you recognize that the Holy Ghost led you to her door, and gave you the words to say. Amazing! We are hoping to visit her this week. Please pray that Tina will meet with us again this week, and that she may feel the truthfulness of the message the Lord has sent us to deliver.

We visited with Sister Reeves this week, but it was hard. She made sure to let us know that she is Baptist. When we invited her to church, she came up with another reason why she couldn't attend. Well, that's when my bold fire came out. I basically told her that her Savior, and her Father in Heaven want her attend church. I explained that she tells us over and over, "Next month I'll go." and then when that day comes, she comes up with reasons why she can't go. She tried to explain that she needed to attend her church at that time because she is involved with stuff there. I then reminded her that her block of church meetings ends before ours starts and that she could just come afterwards. Anyway, I commited her to pray for a specific day that she will attend church and will keep that commitment. She agreed that she would. My companions seemed suprised at my boldness. I think it was good though, they just weren't used to seeing me so bold. Please pray that Sister Dorothy Reeves will come to church.

Well, that is about it for the investigators we are teaching. We did have a few funny stories that I would like to share, though. This week I was driving and a chicken crossed the road in front of me. It was a special moment. I just couldn't help but say, "How often do you have to slow down when driving because a chicken crosses the road?" I thought it was hilarious!

This week I went to see the doctor again for my stomach issues. We decided to put me on a lactose free diet, because I have always thought I might be lactose intollerant. Well, it seems that was the problem. Too much cheesy dishes and ice cream and chocolate from members. So, if you are thinking about sending me a package, please leave the chocolate out, because I love chocolate too much, not to want to eat it. Well, with all this lactose stuff in mind, we went to visit the Senior Center this week. We volunteer there. Every week we go and serve lunch. Well, this week, I went to put something on an older woman's plate and she said, "Oh I can't have that. I can't do cheese." Then I said, "You and me both!" My companions laughed and thought it was hilarious. Then I realized that all of us fit right in at the Senior Center. Me and that woman can't have dairy, Sister Bradshaw has a hard time hearing, and Sister Stinger has back problems. So we fit in quite nicely.

Well, I guess that is it for today. This week I celebrated my 4 year baptism anniversary. I also hit 13 months as a missionary. My how time flies. We went to the Departing Missionary Fireside yesterday and I knew 4 of the 5 missionaries going home. It was sad to see them go. Now I am officially the "oldest" sister in the mission. By oldest, I mean I have been out the longest. Sister Ransom went home today. It is crazy to think how fast the time has flown and how many missionaries I have seen leave. Oh, for any of you wondering, it is looking like my mission will extend one week, so I probably wont be home until October 19. I am excited to have the extra week. Well, I need to be going. Know that I love and miss you!

Love,
Sister Deal

20 April 2009

2009-04-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!!!

How are you doing? I am great! This week was another great week. We found four new investigators, taught lots of lessons, took an investigator to a baptism, and had an investigator come to church. The Lord is really blessing our efforts and helping us to see miracles!

This week we were able to visit Sandy. She is doing really well. We had a very powerful lesson with her where we invited her to be baptized. It felt like she really wanted to say yes, but just didn't feel like she had her answer yet. So we commited her to pray about it. In the mean time, she attended Cody Hackman's baptism with me (we went on a split). The baptism was beautiful. Cody has been investigating the church for a long time. He is in the ward that I attended in Lititz. I was able to see many sets of missionaries teach him and set him with a date, but everytime, it would fall through. It was beautiul to see him finally follow through. I'm sure missionaries have been working with him off and on for at least a year. I think Sandy enjoyed the baptism. I was able to have the opportunity to bear my testimony at the baptism. It was great seeing the tears in Sister Hackman's eyes (especially since she isn't a member yet). I really think Cody's choice will more fully bind his family together. His dad even came, which was nothing short of a miracle! Sandy wasn't able to make it to church this week, which was sad. She was supposed to go and went out to lunch and I think she came back a few minutes late and just missed her ride. It was sad. But hopefully she will come next week. She is progressing nicely.

We also taught Sister Reeves this week. The lesson went well. She opened up and told us that one of her concerns was that if she was baptized and went to the Celestial Kingdom, she wouldn't be with her family since none of them are really members (except her daughter, Sister Nixon). I pulled out a picture of the temple and explained to her that her deceased husband is being taught all that she is being taught right now and that the Lord has provided temples so that our families can be together forever. She didn't make it to church, but she is hoping to come next week. Please pray that the Lord will guide us as to how to help her progress.

We also taught the Gieb family this week. We were able to meet the father, Jerry. It was great to see him try to get the boys all involved in the lesson. Tina (the mother) read the Plan of Salvation pamphlet we had left her over and over to try and understand it and prepare for our lesson. She was even trying to explain the three degrees of glory to her mother. It was way cute. Plus she read lots too. We really think they have a lot of potential. They can see that there are a few new things, but they are trying to understand it rather than just pushing it aside. It was cute because Tina looked at me at the end of the lesson and said, "How do you know where all the scriptures are?" I took her to the back of the pamphlet and showed her that many of the refrences I used were in the additional study section at the end of the chapter. She said, "Yeah...but you just seem to flip open to tons of them and know exactly where they are at." I realized she wasn't trying to see where she could read them again, but just complimenting me on my knowledge of the scriptures. I explained the importance of studying the scriptures and praying, and how through studying them I have been able to familiarize myself more easily with them. It was a nice compliment.

We also taught Joan Rios this week, and she came to church!!!! It was great to get in contact with her, since we missed her last week. We read from the Book of Mormon with her, and she loved it. She seemed to really enjoy church, and she sang out the hymns like she was a lifelong member. It was so cute! Everyone was really sweet to her and I rode with the member to pick her up. She is so cute, and we are excited to teach more of the family.

We found some great new investigators this week. We found a sweet young mother named Jamie, who really seems like she is trying to make changes in her life. We are excited to go back and teach her this week.She was so excited to meet with us, she asked if she could fix us lunch. We also had a media referral for a cute woman named Sandra. She is in a nursaing home. She seemed so excited about the Finding Faith in Christ DVD. We are excited to go back and teach her agian. She loves music, so we sang "How Great Thou Art" with her. I think she really felt the Spirit as we all sang together. We also found a cute old man named Charles Flowers and are excited to go teach him again.

We taught several less-active lessons this week. We have some great news! Brother Bair has been smoke free for three days now! What a miracle. He has been trying to quit smoking for awhile now so he can receive his patriarchal blessing. It is great to see him reaching that goal. Please keep Brother Bair in your prayers.

This week, on Sunday, Bishop Kenley called and asked me to speak in sacrament meeting. I realized that exactly one year ago, was my first sacrament meeting in PA and I was asked to speak. So I just bore my testimony on my conversion and how much the gospel has blessed and changed my life. I felt a little like I was rambling and going in a hundred different directions. It was probably just because we were running late to sacrament meeting with Joan, and I had just found out that Sandy wasn't there, so it was hard for me to focus on my talk. But I guess it went okay, since I had lots of members that I didn't know thanking me for my testimony and telling me how much it touched them. It's amazing how the Spirit can speak through us, even when we aren't sure we are even making sense!

This week we also did lots of service projects. We helped a family move all thier stuff into a storage unit and also helped another family pull out their carpet. It was fun taking a crow bar to the tack board and pulling it up. The carpet smelled awful though since it was being taken up due to animals urinating on the carpet. It seems as if we keep finding lots of smelly service projects. I was so happy to help though. It is nice because a lot of members don't let us help them, due to the fact that we are Sisters. I think they just call the Elders for everything. It was nice to work hard and serve them. And it was quite fun.

Well, I am out of time for now. Today we are going to the church to play volleyball with a couple of districts of missionaries. As many of you may know, I am awful at volleyball. People usually cheer when I get the ball over the net. So it should be fun. Luckily, Sister Bradshaw thinks she is worse than I am. So we shall see who wins the "worst player of the day" award. Sister Stinger on the other hand, is really sporty and keeps joking that she is going to make Sister Bradshaw and I play a kiddy version of volleyball in the Nursery. Ha Ha. Well, I hope your week is amazing. Thanks for all your prayers and letters. They make my day in more ways than you know. I love and miss y'all!

Love,
Sister Deal

13 April 2009

2009-04-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!!!

How was your Easter? Mine was great, though I missed each one of you! The church services on Sunday were amazing! I felt the Spirit so strong. There was a sister who sang a song called "For Me Alone." It was a beautiful song talking about the sacrifice the Savior made for us and how He still would have done it if I was the only one who needed it. It really hit me as she sang. I do know that the Savior would have paid that sacrifice if it was only for me, and He would have done it just for you...infact...He did! If that isn't something to smile about, I don't know what is! We had a wonderful time with the Bodes and with the Cuthberts (our investigator Sara). We went to their big family gathering for a nice Easter dinner. We had ham and lots of other yummy food.

We were able to talk to many of their family that aren't members. Including a long time baptist, named Dot. It was neat for me to be there because I could relate to her background. She said she wouldn't ever read the Book of Mormon. I explained that I had a copy of the Book of Mormon for two years and was afraid to open it because of what I had been taught, and how I decided that I needed to know for myself instead of just believing what I had been taught forever. I then bore a simple testimony to her. I don't think she is ready to accept the gospel yet, but hopefully we planted a seed.

The ward was great too. Three different families brought us surprises on Sunday to wish us a happy easter, including an easter basket of goodies. Sister Bode made sure to give me the PINK Easter basket. It's amazing how quickly people become family on your mission. So needless to say, I missed each of you, but was well taken care of by the ward family here.

As for the week, it was pretty good. We worked hard and had a lot of fun. It was a hard week to get in tracting due to lots of service opportunities and the new missionary luncheon and a random defensive driving course they wanted us to take. So Saturday, as we hadn't tracted much during the week and were low on our miles on our car, we walked 18,515 steps (Sister Bradshaw found a pedometer and thought it would be fun to see how many steps we took). This equated to almost 9 miles. Lately I have been chaging the words to a primary song about children pioneers from "And they walked and walked and walked and walked" to "And they knocked and knocked and knocked and knocked." It makes me laugh. And all that knocking has paid off! We found 7 new investigators this week! How exciting! Well, let's get to all the excitement!

We met with Sandy this week. She is doing well and her faith continues to grow. We challenged her to baptism this week. She said she couldn't say yes OR no, but that she needed to pray about it. Please pray that she will receive an answer and accept our invitation this week. Oh! She couldn't make it to church this week, but wants to come on the 19th! Please pray that she will make it there!

We also taught a new family that we found this week. The Gieb family. Tina and her son Joey sat in for most of the lesson. The Spirit was strong as we taught. As I bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joesph Smith she started to tear up and said, "I just feel like crying when you speak because I can feel that you know what you are saying is true." Sister Stinger responded by saying, "That is the Holy Ghost you are feeling testifying to you that what we are telling you is true." As Sister Stinger said these words, tears filled Tina's eyes. It was powerful! They couldn't come to church this week, but will hopefully come next week. We are excited to teach their family.

This week we also met a neat man from Cuba named Lazarus. We were tracting and knocked on his door. As we were talking and getting to know him, he said that his son was in the air force and stationed in Utah and that he was leaving the next day to go visit him! The Lord couldn't have placed us there at any better timing. We shared the first lesson with him, and at the end, I showed him a picture of the temple in Salt Lake City. I told him if he and his son were looking for something to do, they could go check it out and there would be missionaries like us there who could show him around. He sounded excited and said he would even take a picture of himself in front of the temple so we could know that he was there! Please pray that Lazarus will keep his commitment. Also pray that we will have the gift of tounges, since he primarily speaks spanish ;-D

We had a great time at the New Missionary Luncheon. It's a training meeting for the trainers and also an introduction and training meeting for the new missionaries. At the end of the meeting we all share one minute testimonies. Since it is so close to my four year baptism anniversary, I bore my testimony on how much the gospel has changed my life. As I started to speak, tears filled my eyes, and I could barely make it through one minute of bearing my testimony. It was a powerful moment and I felt the Spirit fill the room with silence. It was amazing. I am so very grateful to have the gospel in my life. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and the power it has had to change me. It is amazing how much the Savior continues to shape and mold me to be more like Him.

Well, my time is up for today! Know that I love and miss each one of you! Have a fabulous week. Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers!

Love,
Sister Deal

6 April 2009

2009-04-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

This week was a pretty good week. I think my memory is a little lame this week, so hopefully I can remember a few good stories for you. It was kind of an odd week with General Conference and Zone Conference all in one week. But I sure did love all the things I was able to learn!

Well, let's start with my favorite investigator right now. Her name is Sandy Boose. As you may recall, we found her tracting a country road in Rapho. She is a sweet older woman. Every time we go to teach her she is drawn to tears because the messages hit her so powerfully. This week I was on exchange with two other sisters when we went to teach her. So my companions went to other areas and Sister Clavel and Sister Westbrook came to serve with me. We had a great lesson with Sandy. We watched the Restoration DVD and she felt the truthfulness of the message. She said that she also has enjoyed reading from the Book of Mormon. And she can see that it doesn't add or subtract from the Bible.

At one point in the lesson she looked at me and asked, "How exactly did you happen to knock on my door?" I explained that we prayfully picked a place to knock doors, but afterwards felt like she was the one we were supposed to talk to that day. I then went on to describe to her how two Elders knocked on my friend's door the hour I was there and that is when I accepted a Book of Mormon. I told her that it wasn't a coincedence we knocked on the door. I explained that our Heavenly Father knows each of us individually and that He knows her. I then went on to bear my tearful testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of the prophet Joseph Smith. I explained that I was in her home because the things we come to share have changed my life. Then I went on to bear testimony of the premortal life, and how I had a strong sense that I knew her as my sister before this life. It was a very sacred moment and we were both in tears. My companions serving with me also taught very powerfully and Sandy commited to come to Conference!

Well, General Conference was great. Sandy came to two sessions of General Conference. She payed such close attention to every word that was said. At the end of conference, we asked her how she liked it. She said she loved it and that it had answered many of her prayers, then she began to cry. She is such a sweetheart. Please keep Sandy Boose in your prayers. This coming week we will invite her to be baptized. Please pray that she will accept that invitation. I can see that the Spirit is already testifying of the truthfulness of the gospel to her.

Do you remember the pass-along card guy, Carlos? He was the one who was so excited about getting the Finding Faith in Christ DVD. Anyway, he and his son game to General Conference this week! He lives in the Lititz sisters area, but it was so nice to see him there. Oh! And Brother Gantt came to General Conference too. He seems to be back on track! Oh! And do you remember Sister Turcotte? She is a less-active Sister in Lititz. Well, when I first got to the area, she wanted her name removed from the records. Now she is coming every week, and I just heard that she wants to go to the temple!!!! Exciting! She was at General Conference too and the talks seemed perfect for her.

Exchanges were okay this time, but really, they just made me miss Sister Stinger and Sister Bradshaw. We have really gotten down how to "Teach Now." It was hard to try to teach two sisters how to do it at the same time. It just made me miss my amazing companions. I am grateful to be serving with them both.

We had some interesting moments out here this week. I was bit by a dog at a member's home, and so was my companion. The sad part was that the dog had been locked up and somehow got out and was only out around us for about a minute, and in that minute he bit us both. The bites weren't bad though, just alarming. We held our cool though, so not to offend the members. No worries. I still love dogs. The second interesting moment was that a Tornado hit Denver, PA this week. We are totally fine, Denver is a ways away from us. We just looked up in the sky and saw green clouds. Then it started raining really hard and even hailing. It was crazy. But we were completely safe and still are!

Spring has started to appear here and I am so excited for it. Pennsylvania is one of the most beautiful places you could be in the Spring. There are so many flowers and flowering trees. I am excited to take lots of pictures this Spring. This week many daffodills have started appearing. It reminds me of all the daffodills I am used to seeing at the Seattle Temple. It made me miss the temple. Then there were tons of talks about the temple this General Conference. Someone talked about removing anything that will get in the way of your temple worship. The thought crossed my mind, "Maybe we could run away to the temple for a day, and tell our mission president we were following the council of the apostles." Of course I didn't do it, but it sounded appealing :)

Oh my goodness! I almost forgot about the craziest news ever! At Zone Conference, President Pugh told us that his mission ends July 1st and that when he leaves, the apostles have instucted him that the Pennsylvania Harrisburg Mission (my current mission) will join with the Pennsylvania Pittsburg Mission! Then we will just be called the Pennsylvania Pittsburg Mission. For a split second, I thought he might tell us that we would join with the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission, and my old Bishop, Bishop Murray, would be my new Mission President. But it looks like I'm headed to the Pittsburg side instead. It is kind of crazy, because I will only have a few months left then. The good news is that we will have more sisters, and therefore, more areas. So we will see if I end up staying the whole time in this side of the mission, or if I head towards Pittsburg. The other good news is that since Pittsburg just won the superbowl (a little while ago) it is my claim to fame :)

Well, this letter has gotten a bit long. I feel like I am just rambling. Oh! Another tangent. How do you prepare for confernce? Some go to Costco, some sing hymns...I cleaned out horse stalls for three hours so a family with a farm could go. It was lots of hard work and my muscles were sore the next day. But it was nice to serve them and give them the opportunity to come to conference.

Well, we have been working hard and the transfer is flying by. I have really enjoyed all the moments I have had to feel the Spirit this week. During Zone Conference, I had a moment where we all sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives." That song was played at my baptism. Since I have been a member almost 4 years (on April 23) the song really hit me. I thought about how much my decision to be baptized has blessed and changed my life. I felt the Spirit so strong and couldn't stop crying. I felt these same feelings during Elder Holland's talk during general conference. He talked about how the Savior felt completely alone as He bore our sins. Then he explained that our Heavenly Father and the Savior will never leave us and how we never have to feel alone. I was reminded of His great sacrifice and how aware He is of me...and you. I do know that my redeemer lives! He lives and loves us both. At this Easter Season, I would ask that you would reflect on His love for you. Something neat I learned in studies this week is that when the Resurrected Savior appeared to people, most of the time they didn't recognize Him at first or understand His voice. It made me reflect on what I am doing to know Him more completetly. I challenge each of us (myself included) to pray more fervently and study more deeply that when we see Him again, we will know His voice, and recognize His face! I love and miss you all and hope you have a splendid Easter!

Love,
Sister Deal

30 March 2009

2009-04-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

How are you? I am doing so great! We had yet another fabuous week! We ran into the Lititz Sisters on Sunday at church, and they told us that word had gotten to them that the "E-Town Sisters are on fire!" That is way exciting! My greenie, Sister Bradshaw, asked if we are doing better than normal and I told her it has been a great couple of weeks, but all we are doing is working hard and excercising faith. I guess that is all it takes...plus a LOT of help from Heavenly Father.

Well, there is so much to report this week and so little time, so we shall see how far I get. This week we had another great week for numbers we taught 30 total lessons this week. Yay!!! And we found 3 new investigators who we are so excited about. Well, I guess I will start with a few great stories about the investigators we are working with.

We were able to teach Sister Dorothy Reeves this week. She is investigating the church and her daughter (Sister Nixon) is a member in the ward I just came from. So this week I called Sister Nixon to invite her to the lesson. She came and the lesson went so well. We taught the plan of salvation. Sister Reeves problem is that she usually doesn't see any differences in the LDS faith and her current Baptist faith. Sister Nixon was great because she was able to point out differences in a positive light and bear powerful testimony. Since I was raised Baptist, I too, was able to help. It was an amazing lesson and the Spirit was so strong. We invited her to come to General Conference this next week and she said she would. She seemed excited to listen to a prophet. It will be great. I loved the Nixon family, they felt like family to me when I was in Lititz, so it is lovely getting to teach Sister Reeves. Please pray that Sister Reeves will come to conference and to church soon.

We found a few new investigators this week. We found Paul, and his mother Joan, while tracting. We were able to teach them the plan of salvation, since we discovered that they hed just lost their father/husband. I think the message really touched their hearts and Paul came to church! They are also planning on coming to conference next week. We also found Teresa this week while tracting. She was way sweet. We ended up teaching her twice this week and the lessons went really well. She seemed to really feel the Spirit. She couldn't make it out to church this week, but is excited for Conference.

We also had an amazing lesson with the investigator we found last week, Sandy Boose. She is a sweet woman who had suffered from a stroke. When we came to teach her the second time, she read the intro to the Book of Mormon, the chapter we left, the pamphlet and then went to the index and read topically! It was so great to see her read so much! We decided to teach her the plan of salvation and it was truly one of the best lessons I have ever been a part of teaching. The whole lesson, she was fighting back tears as the truths we taught sunk deep into her soul. It was powerful. When I taught about the Celestial Kingdom, I explained that we would have perfected bodies, and would have the opportunity to see those who had passed on. I explained that we would see our families and know them as we did here on earth. Tears poured out of her eyes as the Spirit directed my words. Of all the times we taught the Plan of Salvation this week, it was the only time I felt led to share those principles of what life will be like in the Celestial Kingdom. It was really neat because it was exactly what she needed to hear. The Spirit filled the room and we were all fighting back tears. Sandy cried so much she couldn't stop crying. She said, "In all the years I have learned about life after death, I've never heard about a perfected body, or thought that my parents would know me as their daughter when I see them again." It was a sweet moment. She is still nervous about church, but has definetly felt the Spirit in our lessons. Please pray that she will have the courage to come to church.

This week we also taught a less-active sister, Sister Kimbrall. She is the cutest woman you will ever meet. She reminds me of my Grandma Tolerico, because she is so sweet and used to live in North Carolina (where my Grandma lives) so she has that southern accent that I adore and miss. Anyway, she always gives us home-made cards for writing family and friends. She has a strong testimony, but her health prohibits her from coming to church. So we read from the Pearl of Great Price with her. She loves it. This week, while we were reading from Moses 8, I shared with her some insights, and she said, "I have never learned that before but it is a question I've always had. Thank you for teaching me something new." I almost didn't share it with her, but was grateful that the Spirit inspired me to share it with her.

We also had another great lesson with a less-active Sister, Sister Aber. We taught her the Restoration. The lesson was powerful and she really felt the Spirit. It was the first time I have seen her get teary in a lesson. When it came time for me to bear testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, tears filled my eyes. I reflected on how much that sacred book means to me and how much it has changed my life. I couldn't seem to have words to express my gratitide for the Book of Mormon and for Joseph Smith. It was a moment where my testimony was shared, and therefore strengthened.

Okay, I am pretty much out of time. Last I will share a funny story. As some of you may or may not know, I talk in my sleep. Apparently, last night I exclaimed (rather loudly and joyfully), in my sleep, "I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!" Sister Stinger told me about it this morning and wondered what I was dreaming about, but alas, I never remember my dreams. Anyway, I have officially been out for a year now, and can say that consiously and subconsiously I still love being a missionary. I love E-Town and the amazing spiritual experiences I am having with all those we are teaching. I love my companions too. They are great friends, hard workers, and help me to grow every day. Well, I love and miss you! Write me soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

23 March 2009

2009-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!!!

This week was a great week! I don't know if I have ever worked so hard. And I have great news my stomach problems are almost completely gone! What a miracle. Oh there is much to report this week. It is always so hard to know where to start.

Well, let's start with last Monday. Last Monday, I was able to see the Troutmans one last time, as well as the Hippos. And guess what?!? We set Sister Troutman with a baptismal date for April 25th! Her husband was baptized on April 21st several years ago (he's a convert too), and I was baptized on April 23rd (almost 4 years ago), so I'm pretty much part of the family! Anyway, it made my day to know that she will be baptized just a couple days after my baptism anniversary, what a great gift! I talked to President Pugh (my mission president) and he said I can go to the baptism. Luckily the ward I go to meets in the same building as their ward, so it shouldn't be too hard to get a ride to the baptism. It was nice to see the Hippos too and say good-bye. I just love them! I feel so blessed to have seen so many miracles in Lititz!

Well, now on to my new area and new companions. For those of you who asked if I served here for the week and a half when Sister Cook went home, the answer is yes. And that week and a half here was inspired. I remember a lot of the people I had met from before. It is so funny because Sister Stinger will start to explain who someone is, and I will then say, "Oh yeah! Doesn't she....or doesn't her house look like...etc." And it is fun because she just looks at me and says, "You've met everyone!" It is very convienent because one of the hardest things about transfering is getting to know the new people and their names. I have a bit of an advantage because I can remember the people I met before and make new friends. It is funny that I do remember them though, because as many of you know, I have the worst memory. I'm pretty sure it is just Heavenly Father "bringing all things to my remembrance" through the Holy Ghost. Such a blessing!

Well, as many of you may have caught on in my last e-mail, I was pretty concerned about training due to my health. So, on the day of transfers, I asked President Pugh to give me a blessing. I explained that my health wasn't up to par and I was nervous about holding two sisters back. I did express that I trust that the Lord wouldn't give me anything he didn't think I could handle, but that a blessing of comfort would be amazing. Well, he gave me a blessing, and it worked! I was able to work hard this week and not have my health impede the work at all! In fact, I'm not sure if I have ever worked so hard. Since I am so excited about our week, I have to share our numbers with you. This week we taught 27 lessons to investigators or potential investigators, found 4 new investigators, taught 13 lessons to less-active and active members, had 55 street contacts (OYMS) and tracted for 10 and a half hours! It was amazing! I just loved it! I have never taught 40 lessons in one week. It was truly a miracle. And I haven't had so many OYMs since the summer. It was so nice to work so hard, and we are all quite exhausted!

This week we really started to learn what it means to "Teach Now." In preach my gospel, it says that it is better to form a habit of immediately teaching, rather than ask if someone wants to listen. That is why we taught so many lessons. We tried to give more people the opportunities to accept the gospel. It is definetly the best way to do things!

Well, a little bit about my new companions. Sister Stinger is from Ogden, UT and has been out for one transfer. She is a great missionary and a great teacher. She and I are quite opposite in the fact that she would describe herself as punk and me as a princess. It is kind of amusing. But we are becoming great friends. Sister Bradshaw is my new greenie. When you train someone you are called the mom and they are your child (it's just silly lingo us missionaries use). Anyway, she does feel like a child, because everytime she takes a new step of faith or grows in her teaching abilities I get so excited! She has grown a lot this last week. When she first started she was afraid to say anything when we would go tracting, now we alternate who starts. She would be lucky to say one sentence at first, now she is teaching principles and testifying of them. She is so sweet, kind and charitable. She would give you the coat off her back (infact, when Sister Stinger was cold while tracting, Sister Bradshaw offered her coat). What a sweetheart! She is from Laten, UT (not sure if that is how you spell it). So Sister Stinger and Sister Bradshaw were practically neighbors. It is fun to watch them both learn and grow. This week during companionship inventory, they thanked me for my example and for my faith. Sister Stinger says she needed someone with such faith to serve with her so she could overcome the discouragement she had been feeling. They are so sweet!

Well, right now we don't really have any investigators. Sue Noel, the one who came to church once when I was last here, didn't come to church again this week, so we had to drop her. It was sad, but she just isn't acting on her faith. We were able to find a few new investigators though. We just started teaching Sister Bode's siter, Sara Cuthbert. Sara isn't a member. We went over and helped to serve her and help her make soap this week, and she accepted a return appointment. So that should be exciting. We also found a cute older woman named Sandy. When we tracted into her, she told us that she suffered from a stroke but felt like the reason she is still alive is that God has a work for her to do. She got teary all through the lesson and really seemed to feel the Spirit. We are excited to teach her again this week.

We were able to teach Angie Shaffer and Brother Bair this week. They are both less-actives, and both came to church this week. We are excited to see them continue to progress. we also taught many other less-actives and had many other great adventures, but for now, I must be going. My time is running out. Just know that I love and miss y'all. I appreciate your letters and prayers.

Have a fabuous week!

Love,
Sister Deal

16 March 2009

2009-03-16T09:23:00.001-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!!!

How are you doing? I am doing great. There is so much to report on this week that I am not even sure where to start, and of course, the one day I need to report about it, the library is super busy. So I might have to do another two-part letter. So just be patient with me! I assure you that all the stories this week are worth your time!

Well, first we will start with the Hippos. On Tuesday we went to their home and went through a mock interview with Dustin and Tina. Then on Friday they had the real interview at the church with our District Leader, Elder Gad. Things went smoothly, and the boys were a ball of energy as usual. It is amazing how much I have learned about raising little boys on my mission! Kudos to all of you Moms out there!

Well, on Saturday, Tina and Dustin were baptized. We invited Kyle again, but he just wasn't ready. Matthew Hippo (already a member) and Bryan Hippo (not a member yet) said the prayers at the baptism. They were both beautiful and they expressed their appreciation for the decision that their Mom and brother made to be baptized. The whole program was beautiful and at one point Tina looked at us and thanked us for helping with all the organization of it.

President and Sister Pugh surpised us by coming to the baptism! It was great to have them there, but a little daunting to have to give a talk in front of them. Tina asked that Brother Nixon (the gospel principles teacher) and I give the talks. When I spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost, I felt the Spirit so strong. Tears filled my eyes as I expressed gratitude for the opportunity to witness their baptism and to get to know the Hippo family. As I looked out at the family, with tears in my eyes, I noticed that Tina also had tears in her eyes.

It was cute watching Dustin be "bapatized" as he says it. He looked out and said, "It's cold!" Then he looked up to see himself in the mirror and just smiled as he went under. Then it was Sister Hippo's turn. I was able to go back with her and show her where to go in. I watched Dustin watch his Mom make the same covenant he just did. I watched as the Bishop explained what would happen, before Sister Hippo was baptized. Then tears filled my eyes as I witnessed this miracle of her being baptized.

There are so many amazing miracles that happened that day. So many cute details. I wish I could capture them all, and share each one with you. We took tons of pictures though. So maybe when I am home, I can fill you in on all the rest of the details.

Well, I think I will get kicked off soon. So I will let you know about at least one more miracle that we witnessed this week. It has to do with Cathy Troutman. As you know, she is the only non-member in her family. When I first got to the area, I was able to witness her daughter get baptized. We have been working with the family since before I got here. Well, I think I forgot to mention our lesson with her last week. Last week we read Alma 13 with the family. As we read the chapter, I bore my testimony and explained how I read that chapter after realizing that I needed to be baptized. I invited her then to be baptized for probably the fourth or fifth time since I have been in the area. I explained to her that I have invited her so many times because I wanted her to recieve the same blessings I have. She declined but I could see that she was softening. Then she "happened" to read "Don't procrastinate the day of your repentance." I think those words really hit her. She said,"Of course I would have to get that scripture." We all laughed becuase she only read that one because her daughter got up to go to the bathroom and wasn't back yet. Well...this miracle will continue in the next e-mail. Stay tuned!

Love,
Sister Deal

2 March 2009

2009-03-02T09:43:00.001-08:00

Hello family and friends!

Well, this transfer really has been a rollercoaster of a ride, and this week just added to it. I'm starting to think that it would make sense that stress is the cause of all my health issues. It is hard when you have tough news from home and the ones you love in the mission are struggling too. The good news is that it all works out in the end! I have the faith that the Lord will make it all work out...somehow.

Okay, so first I will start out by giving you guys a health update. Things are relatively doing well. I have had every kind of test you can imagine. Well, at least, it feels that way! The good news is, all the tests have come back normal. The bad news is that they aren't sure why I am feeling sick. The good news is that I am feeling much better than I have felt in awhile. So even though I am not a hundred percent better, I am much better, and therefore able to work through my health problems much easier. That is the best news because, as I said, I am a fighter and I love being a missionary! So, though I miss you all, you will just have to wait until October to see me again! Thanks for all of your prayers in my behalf. I really do appreciate them!

Well, as I said, this week was crazy! I think I may have mentioned in my last letter that Sister Hippo (our investigator who is supposed to be baptized this weekend) is in the hospital. It turns out that she, like her son, had e-coli. It was much worse for her though. She works in a job where she does animal testing, and they think she may have picked it up there. She had such a high concentration of it that it was all throughout her bloodstream. While they were checking out the e-coli, they found a lump in her pancreas and are running a biopsy to see if it is cancerous. So she's had a lot going on. We were able to visit her and asked her if she wanted a priesthood blessing. She said that she did. So we called Brother Nixon (the gopspel principles teacher) and Brother Russell (the Elder's Quorum President). They came to the hospital and gave her a blessing. It was a sweet blessing. They blessed her that by her faith she would be made whole. Well, she is still in the hospital, but she seems to be doing much better. The doctors are running a few more tests on her. So we will see what happens. Please pray that all will go well for her and that she will get out of the hospital soon.

Well, the Hippo Family was supposed to move into their appartment this week, and with Sister Hippo being in the hospital all week, it was kind of crazy. We talked with Brother Russell, and decided that we would go over on Saturday to help get the house moved into their new apartment. Well, it is important to note that nothing was packed, and boys just don't get packing. So Sister Garner came with us. And we packed and sometimes repacked (the boys would just throw fragile things in boxes). Then we helped clean a little too. Well, it was a huge job and we worked hard for 8 hours straight and there was still so much to do and to move when we left. The neat part about that experience is that we finally met Brother Hippo (he is a less-active member and him and Sister Hippo are seperated right now). We had lost contact with him due to him moving out. So it was nice to finally meet him. When we ran out of boxes to pack things in and the grocery stores told us they weren't allowed by law to give us boxes, we called around to members to see if they had any. We ended up calling the Bishop and he went out and bought some boxes for us. He delivered them himself, and was able to touch base with Brother Hippo for the first time in months, so that was good.

It felt so nice to be of service to the Hippos, and many of Brother Hippo's family seemed so grateful not only to see us visiting Sister Hippo in the hospital, but also for seeing us help move. I thnk it opened the door for us to start teaching Brother Hippo again too. So it was a fun time. Even though we served for 8 hours, it was a good time. We were laughing the whole time and even broke out in singing hymns. I am grateful for Sister Dewey because she makes every hard situation fun.

I am so grateful for the Lancaster 3rd Ward. They have been such a blessing to the Hippos. Sister Hippo has been visited by the Relief Society President, the Elders Quorum President, the Bishop and countless members of the ward. There were tons of people there just trying to help her move too. It is such a blessing to see the love and compassion they have shown to them. The Hippos still need your prayers though! Please pray that the Lord will provide a way for Tina and Dustin Hippo to be baptized on Saturday! Please pray that Jaye Hippo (the Dad) will get a job soon. The economy is really bad and he just got laid off work. Please pray that Tina Hippo will get better soon. Thanks for all your prayers!

Well, it feels like this week was such a rollercoaster of events. This week we had an appointment with Brother Gantt. As you know, I have been working with him pretty much every week since I got here. Well, we went to visit him and he basically said he didn't believe that this was the Lord's true church. We tried to help him understand that all churches have some truth, but that the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints has the full truth. He didn't want to accept it and was pretty angry and contentious the entire lesson. By the end he said he was done with the church. I asked him if he would just pray and ask God where he belongs. He was reluctant, but agreed. Then he looked at us and told us to give him 90 days before talking to him again. It was really sad. I expressed that I would be gone by then. Well, I asked if we could have a prayer before we left. He agreed. I took a moment to pause to prepare my heart to address my Heavenly Father. I felt the Spirit just give me the words to pray. And before I knew it, I was crying as I spoke to my Father in Heaven. I expressed that I love my dear brother and just desire for him to have the same blessings I have received. Anyway, it didn't really seem to affect him at all. It was really sad. The whole lesson, I felt like I was looking at a completely different person than I had taught all this time. As I would look in his eyes, I couldn't see the light of Christ, or the Holy Ghost, that once made his eyes shine so bright. It was really sad. I don't know if I will get to say goodbye to him, or if he'll ever come back to church. But I do know that Heavenly Father loves Brother Gantt, just as he loves me. I have the faith that somehow, someway, the Lord will help him to come back.

Well, this week we had Zone Conference. It was pretty much amazing. President Pugh told us that the reason he left was to get an opperation done on his heart. There were a few minor complications in the healing process, but he is much better now. It is nice to see him healthy and happy.

The talks that President and Sister Pugh gave at Zone Conference completely applied to what was going to occur that week with our lesson with Brother Gantt. President talked about forgiveness and repentance and how we have to forgive ourselves and believe that after we have repented that the Lord won't remember our sins. Well, when we taught Brother Gantt, Eric Prudhomme was there. Eric is a less-active member who has just started coming back to church. He is struggling with some bad patterns that have come into his life by not living the gospel. Brother Gantt basically encouraged him to talk about it while we were there. I remembered all the things that helped me in the repentance process and the changes I had to make as I joined the church. I bore testimony to him of the power of the atonement, and the things I had learned at Zone Conference. I think he felt the Spirit and is on the right track. He came to church on Sunday so that was nice to see.

During Zone Conference, Sister Pugh talked about faith. She told us about a story of an apostle who was asked to give a sick woman a blessing. Before he would give her the blessing he asked her if she had the faith that she would be healed. She said that she did. Then he aksed if she had the faith even if she wasn't healed. Sister Pugh explained that she knows we have faith that people are being prepared to be baptized. Then she asked if we had the faith if we never saw anyone baptized. Then she asked if we had the faith to see someone gain a spiritual witness of the truth, only to turn around and say they never want to see us again. I remember at the time she said it thinking, "that is pretty harsh, do I have that kind of faith?" Well, I can testify to you that I do! Brother Gantt is that person who I have seen grow and receive spiritual witnesses of the truth. He is a brother that I have grown to love. And that same person, who told me he didn't want to see me again. It was sad, but I am grateful to know that even when others deny their testimony of the gospel, I cannot.

Well, lots of other things happened this week, but I am out of time. One last story. Yesterday, I got up to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting. I wasn't sure what I would say, but I went up anyway. Well, I told the ward how much I missed them when I left for that week and a half. I explained that when I left, I felt like I was leaving my family. And in a few weeks I will have to do it all over again. I thanked them for what they have done for me. I expressed that I had experienced both miracles and trials in that ward, but that my testimony had grown in their ward and often by their testimonies. I explained that I felt at home in their homes as I was away from my home and family. I had tears in my eyes as I looked out across the congregation of all those I had taught and loved. It was a beautiful moment. I will miss all of them when I go. After church, a few of the members expressed their love for me and how much they too missed me when I was gone. Brother McLean came up to me and told me that when I was gone, he and his wife said they felt like they had lost a daughter. I love this ward so much. I am grateful for all the experiences I have had here, good and bad. For it is in those rollercoaster rides that we grow the most. Though this transfer has been the hardest one yet, I can see how I've grown from every experience. I know that the Lord doesn't give us more than we can handle. He walks through the hard times with us. It is in those hard times that He shapes and molds us into the children of God He wants us to be. No matter where your life is at right now, I know He is walking through it with you. I know that He helps us through the good and the bad times, and in the end, we will be grateful for every experience, as we stand before Him at that last day and can see the Father who helped us every step of the way. I love and miss you all! Write soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

23 February 2009

2009-03-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends!

Well, it is hard for me to know how to start out this letter. I really don't want to worry any of you, but could use all the prayers I can get. So let's just start out by talking about missionary work, and we will see what else I have time to share.

This week was a tough week. All of our appointments cancelled. Our investigators cancelled, our less-actives cancelled, and even many of our active members cancelled. It was sad. But luckily, we were still able to set a few return appointments and were able to visit other members. I couldn't decide if it was just one of those weeks, or a tender mercy of the Lord, because I have been super sick this week.

Well, on Friday, the Hippos called to cancel their appoinment because Kyle Hippo was in the hospital. We were able to talk to Sister Hippo and discover that Kyle had a kidney problem and that's why they were there. She said it would be fine if we came over. I asked her if she had ever heard of Priesthood blessings. She said she hadn't. I explained that the Priesthood is the power and authority to act in God's name. I explained that when Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, the priesthood was restored, and that same priesthood power is used to baptize. I then went on to explain that a Priesthood blessing, is given to those who may be sick or needing comfort, and that through the power of God, many can have the opportunity to be healed. Well, she agreed to have some priesthood members come and give Kyle a blessing.

Well, when Sister Garner arrived for our usual appointment time, we explained what had happened. We all went and picked up some food for Sister Hippo, so that she could get something to eat. When we arrived, Brother Garner and Brother Boyack were there to administer a priesthood blessing. Almost immediately Kyle started throwing up. He looked so sick. So Brother Garner, sat down, after Kyle seemed a little better, and tried to explain to Kyle what a priesthood blessing is. Kyle is severly ADHD, so it is hard for him to focus on anything. Well, it was beautiful to watch the patience and love that Brother Garner exemplified, as he tried to get Kyle to understand what a priesthood blessing was. Well, eventually, Kyle started to pay attention and agreed to having one.

When we had first gotten there, Kyle was sick, but completely out of control due to his ADHD. When Brother Garner and Brother Boyack layed thier hands on his head to give him a blessing, a wave of peace and serenity filled the room. Kyle was quiet for the entire blessing. The blessing was beautiful. After they finished, Kyle remained calm, and just fell asleep before we left. It really did strengthen my testimony of the power of the priesthood.

After Brother Boyack and Brother Garner left, we spent a little bit longer with Sister Hippo, to try to comfort her. We told her we were there for her if she needed anything. Well, she really seemed to appreciate our visit. Before we left, I offered a prayer for her. I fought back the tears as I was watching two people who had become family, suffer so much.

Well, the next day, Sister Dewey and I decided to drop in on them. Our timing was inspired, because Sister Hippo, said she had just gotten there ten minutes earlier. Well, Kyle was amazingly much better! They discovered that he had contracted e-coli. We played Uno Spin with him for an hour. It was a great use of our time. It was nice to build our relationship with him and help them both to know of our love for them. They will be fine, but please continue to pray for the Hippo family. Kyle should hopefully get released today.

Our church attendance was pretty good this week. We were able to see the Rodriguez family, the Giroux family, Sister Turcotte, Brother Gantt and Munene at church this week. It was nice to see so many of our less-actives there and Munene there. Brother Gantt even gave a talk in church. It was cute. He is always so full of spunk and energy.

We had many great lessons with our less-actives this week. It is amazing how many of our less-actives we have been able to finally start getting in contact with this transfer. This week we taught the whole Rodriguez family! We had a great lesson with them. It was the first time I met Sister Rodriguez. Sister Turcotte was really struggling with a desire to go to church this week, so we helped her overcome that obsticle.

Well, time is running short, and I know that as much as I don't want to worry any of you, I really need to take a few moments to discuss my health. This week, we did very little because my health just seems to keep going down hill. We spent a lot of time with doctors this week. They did lots of testing. We had some bloodwork done, and even some x-rays. The funny thing about the bloodwork is that I almost passed out. I don't like my blood being drawn, and I guess neither does my body. The nurse and my companion started to freak out and called the ER. I don't ever remember losing conciousness, but they say I did, or at least came really close to it. I think it was a little amusing. My companion could probably tell you more of the funny details. All I know is that the nurse kept asking us questions. She wanted to know what church we were with and such. Well, eventually it got to the point that I was so light-headed that I did the missionary look to my companion. (A lot of times when you are teaching, you will just look at your companion to signify that you want them to teach). She kept trying to get me to answer the questions, and all I could say is, "It's really hot in here." Well, no worries! I am alive and mostly well.

Today, I have to go get more testing done. The prep for the testing was pretty rough. I am not sure what today holds. But I have an appointment at 11:30 am today. I would appreciate all the prayers that you can offer in my behalf. I know that they will be able to figure it all out and I should return to health soon. I'm a fighter, so I will be here until at least October 2009. So keep me in your prayers! I love you and miss you!

Love,
Sister Deal

16 February 2009

2009-02-17T09:39:00.001-08:00

16 February 2009

Hello family and friends!

Well, this week was full of a lot of ups and downs. I am so grateful to be here in Lititz and to see how the Lord is using me. I am grateful for the many opportunities He has given me. I love my companion, Sister Dewey. She is a great support to me and an amazing missionary. We had amazing numbers too! We taught 28 lessons this week and found 5 new investigators!

Okay, so let's start with the most exciting news. This week, we visited with the Hippos. I had been feeling that we should invite them to be baptized. On the way over to the Hippos, Sister Garner (who always comes to the lessons with us) and I were talking. I explained that we were going to focus on baptism. She sounded a little aprehensive. She said, "It seems like everytime we talk about something serious, Sister Hippo dodges it." I explained that she was right, but I felt like we needed to invite her again to see how we could help her get there. So naturally, I too was a little apprehensive, but decided to act in faith that the lesson plan we had made was what we needed to do.

So we focused the whole lesson on baptism. We started out reading in Matthew 3 about Jesus being baptized. Then we explained how he set the example as to how to be baptized. We talked about how he went to John the Baptist to be baptized, because John held the authority to baptize. Then we read John 3:3-5 and talked about how baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is required for eternal life. Then we read 2 Nephi 31 (which talks all about baptism). After the chapter I looked at Sister Hippo and told her that while I was in E-Town for the week and a half, I did a lot of thinking. I told her I thought of those I had been teaching. She then said, "Awwwww....you missed us!" I explained that I did miss them, but that I also thought of them as family, and just as I would want my family to experience the same blessings I have recieved through baptism, that I want that for them too. I explained that baptism would be one of the best blessings for their family. I expressed my deep love for them and my deep desire to see them be baptized. Then I said, "Well, how about we set a goal for baptism?" Sister Hippo then looked at me and said, "That sounds good....actually Dustin and I were just talking about it and he wants to be baptized too." At that moment, I felt like I was in the lesson where my brother Robert accepted the invitation to be baptized. I remember feeling so surprised and yet so excited when he accepted the invitation. As you know, he never was baptized, but I have the faith that the Hippos will follow through. When Sister Hippo could see all these emotions going on in my mind, she looked at me and said, "Are you going to cry?" And then I just gave her the biggest hug and told her I was just so excited for them! It truly was a miracle! I couldn't sleep that night because all I could do is think about them being baptized and how much it will bless thier family!

Well, after the lesson, Sister Hippo invited us to go to an event in town. As we got into our seperate cars, a country song came into my head. I looked at Sister Dewey and sang, "She said yes...I said wow...she said when... I said HOW ABOUT RIGHT NOW?" Then everyone laughed. It was funny. We set TIna HIppo and Dustin Hippo for baptism on March 7th. Please keep them in your prayers. I have no doubt that they said yes because of your many prayers in their behalf.

Okay, so now I'd like to explain the event we attended. I guess every year, Lititz has an ice sculpture contest. Each of the businesses make one, and put it in front of their shops in the square. So we went with the Hippos and walked around and looked at all the ice sculptures. It was way fun and way pretty. A great way to end our amazing night!

Okay, so that was a lot about the Hippos, but what can I say? I'm excited! So as for our other investigators, we taught the Gantt children this week. The lesson went well, but Titus didn't accept the invitation to be baptized. I think Brother Gantt may have made him feel like he has to know everything first and that he needs to study with us for a long time first. Please pray that Titus and Page will accept the invitation to be baptized at our next lesson. All 5 kids were at church again this week. It was fun to have them there. I love them so much! And the girls seem to adore me. They said they wished I could teach their Primary classes. Then they ended up sitting with us in Relief Society because they just wanted so badly to be with us. We decided that next week, we will have to go to Primary with them. They are so great and so well behaved. I do hope we can see them baptized soon!

We taught Munene and Wilson this week. Munene came to church and loved it. In fact, he called us to remind us of his appointment and to make sure we had found him a ride. Then one day he called just to say hi. How cute! It's amazing when your investigators call you! Anyway, he seemed to love church and while he was there, he would always introduce himself this way, "Hi. My name is Munene. I am from Africa, Kenya. This is not going to be my last time here." Isn't that great? He is a man full of faith! We are excited to see him progress. Please keep Munene Dedan in your prayers!

We worked really hard at the beginning of the week to tract and find new people to teach. The funny thing is that we found 5 new investigators this week and all of thier names begin with a "D". We found Dawn, Denise, Deb, Daniel, and Diane! Sister Dewey and I thought it was pretty funny since our last names start with a "D." We did have a great lesson with a nice woman named Tanya. We were convinced that she didn't accept a return appointment because her name didn't begin with a "D". So please pray for us to meet more people whose names begin with a "D".

We had some great lessons with our less-actives and recent converts this week. We taught Brother Rodriguez for the first time this week. I have been trying every week to teach him since I got here, so it was nice to finally teach him. We had a great lesson with him, and he came to church again this week. We also taught Shelly Adams (our recent convert from October). She is doing great and her and her husband are really starting to make scripture reading a habit. It is so nice to see.

Valentine's Day was fun. We had two dinners in a row with single women. Sister Wilkes made us a meatloaf in the shape of a heart, it was cute. We also went out for pizza with one of our less-actives, Nancy Fisher. It was fun to be with her on Valentine's Day, and I really think she appreciated our visit.

So lately, my companion has been getting a lot of mail, and mail has been kinda scarce for me. Don't worry....I'm not complaining...just setting the stage for the story. Well, one day, after she received like 6 letters...and I had none...she said, "Sister Deal, tomorrow you will be getting a package!" I laughed it off...until...the next day I got a package from my old companion, Sister Axtell (THANKS SISTER AXTELL!) Well, I laughed and said, "Sister Dewey, tomorrow you will get a package!" And lo and behold, she did! It made us laugh and we joked that we had the gift of prophesy!

Well, my trial of this week has been my health. To be honest, I've struggled with my stomach my whole mission, but this week was really bad. I have been trying to work through it, but I'm wiped out and just can't seem to get better. Don't worry, I will be seeing a doctor this week. I am sure it will be fine. I got a blessing and have been praying lots. I only share this with you because of what I learned from being sick this week. Well, near the end of the week, there were days I was so sick, I wasn't sure if I would even be capable of teaching. But before every lesson I would quote Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Well, it is so true. When we weren't teaching, I felt awful. But everytime we would teach, I would feel the support and strength given to my by the Holy Ghost. It was as if I had become a new person in those lessons. I would be given the words to say, a smile, and the energy to do what He has called me to do. It was a moment of realization. None of what has happened this week, or in prior weeks has to do with me. I am just the Lord's tool. I am grateful that He chooses to use me every day, and gives me the health and strength I need to do what He has called me to do. I am still feeling pretty sick though, so I'd appreciate all the prayers I can get!

Well, my time is up for this week. I love and miss y'all. Write me soon and keep me updated on your lives. Have a splendid week and let your light so shine before the world that others may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven!

Love,
Sister Deal

9 February 2009

2009-02-17T09:37:00.001-08:00

Hello family and friends!!!

How are you doing? I am fabulous. I am pretty sure I just had one of the best weeks of my mission! I love my new companion, Sister Dewey. She is amazing! She is on fire and such an amazing teacher. She also had been cooped up for her last transfer due to having a sick companion, so she wants to work hard too. Last week we taught 27 lessons! We worked hard to find new investigators and teach as much as possible. It was great. One day we even recieved 11 referrals! That was pretty much amazing!

Well, let's start with how our investigators are progressing. It was a tough week in the sense that we had a lot of appointments cancel or just plain not show up. But we kept exercising faith and were able to teach a lot. Unfortunately we weren't able to teach the Hippo family or Brother Gantt's kids. We do have appointments for this week, so we shall see how it goes. The Hippo family did make it out to church again this week. We would like to set them with baptismal dates this week, so pray that they will accept the inivitation!

We had the most amazing lesson with Katie Lord this week. The Spirit was so strong that Katie started to cry! It was amazing. She is usually so distracted, it is hard for her to even pay attention, muchless feel the Spirit. So it was really neat to see. Sister Dewey seems perfect for Katie. It was so fun to be able to see Katie grow a little throughout our lesson. We had a ward chili cook-off this week, and she came. She seemed to have a great time and the members were way friendly to her. We are hoping to set her with a baptismal date soon, but we think it may take a little time for her. Please pray for her to be baptized soon, it will be the most amazing blessing for her.

This week we went to set up a time to meet with Wilson (my Africa) and he wasn't home, but his roommate (also from Kenya), Munene, set up an appointment with us. The sad part is, they weren't there. The good news is, they rescheduled. We had an amazing lesson with them. The Boyacks came and Brother Boyack was great at answering their questions. The Spirit was strong and they didn't seem to want to let us leave. Wilson also told us a story about how is friend stole his copy of the Book of Mormon...first Wilson...now Munene...and who knows maybe we'll get to teach another one soon. Munene agreed to come to church next week, so we are excited for that. Wilson seemed a little aprehensive about church, but we have faith that he will come around. Please pray for Wilson and Munene (sounds like Moo-nay-nay).

We also had a lesson with Alison McLennan. It is so hard to read her. She seems so sweet and seems to feel the Spirit, but it's hard to get her to act. She just called us to reschedule our next appointment. So we shall see how it goes. Please pray that Alison will feel that the Book of Mormon is true and have desires to come to church.

Okay, so the weather has been kind of crazy. The first part of the week we had a few crazy snow storms. It was wierd the day we saw it start... I guess it was the night we saw it start... we had been stopping by some former investigators... and all of a sudden... it started to dump on us. We decided it would be best to just go inside... so we went in a half an hour early. It was snowing so hard that we barely made it home, and the next morning we had eight inches of snow or more! Coming from Washington, I hadn't really seen that much snow yet. So it was pretty funny trying to walk in piles of snow. There was one morning that we were walking to a place to tract and the sidewalk just ended so we had to walk through big piles of snow, and I almost fell right into the snow. It was pretty funny, and a man saw me...so I started to talk to him about the gospel. At least I got to turn an embarassing moment into someone to talk to :) The weather the last couple of days has warmed up though. Today it is fifty degrees. My companion tried to tell me that fifty is hot. I refused to believe it though. She also called thirty-two degrees warm. It's kind of ironic because she's from Arizona!!! Oh well... I guess we're both getting used to the cold now.

This week I really felt appreciated by the Elders in our district. Many times it can be hard to feel appreciated as a Sister...especially when you are serving with sick Sisters and you can hear the disappointment in their voices when you aren't able to work. But this week we worked so hard! It was so nice. One night our district leader, Elder May, said, "Man, Sisters are tough!" That was after we told him we had been tracting in nine degree weather and they hadn't. At the end of the week, he couldn't get over how great our numbers looked and how hard we had worked. It felt nice to have the Elders appreciate our hard work...of course Heavenly Father always appreciates our efforts :) I think the Elders also appreciated the homemade oreo cookies I made for District Meeting. Two districts of missionaries meet at the same time, so when we finished eating our portion of cookies, the other Elders heard about it and asked for some. Then one of the AP's said, "Wow Sister Deal, you practically fed the whole Zone cookies." It was funny. But hey, what are sisters for?

We had a lot of less-active lessons this week. But we were able to contact some less-actives that I haven't been able to in a long time. The Spirit was strong in all of our lessons. Sister Slagle for the first time, got excited about the Book of Mormon and wondered where the reference was that we read to her as she cooked us lunch. That is very exciting. Sister Battis also lightly punched my arm as we read with her and she felt that I had picked out the scripture just for her. There were many great lessons this week. We had a lesson with Brother Gantt and his friend Eric Pruhdome. They both made it out to church, which was great and thanked us for our lesson on Saturday that inspired them to be there.

Well, there's not really anything else to report. Life is great here in Lititz. President Pugh should be returning to the mission on Wednesday. He told me that I should enjoy my last transfer here because he is going to move me next transfer. So I plan to work as hard as I can this transfer. Sister Dewey and I are praying for baptisms. We have the faith that we'll see some soon. Sister Dewey is amazing. we are having so much fun together. We work hard and laugh hard too. She has become a best friend. I love serving with her here in Lititz. This is going to be a transfer of miracles...I can just feel it! Well, thanks for all your letters of support and love. I miss each and every one of you! Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Deal

26 January 2009

2009-01-26T10:51:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends!!!

This week was a crazy week! I feel so torn as to where to start. I spent half the week in Lititz and half the week in E-Town (also known as Elizabethtown). So I guess I will just start from the beginning and see where this letter leads me.

I'll start out with Sister Cook. As you know, we were informed Sunday night that Sister Cook would be going home, we just weren't sure when. I love to predict transfers and changes, so I predicted that she would leave on Thursday...and I was right. I was hesitant to start any packing until I heard the word from President Pugh (our mission president) because secretly I was hoping he would tell me just to pack a bag for a week and then I would be right back.

Well, on Wednesday after our morning teaching appointment, I looked at Sister Cook and told her we should go out to lunch. She liked the idea. So we decided to go to Pizza Hut, since it was close to our apartment and was a buffet. I told her we had to go there since Sister Van Pelt and I had planned to go, but never got around to it. We had a nice lunch, and right as we started, we noticed that Sister Pugh had called. So we decided to enjoy our last splurge and then see what they had to tell us. We went home and called Sister Pugh and she said that we had to be in E-Town at 8:30 that night and Sister Cook would leave in the morning. I asked if she knew if I would be back and she told me she wasn't sure and that I should pack all my stuff. Well, I had gotten way too comfortable in that apartment since I had been there for almost 6 months, so it was hard to pack everything up. Anyway, we frantically packed, cancelled all our appointments, and tried to make phonecalls or stops by people to wish them good-bye. Needless to say, it was a busy 7 hours. We finally got the car packed and headed to E-Town. The only problem was, that I took a wrong turn and we went way out of the way on this dark road. We really wished that Sister Van Pelt was still with us so she could help us find the way since she had served in E-Town before. Anyway, after a few phonecalls, we made it safe and sound into E-Town, and Sister Cook left early the next morning to head back to Idaho.

It seems crazy to me that both of the times I have been transfered to a new area it has been an ET (emergency transfer). Meaning that I don't get transfered at the end of a normal 6 week period. It can be hard finding out so last minute that you are leaving and wanting to say good-bye to those people in the area that you have began to love, and just not having the time to do so. Luckily, I made some phonecalls, and said good-bye to a few people in person. When I said good-bye to the Boyacks (an active family in our ward), Brother Boyack told me that I am a great missionary and that if they were going to reopen the area of Lititz without sending me back, they might as well keep it closed. It was a sweet compliment.

Brother Gantt is convinced that I will return to Lititz. I think it just makes it easier for him to say good-bye. He was really struggling with the fact that I would be leaving and kept emphasizing that I had helped him to grow so much. It was hardest for me to say good-bye to him because of how much I had seen him grow and change while I was there. I reflected on the fact that he hadn't ever read the Book of Mormon and how he wasn't reading scriptures at all, and how when I left he was reading everyday,attending church more regularly, and even that we were teaching his kids.

We set up the Elders to teach our investigators while we are gone. Unfortunately, Wilson and the Hippos fell through. I really think it will be hard on the area of LItitz if I don't go back at least for one transfer. It is hard for people to adjust to new people, especially if they are meeting with two brand new missionaries instead of just one. So, secretly, I hope to go back to Lititz next week. Well, I shouldn't say secretly, I've written my mission president and told him, but I have also told him that I am at peace with whatever decision he comes up with. I recognize that he is called by God and receives revelation as to where we should serve and when we should serve there. So we shall see what happens. Transfers are next Monday. We have a new Sister Missionary coming out then, so they will reopen Lititz and two missionaries will be sent there. I kind of think Sister Ransom will go there and train, and I will stay here with Sister Bak, even though I would love to go back to Lititz. We shall see!

We had some fun stories this week, so I shall share them with you. The first story is while we were stopping by potential investigators. We went to stop by this area with a few potential investigators, and we noticed at least fifty hawks circling in the sky. Well, we went out and knocked on a few potentials doors. As we headed back to the car, the hawks started to circle lower and lower. Sister Ransom started to freak out because of a scary movie she watched a long time ago called "Birds." Anyway, she ran to the car and we followed. Luckily we weren't lunch for a bunch of hawks!

Okay the second funny story has to do with a ward chili cook-off we went to. This was the first opportunity I really had to see many of the members of the ward. Well, at the cook-off was a talent show. And they were having techincal difficulties, so they asked anyone who knew jokes to come up and tell them. Well, this little boy got up and asked "What's the biggest pencil in the world?' At this moment I had been heading back from the desert table and thought, "I know this one!" So I shouted (without thinking) "PENNSYLVANIA (Pencil-vania)!" Anyway, this cute little boy just stared at me and then ran off the stage, and the whole ward laughed. Well, many of you may remember that I heard that cheezy joke and was telling it right before I left for my mission. I guess I was just so excited that I knew the answer, that I accidently stole his punch line. Well, now whenever we go to have meals at members houses, they say "Hey aren't you the one who ruined the little boy's punch line at the talent show?" I smile and say," Yes...that was me." Then I explain that it just came out. Well, I guess that is one way to be introduced to the ward!

Okay, time is running out. So I guess I will fill in just a few more details. Sister Bak and Sister Ransom are my new companions. I've served with Sister Ransom before in Red Lion, so it is fun to serve with her again. Sister Bak is from Russia and she is here only one more transfer before she returns to Russia. They are both amazing missionaries and I am learning lots from them. President Pugh's surgery went fine, so thanks for your prayers. He isn't recovering so quickly, so I'd ask that you would keep him in your prayers. Also keep the Hippo Family, the Gantt family, Katie Lord and Wilson in your prayers. They are investigators from Lititz. Please also keep Sue Noel and the King family in your prayers. They are investigators that we are working with here in E-Town. Both Sue and the King family were set with baptismal dates. Unfortunately, Sue and the King family seem to be taking steps backwards. We are going to challenge Sue to come to church one more time this week, or we will have to drop her. So please pray that the Kings and Sue will make it to church on Sunday.

Well, my time is up. Thanks for all you do. I love and miss each of you. Thanks for your prayers and support. I love and miss y'all! Write me soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

19 January 2009

2009-01-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends!

This week was a crazy week full of many surprises! First we shall start with updates on our current investigators. Well, as you know we have been working with the Hippo family. The progress is slow. We did have a great lesson this week and were able to involve the boys more. We are really trying to plan lessons that will be fun for all of them. Unfortunately, they didn't show up to church. It was sad, but we have a few appointments with them this week so hopefully we can get them to church next week.

As far as Brother Gantt and his kids go, we had another fabulous lesson with them. We brought a few activities with us to keep the kids attention. As usual, they were very focused during the lesson. We even talked a little about baptism and they seemed excited. We challenged them to start reading the Book of Mormon and to pray about it and baptism. It will be great to see how they feel about it! We are hoping to set them with a date for baptism next week. Unfortunately, they didn't make it to church this week. I was way sad. We decided to go to visit Brother Gantt and his kids after church to see why they didn't make it there. He was watching the Eagles football game when we arrived. We expressed that we were dissapointed in his decision to stay home. He and the kids felt bad and commited to coming next week. I think Brother Gantt is struggling right now. He is just doing so much and feels constantly like he is doing it all alone. Please pray for Tony Gantt, and his children Titus, Page and Antionette.

We also taught Wilson this week. He is an investigator we found this week while tracting. We couldn't go in his house because there wasn't another woman with us. So we left him a pamphlet and told him to check out the website before our next visit. We saw him on Saturday and had an amazing lesson. The Spirit was strong. He had lots of questions and we were able to answer many of them (the one we struggled with was a question about the Second Coming...I'm always so bad at all that stuff). Anyway, scriptures just kept coming to my mind and I would share them with him when he asked questions. After one of those times he asked me how I was able to know the scriptures so well! It made me feel special and like all the many hours I have spent studying were worth it just to be able to answer his questions. He told us he checked out the website and when we first started the lesson, he told us he had never heard about Joseph Smith and wanted to know more about him. It was really neat. He seems so prepared! I also found out that he is from Kenya! That really excited me because, as many of you know, when I was asked where I would choose to go on my mission if I could choose, I would say Africa. I just love the people of Africa and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to teach Wilson. He is my Africa!

Katie Lord also called us up this week and wants to start meeting with us again and wants to come to church. I am way excited to start teaching her again. We had a lesson with her this week, but it was a bit chaotic since she has ADHD and is very lonley staying home with her baby. We are exctied to work with her agian.

Well, that's the basic updates of our investigators. Please keep each of them in your prayers. They need it and we as missionaries need those prayers for them so we can be led and guided to know how and what to teach them!

So, we had no investigators at church this week. That was sad. But we did have the Troutmans and Sister Turcotte there. Hopefully we will report more less-actives and investigators at church next week!

Okay, so now it is time for the real news. As excited as I am to teach all of these investigators again this week, I am not too sure what is going to happen. Last night, Sister Cook talked with President Pugh and they felt that it is best that she doesn't wait two more weeks, but goes home to take care of all of her medical stuff. What that means is that I will probably go to a new area this week. Hopefully it will only be for a few weeks and I can get back to teaching all these people soon, but it is hard to say what will happen at transfers. Right now, we aren't sure when exactly Sister Cook will leave, but it will probably happen within the next couple of days. So we shall see how it all works out. I am sad to leave this area and am praying that the Lord will let me come back in a few weeks as I've developed friendships with many of the people we are teaching and don't want to see them fall through the cracks. Please pray for the investigators and less-actives in this area and that the Lord's will can happen at transfers, so that they may progress.

Well, it is snowing right now and it is so beautiful. It got to a low of 2* this week! It has been really cold and has snowed off and on, but the snow hasn't been anything big, just a little bit of dusting that tends to melt the next day. It sure is pretty though. Today we will be going to Chocolate World in Hershey. We are excited to do something fun before Sister Cook goes home. Hopefully I can take lots of pictures and send them to you soon.

Well, I must be going. Thanks for all that you do for me! Thanks for your prayers, letters and support! I really do appreciate them! I hope each of you has a wonderful week! Know that I love you!

Love,
Sister Deal

12 January 2009

2009-01-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hello again!

It's lame when the computers kick you off, but at least it lets us log back in! Anyway, a few more updates. Tony Manafi didn't show up to his appointment and his phone number isn't working anymore. It is way sad. But we know where he lives and where he works...I think I am craving a sub from Quiznos ;-D

We also taught Haywood walker this week at Brother Gantt's house. It too was quite interesting. I think he has some mental handicaps, because he wasn't really comprehending what we were saying. We ended up dropping him because he just doesn't seem like he is mentally accountable or that he is really searching. He just doesn't seem to even have a desire to learn and change. It was sad, but hopefully we helped plant a seed.

This week we finally got to visit Sister Battis again! I have been trying to contact her for awhile. We stopped by her house and caught her home. We had a great lesson with her. She felt the Spirit and got pretty teary-eyed. As we shared scriptures with her, she wrote down the refrences. At the end of the lesson, we asked her to pray, and she thanked Heavenly Father for helping us not to give up on her. It was so sweet and I just wanted to cry! She is an angel. Anyway, her daughter lives in Slat Lake City and she is leaving to go visit her for a few weeks. We challenged her to read at least one verse every day. She accepted. We are excited to see how her trip affects her spiritual growth.

Okay, so a few random things. A few weeks ago we had an earthquake! Who would of guessed that we would have an earthquake in Pennsylvania?!?! Well, it was in the middle of the night. As missionaires we work so hard that when our head hits the pillow we are out cold. Anyway, we slept through the earthquake and as we were tracting, people told us they heard a big boom right before it hit. Things are fine and no one got hurt. But interesting to know that we could be so worn out that we would sleep through an earthquake. This morning I woke up to see that the Moon was still shining brightly. That was disturbing! I shouldn't wake up when the moon is still out! I guess that is the life of a missionary! Early to bed early to rise!

Something interesting just happened. I saw a man here at the library that I recognized. So we started to talk to him and I finally remembered where I knew him from. He came to visit the church a few months ago. He is a really nice Prodestant man. He asked lots of questions and we were able to give him a "Finding Faith in Christ" card (for a free movie about Jesus Christ) and point him to the church website! I hope he orders it so that we can visit with him more! He talked about how he admires the missionary work we do in the church and how dedicated we are. His name was Dave. Please pray that Dave will go to the website and have desires to meet with us!

This week was Zone Conference, and it was great...as usual. We did get some interesting news though. We found out that our mission president, President Pugh, is struggling health wise and has to go to Utah for a surgery. So he will be gone for two weeks. Of course there are other leaders in this area that help support him in his calling, so we will be just fine and the work will go on. He didn't go in to details about what exactly is going on. So I would ask for your prayers in his behalf this week. I think he is going in for surgery today...but some missionaries think it is Wednesday. So just keep him in your prayers all week. It will take some time for him to recover from the surgery, so he'll need all the prayers he can get.

Also, at Zone Conference, my companion bore her testimony. She talked about how we met a Russian woman this week who had worked for 12 years to move to America and how lucky we were to be born here. She went on to say that she has no idea what it is like living in Russia and how hard it is to imagine that. Well, then she went on to say how she was raised in the church and serving with me has helped her to appreciate the blessing of being born into the church. It was really sweet. She said I helped her testimony to grow! I just love my companion.

Speaking of Sister Cook, I'd ask you to continue to pray for her. It looks like she might go home due to health issues at the end of the transfer. Nothing is set in stone quite yet. She is struggling a lot. Please pray for her. She needs all the prayers she can get.

At Zone Conference, I too bore my testimony. I could barely make it through, as the tears filled my eyes. As missionaries were sharing how much their testimonies had grown by serving a mission, I reflected on how much I had changed from joining the church until now. I don't know where I would be without the gospel in my life. I bore testimony that people can change because I have changed and how grateful I was that the Savior would love me enough to help change even me. I love this gospel so much! I am so grateful that my life continues to change because of it! I am grateful for my opportunity to serve a mission. In my testimony I talked about how there isn't a day that goes by out here that I don't think about how grateful I am to be a member of the Lord's church and how much I have grown since I decided to be baptized. It is amazing to look at my life 4 years ago when I was investigating the church and all the things I was caught up in, and even to look at my life a year ago. It is amazing how much this is truly a gospel of change. We have the opportunity every day to repent (or change) and become a little more like the Savior. I would invite each of you, as this new year starts, to make a determination to become more like him this year, and change the things that need to be changed. Sometimes its not big things, but just small simple ways to follow the Savior more fully. I know that the reason He gives us commandments is because he knows that as we live those commandments we will be happy. I know you will be happier as you turn your life over to Him and follow Him more faithfully this year. I know this because I have lived it. Not because I am perfect, but because I have been working on all the many imperfections I have, and have asked for the Lord to help me through them. As I desire to change and become more like Him, He gives me the power to do so. He loves you. He knows you. He is grateful for all the baby steps you make to coming closer to Him. We don't have to do it all at once, just one baby step at a time.

I love and miss y'all! Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Thanks for your prayers and letters! They brighten my day!

Love,
Sister Deal

12 January 2009

2009-01-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hello Family and Friends!

Life as a missionary is always full of surprises. You never know what the next week will hold...or the nest ten minutes for that matter. This week was a tougher week. But the good news is we have another great week ahead of us!

First, I would like to talk about church attendance. This week we had 4 investigators at church and last week we had 5! It is amazing to see how much the Lord is blessing us by being able to see our investigators come to church. I took some time this week to reflect on the investigators we were teaching in Red Lion. I remembered my first transfer and how we were so busy teaching so many lessons, but how none of them came to church. I remember as a new missionary being so sad when they wouldn't come. And now the Lord is blessing not just one investigator to come to church, but multiple! I just love seeing each of their bright smiling faces at church. This week we had the whole Hippo family at church...even the 16 year-old boy, Brian (who is usually against church of any kind...and usually avoids our lessons). It was so nice to see him at church with the rest of the family. Please pray that Brian Hippo will have a desire to keep coming to church. This week, Matthew Hippo (the only member of his family attending church) was ordained to the office of teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. It was so nice to see that happen for him! We also had Brother Gantt, Sister Turcotte, and the Giroux family at church. It is amazing how much I have seen thier church attendance increase while I have been in this area! It brightens my day just as much to see a less-active at church as it does an investigator.

Unfortunately, this week was a week of many cancelations. Almost all the lessons we had scheduled, cancelled or just weren't at their appointment. But they always say if you have a tough week, that just means something really good is right around the corner!

This week, we received a media referral for a man who requested the Book of Mormon. We were so excited to go visit him. His name is Terry Betz. We visited him on Friday night and he was thrilled to start reading the Book of Mormon. We bore our testimonies about how the Book of Mormon had changed our lives and what the book was about. Since he was a single man, we had to set up a return appointment, so we could bring an exchange with us. We went back with Sister Fitzsimons yesterday. The lesson went really well, but was also a little tough. We discovered that he was schizophrenic and bipolar. It was hard for him to focus on the lesson and he also has a lot of paraniod feelings. But the good news is that in the two days since we had seen him, he read 17 pages of the Book of Mormon!!!! It was amazing! He seemed to comprehend it okay as well. He did struggle knowing how to apply the scriptures to himself, so we helped to teach him how. He had tons of questions, and would often go off in tangent land. But, that's okay. We still love him! He is amazing! He has a kind heart and also is really searching for truth. We hope to see him continue to progress. We have a lot to work through with him though. He has serious mental issues and also smokes. But the Lord has the power to change each of us, no matter where we are at! I know that to be true. So please pray for Terry Betz that he will continue to have a desire, and that the Lord will help him to recognize answers to his prayers.

Well, the computer is about to kick me off, so I will see if I can send you a second e-mail in a few minutes!

Love ya!
Sister Deal
>

5 January 2009

2009-01-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you doing? I am doing well! So, can you believe it is 2009 already? I feel like it was just yesterday that we were all excited because it was 1999 and almost the year 2000! It is crazy how fast time flies. Somedays, my mission is like that too! A few days ago was my "hump day" as they call it here, meaning my half-way point. It is crazy to think that my mission is half way through! I feel like it was just yesterday that I entered the MTC. But I guess time flies when you are having fun! I am so grateful to be here. I just love it!

As you can tell from my subject line, missions have moments that can be awkward. An Elder told Sister Cook when she first got here, "Welcome to 18 months of awkward moments." It is so true! Even though I have been here for over 9 months now, it doesn't make it any easier to walk up to complete strangers and start talking to them. The beauty is though, that sometimes those awkward moments turn into priceless memories! So, I thought I would start out by sharing an awkward moment story. The other day, an awful thing happened. I lost my scriptures! Well, I went to try and see if I could find them at an investigators house we had visited. They weren't home, so we just left a note on the door. Well, after leaving the note, we noticed a man pushing a stroller across the street. So, we decided to go talk to them. Well, we had to wait for all the trafic to subside, before we could cross the street. When we finally crossed, he was quite a distance up this alley. So, we followed him into the alley. We kept trying to walk quicker, and he just seemed to get further and further away. Occasionally, he would look back at us following him. Finally, he made it to his destination (the back porch of his home). Once he was stopped, we had a chance to talk to him. Well, it was awkward following him for several minutes home, but once he got there, we were able to teach him. He was really nice and seemed interested. We have another appointment with him this week and are excited to meet with him and his wife. And we found him all because I lost my scriptures!

We had a great finding week! We found 5 new investigators this week! That was way exciting! Two of our new investigators included Brother Gantt's children (Titus and Page). They are so adorable! They live with their Mom in Harrisburg, but she isn't into church at all and is fine with the kids coming to church and meeting with us. Well, these kids are great missionaries and always bring other kids to church with them. So when we taught them on Saturday, there were 5 kids total. We decided to start with the basics and see what they knew about Jesus Christ. They haven't ever really been in church, so they didn't know who He was. So we talked a little bit about Him and then watched "Finding Faith in Christ." It is a church DVD about the Savior's life and atonement. It goes over many of the great miracles he performed too. It was great watching it, and the children seemed really into it. They watched intently the whole time. Afterwards, they sat quietly and listened to us and answered our questions. It turns out that on the way to church the next day, that the kids were all talking about the lesson we had taught them! How sweet! Well, Brother Gantt was touched and grateful too. He was so touched that at Fast and Testimony meeting, he got up and bore his testimony on how much his life has changed since joining the church. He talked about how grateful he was for us as "his missionaries" because we were teaching his kids. He talked about the miracle it was that he doesn't smoke anymore and that he is learning to be a father to his children. His testimony was so sweet! It made me see the importance of having the gospel in your home with your family. Children do have an affect on thier parents and visa versa. It is neat to see Brother Gantt's testimony grow, as his children's testimony grows.

Another Sister in the ward, Sister Wilkes, got up and bore a powerful testimony this Sunday. Everyone was crying. She is a single woman who adopted two children. She talked about how tight money was at Christmas time and how there were angels who must have heard her talk about gifts that her children wanted that she couldn't afford. She then talked about how the sister missionaries (Sister Cook & I) came over to deliver presents with a family in the ward on Christmas Eve and how we delivered 3 huge bags of gifts. She talked about how grateful she was that when we asked her children why we celebrate Christmas, that they could answer. She talked about how grateful she was for our visit and message and how grateful she was that gifts were provided for the children that she couldn't provide. Then she talked about the atonement. She said that we had bought gifts because she didn't have the money to pay for them. Then she went on to say that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins, a price that no matter how hard we tried to pay it, we couldn't pay it for ourselves. And yet, our Father in Heaven sent His Son, to pay that price so we could be forgiven of our sins and return to Him. It was a beautiful testimony and analogy. I couldn't help by cry. But it turned out many others couldn't help by shed a few tears as well. It was a miracle to be a part of helping her reflect on the Savior this holiday season.

Speaking of holiday seasons, I forgot to tell you a funny story. On Christmas Eve, we had a District Meeting, which I think I mentioned in my last e-mail. Well, one of the Elders, Elder Thueson, has become like a little brother to me. NOTE: I said LITTLE brother, NOT BIG brother. Anyway, he enjoys picking on me, and occasionally I throw it back at him. Well, for this Christmas District Meeting, he and his companions made up Christmas stockings for us. Well, when I went to see what was in my stocking, there was this clear container, and on the top of the container, it said "Hello My Name is Fred." At first glance, I thought they were naming the container. Then I realized that there was a spider inside! And, as the girl I am, I screamed and threw it in the air. Elder Thueson and his companion thought it would be funny to put a spider in a clear container in my stocking, because they found it while they were studying that morning. All I can say, is what I often say, "ELDERS!?!?!"

Well, time is running short and I still have a few more things to say! First off is that, for those of you wondering, I found my scriptures! After calling distribution and ordering new ones of course, but I am grateful to have found them. And we found 2 new investigators because of losing them. So I guess it was worth it!

Shelly Hornberger and Brandon Adams got married this week, on January 3rd. Our mission president gave us permission to go to the wedding and reception. It was nice to see them get married, though I had wished her dress would have been a little more modest. She did look beautiful and they seemed really happy. At the reception, everyone tried to get us (my companion and I) to go up and try to catch the boquet. But I knew my companion, Sister Cook, would not want to. So we tried to sneak out for our appointment. Anyway, after some pestering, we made it out safe and sound. We didn't have to try and catch it. That would have been awkward trying to catch it when we don't even date! That's okay, someday my prince will come....someday that is far, far, far away :)

Last but not least, things are crazy in the mission. We just got word that Sister Thomas is going home early for medical reasons. She has been having severe migrains and it is starting to cause other painful symptoms. It is way sad to see her go. Her companion (Sister Fry) has also been very sick, as has, my companion (Sister Cook). It feels like all the sisters are way sick lately. And the saddest part is that 3 out of the 5 sister missionaries that came out in 2008 have gone home now. I am one of the 2 sisters that is still here. Anyway at the end of the week there will only be 6 sisters in the mission. I hope it stays that way and no one else goes home, otherwise we'll have to close another area and only have 2 sisters areas in the mission! When you see old companions go home, it makes you really appreciate your time here. I am just so very grateful for the health and strength that the Lord has blessed me with. I am just so grateful to be here. I just love being a missionary!

Well, my time is up! I love and miss each of you so very much! Thanks for your prayers in my behalf and in behalf of my companion and investigators! Oh yeah....just so you know, the Hippos were at church this week, so were the Rodriguez (less-active family), the Troutmans, and Sister Turcotte. I just LOVE it when people come to church. It makes my Sundays even better...oh and now our ward meets at 1:30...instead of 8:30...that brings lots of smiles too! Well, I must be running! Have a fabulous week! I love you!

Love,
Sister Deal

15 December 2008

2008-12-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends!!!

How are you? I am doing great! It was a wonderful week! We were able to see many miracles this week and see the hand of the Lord assisting us in His great work! I was also able to feel like He really needed me! I am so grateful to be a misssionary and to be a tool in His hands!

Okay, so let's start with the miracles. This week we met with the Hippo family again. They are just so great! They are still progressing! We weren't able to meet with Tina alone this week because something came up last minute. We do hope that we will be able to meet her one-on-one this coming week. Please pray for Tina Hippo on Wednesday. That is when we will try to get to the bottom of her concerns and hopefully set her with a date to be baptized. A miracle happened while we were teaching her this week! She said the closing prayer of our lesson!!!! She has always refused to pray before, but this time she did it! We had Zone Conference this week and our Mission President, President Pugh, had shown us a great way to invite people to pray at the end of a lesson. So we tried it out, her heart was prepared for that invitation and she did it! She even prayed for her oldest son who wasn't in the lesson and how much she wished he could have been there to hear the things we taught! It was amazing! This coming week she is going to come with us to a Relief Society activity and we are excited for that!

Another miracle we saw this week was with Tony Gantt (Brother Gantt). He was the one who had gotten offended last week. Well, this week we called the Bishop to ask him to visit Brother Gantt. After the conversation with the Bishop, Brother Gantt called us back. He said he was sorry for getting so upset and that he really appreciated all we do for him. He, once again, told me I was an amazing missionary and he was grateful that I never give up on him, and that we called the Bishop. Well, he is doing great now! He is doing so good that he told us out of the blue, that he is going to start paying tithing! And he called us yesterday to ask questions about how he could get to the temple! Isn't that wonderful?!?!? I am so grateful to be here in this area at this time, even if it is just for Brother Gantt. Oh! And he came to church this week and brought his kids too! Yay!!!

This week we had Zone Conference! It was amazing! And I got to sing two songs. My companions and I sang "Away in a Manger" and then all the sisters sang "Silent Night." It was fun to sing, and the conference was so great. Everyone's words were so inspiring! They also prapared a big ham Christmas dinner for us, and let us decorate gingerbread houses. It was so much fun. It was also a great time to reflect on the Savior and His love for me. This season really is so much more than presents and Christmas trees. It is about our dear Savior. I love Him so much. It means the world to me to know that if I were the only one on earth who ever sinned, He would still pay that ultimate sacrifice for me. And since I know He feels that way about me, I know He feels that way about you. Take some time amidst the hustle and bustle of this holiday season to reflect on Him and His love for you.

This week I really felt like the Lord needed me. A couple of times this week people looked at me and told me they could just see a light in my eyes. That was an amazing compliment, because that is how I remember feeling about the sister missionaries who taught me. I just remembered feeling such a great light in their eyes and a conviction that they knew what they were teaching was true. It is nice to feel like others can see Christ through me too! I just love being His servant!

Another experience I would like to share was my exchange this week. Usually, every transfer elders get to go on exchange (meaning that tow companionships of missionaries, swap a missionary for the day) but the sisters never do. At our training meeting a few months back, I asked the President if he could arrange for us to go on exchange. And he did! So this was the first time my whole mission, that I went on exchange. I was able to go serve with Sister Thomas for a day in Hershey. It was amazing! We taught 6 lessons that day and even found a new investigator. While we were there I had three different opportunities to share my conversion story. It was really neat because I never do it that many times in a week, muchless a day. Part of the reason I shared it so much is because the sisters serving in Hershey were both raised in the church and thought it would help some of their invesitgators to hear my story. And it did! Many of their investigators were softened and opened up a lot. It was great. We also found this neat lady, Rachel. While tracting I was just praying we would find someone. Well, on the second door we knocked on, someone answered. As Sister Thomas started talking with her, I decided to pray that she would let us in. The moment I finished my silent prayer, she opened the door and let us in. The lesson went great and she was one of those that I shared my conversion story with. It was great because at the end of the lesson, when we set our return appointment, I had to explain that I was just visiting for the day. As I explained, she said she would really miss me and learned a lot from me that day! How sweet! We also met this woman named Melissa that day. She has a lot of drama in her life, but it was neat because I was able to relate to some of her experiences and remind her that God was there for her and would never leave her and that He could always be her constant. Since she wasn't sure if she even believed in Christ, that was a big step! In many of the lessons, the people we taught that day started to cry. It was just a spirit filled day! I learned so much, and there were so many people that needed me and my unique experiences that day! It is just so amazing how the Lord knows where you need to be and when you need to be there!

Another miracle....Matthew Schreck!!!! The Sisters stopped by while I was on exchange and he agreed to meet with us again! We have an appointment with him this coming Friday! I am so excited to finally teach him again! He was the one we set with a date back in September. I have prayed for him so much since them. Please keep him in your prayers on Friday that he may be softened and prepared for the message we will bring.

So, as you know, I have a new companion, Sister Cook. She is so much fun! She is from Idaho and this is still her first transfer, so she is still pretty new. She is great at talking to people and so real with everyone. I just love her. Unfortunately, she is struggling with sicknesses and with a desire to be here. It's hard for me to understand why she wouldn't want to be here, because she is so amazing. A neat thing that happened at Zone Conference was that she said she actually wants to be here now and that her last week with us has really changed her outlook on missionary work. I totally cried! She is so sweet. Somedays she really wants to be here, and others she gets a bit discouraged. Please pray for her. She is an amazing missionary and so many will be benefited by her service. I think deep down she wants to be here. So please give her the extra strength that only prayers can!

Another miracle. Tony Manaffi (Quiznos guy). We taught him in the Fitzsimons home this week. The lesson went amazing. I really think Tony needed to hear Brother and Sister Fitzsimons testimony! He softened a lot this week and commited to pray every day this week. I really think he has a lot of potential. Please keep him in your prayers!

Well, this letter has gotten far too long, and we have more things to do today. Just know that I love each and every one of you. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Thanks for your love and support. Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Deal

8 December 2008

2008-12-10T12:38:00.001-08:00

Hello family and friends!!!!

How are you doing? I am doing well. This week was full of a lot of ups and downs. The thing about missionary work is that it isn't always easy. But no matter how hard it is, it is completely worth it.

So...let's see...where to start? I guess I'll start by reporting the crazy Tony week. All of the Tony's we have been teaching kinda freaked out on us. We'll start with Anthony. He is the guy we had found a week ago tracting. He was the one who said he would pray about the Book of Mormon that same night. Well, when we came back, he brought his Mennonite Pastor and had pages of notes to talk to us. He said he listened to us and now it was our turn to listen to what he believed. The sad part is, that when we taught him it was very conversational. We weren't just the only ones talking. And when he "shared what he believed" it was just bashing the church and the Book of Mormon. He kept quoting things he found on the internet, versus on the church website or in the Book of Mormon. He was pretty grumpy and not open at all. It was sad to seem him be so warm and welcoming one week and turn on us the next week. Luckily, this wasn't my first encounter with someone like this. And it seemed like a moment of growth for me. Instead of opening the Bible and explaining to him how we knew what we knew was true, I bore powerfully testimony to him. I explained that the reason I started investigating the church is because I told a friend that it was too bad Mormons weren't Christian (Anthony insisted we weren't). Anyway, he didn't really listen to a word we said, so we ended up leaving. We had brought an exchange to the appointment, Sister Fitzsimons (also a convert). She was amazing! She also testified boldly. Even though he didn't accept our testimonies, I appreciated the experience. Everytime someone challenges or questions your testimony, you have to ask yourself if it is true. I think that they think they are weakening our testimonies, but in reality, they strengthen them. I know even more today that this is the Lord's true church and that the Book of Mormon is true. I am grateful for how much I have changed and grown since I became a member of this church. If the changes in my life aren't testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel, I don't know what is!

Well, on to the next Tony, Tony from Quiznos. He called and cancelled his appointment and said he wasn't interested in joining the church. I tried to explain to him that he could still come to church and take everything at his own pace, but he wouldn't even come to the social he had commited to come to. It was sad. We think there is something bigger there. Hopefully we will find out what it is. We meet with him this coming Saturday. Please pray for Tony Manaffi!

The last Tony, is Tony Gantt, or Brother Gantt. This Saturday, we had a rough meeting. Brother Boyack showed up and at one point asked Brother Gantt if he believed that the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints is Christ's church that has been restored through a prophet. Brother Gantt kinda avoided the question and then got really offended. Well, the next day, he didn't show up for church. When I called him, he was pretty angry and hung up the phone on me, and said he didn't want to come to church anymore. It was really sad. Then today, he called and appologized for hanging up on me (thank goodness!!!) and I calmed him down a little. We will meet him again next Saturday. PLEASE pray for him! Sister Axtell...if you are reading this...please call Brother Gantt...he needs all the help and support he can get. Well, I am worried for him, but trying to excercise a lot of faith. Brother Gantt has not only become a less-active that we work with, but a friend. I hope things work out okay.

Okay, let's talk about some good news! The Hippo family is still progressing! YAY!!!! All of the boys went to Young Mens this week and loved it. Sister Hippo is really starting to look comfortable in church. We are excited to see them progress. Brother Rodriguez came to church this week too! He is one of the less-active families we have been working with. It was so nice to see him at church because he hasn't been in the four months that I have been in this area.

Okay, time for a miracle story. Well, we visit teach Sister Gonzales. She is never there when we stop by, so we usually post-it-note her door, and call her, but she never returns our calls. Well, last Monday, we decided to try her again, and of course, she wasn't home. But, her non-member daughter, Shareen, was! We got to talk with her for a little while. Then Sister Van Pelt shared a scripture with her from the Book of Mormon and explained what it was. Well, after that, it was getting late, so I almost didn't share the scripture that came to mind. But I decided to make time for it. I shared 1 Nephi 21:14-16. It's a great one about the atonement and how the Savior will never leave us! Well, after I shared the scripture I explained how sometimes we can feel all alone, but He is always here, and know us each so individually. As I was sharing, Shareen started to cry. The Spirit really did touch her! It was amazing! Anyway, she thanked us for the visit and we hope to go see her tonight too! Please pray for Shareen Gonzales!

Well, I am getting short on time, so just a few more details. My cold came back and I had to go back to the doctor! Lame! Then Sister Van Pelt caught my cold! Lame! But we are both feeling much better today, so hopefully we will keep that up! I am now officially in a trio again! They had to close the Red Lion area early. So Sister Cook, a new missionary who came out just four weeks ago, joined Sister Van Pelt and I today. Her companion joined the E-Town Sisters. Anyway, President called me and told me that it is my responsibility to see that she finishes her training! AHHHH! Scary! Anyway, transfers are in two weeks, and he said Sister Cook and I will stay together. So that should be interesting. She seems way nice, it is just scary to have the responsibility to lead such a new missionary. But I'm sure it will go well. The Lord always knows better than I do!

Last but not least we had fun activities this week. We were able to go to a ward Christmas Social on Saturday. We had a pancake breakfast and fun activities and watched "Joy to the World" (a church movie about the Savior's birth and life). It was a great time and Sister Troutman even brought her Mom! That was exciting. The movie was great too. I am such a girl! I had to fight back the tears as I watched it. It is amazing how much you can feel the Spirit when you watch those movies. Speaking of that, we watched the Restoration DVD with Shelly last night. She cried afterwords and said it really helped strengthen her testimony of the restoration of the gospel! She is so great! I am grateful to still be here working with her! We also were able to see the First Presidency Devotional last night. It too was great and I felt the Spirit pretty strong. I also was able to distract Sister Wilkes kids so she could enjoy the devotional. Since she is a single mom, it was nice to serve her in that way.

Well, I am out of time! Know that I love and miss all of you! Please write me soon! I love mail, and haven't been getting as much lately!

Love ya!
Sister Deal

1 December 2008

2008-12-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hello Family and Friends!

This week was a great one! I just loved it! There is so much to talk about, but so little time. So I will try to get through as much of it as I can.

First of all, Thanksgiving was great! We started out the day by going to District Meeting (a meeting with two other sets of missionaries where we discuss our areas, and how we can improve, etc.) District Meeting was great! Elder Leavitt (our district leader) had made pilgrim and indian hats for us. So we all took one and held something we were grateful for and then took a picture. It was way fun! Then Elder Leavitt and Elder Howell (elders in our ward) and us went over to the Ludwigs house for dinner. Sister Ludwig had made a smoked turkey and lots of other yummy things. It was great. After dinner we played a game too! It was good times! Then we went over to the Giroux's. We had a wonderful dinner too! She even made my favorite sweet potatoes with marshmallows and fruit salad. It was way fun. And her dishes were neat. I felt like I was eating in the olden days. We drank from metal goblets and ate off metal plates. It was cool. So that was about the extent of our Thanksgiving day. It was great...but I still missed you guys!

As far as investigators go, we saw a few miracles this week. Tony (the guy from Quiznos) came to church again this week! Our lesson with him went really well too! We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with him. He was really into it and made lots of comments and when we finished reading Alma 32, he wanted to keep reading more! He has really softened too! Getting him to commit to church was much easier this week and he also commited to pray about the Book of Mormon! We are excited to see him continue to progress.

The Hippo family is still progressing too! They came to church again this week. And they read at least four different times this week! They even read the first two chapters in the Book of Mormon! Sister Hippo said she thought starting from the beginning made the most sense! It was really neat to see their excitement for reading. The best thing that happened on Sunday, was when Matthew Hippo (the 13 year-old who was baptized a year and a half ago) passed the sacrament! It made my day! I felt like a proud mother taking the sacrament from her son! I just wanted to cry! I was so proud of him!

As far as less-actives go, Brother Gantt and Sister Turcotte were at church this week! That was amazing! We had an interesting, but good lesson with Brother Gantt. He is so great! Yesterday, after church, he called me to thank me for being his missionary. He said that I am amazing and he learns a lot from me. He is so sweet! I know that I was sent to this area to help him. I just see so much of the old me in him, so at times I get really bold with him because I want him to have the same joy I do. I know the Lord is using much of my past experiences to be able to relate to Brother Gantt and help him out. I am so grateful for all the trials that have prepared me to help him!

We did more tracting (knocking on doors) this week. We even tracted into a castle! It is a house that looks like a mini castle. It was sweet. The castle was covered with vines, and even the door was a big wooden and metal door. When someone finally answered the door, I was in awe, because he looked like just the kind of guy who would answer the door of a castle. I was so in awe, that I forgot to speak, and then he asked who we were. So I told him who we were, and the door slammed. It was sad, but fun to tract into a castle!

We had another neat experience tracting this week. We picked out a street to tract, and it just didn't work out. There was no where to park and only 3 houses on the road, so we decided to look for another street. We felt led to this one tiny street that had maybe ten houses on it. Well, when we approached one of the last doors, I found myself praying that the family would let us in so we could teach them. That is when Anthony Avolo let us in. He invited us in before we introduced ourselves. We had an amazing lesson. The Spirit was so strong. At the end of the lesson I invited him to pray about the Book of Mormon this week, and he said he would pray about it that day! Isn't that great?!? It was such an amazing experince. We were truly led to him!

This week we attended a baptism for Kristen Fabbick. She is a girl Sister Van Pelt had been teaching in Hershey. The baptism was so beautiful and the Spirit was so strong. Her family even came. It was great. The only down-fall to the baptism, was that I was asked to lead the music. I have never done this before, so it was pretty amusing. I can sing, but conducting is just not my thing. Well, there were definetly people who could tell I was struggling. I looked over at Kristen at one point and she and her sister were laughing hysterically! I figured, as long as she was happy, that is all that matters. It was definetly an experience! Hopefully one I don't have to repeat anytime soon!

This week I had a few experiences that just touched me. Sometimes, sharing the gospel can feel like any other thing in life. After awhile, you share many of the same scriptures and teach things pretty similar. Well, the day we tracted the street the castle was on, we got let into a house. The older couple was very sweet, but not too receptive. They asked a lot of questions, and we shared the first lesson with them. After I explained what the Book of Mormon was, I shared our standard scripture about how to know if the Book of Mormon is true Moroni 10:3-5. This time though, the words just hit. Me as I read the scripture that talks about praying to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ to know if it is true, the words seemed to sink into the depths of my soul. Then I read the last verse that talks about "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." I could barely read those words. I was just reminded of the clear answers I received as I prayed about the Book of Mormon, and was drawn to tears! It was another testimony to me of the truthfulness of that book!

Another experience I had, was with a member. We were having lunch with a member. The member asked me how I joined the church. As I shared my conversion story, it was much like every other time. But then we started to share our thought on missionary work. I read her my standard missionary scripture Alma 29:9-10. It says, "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord thier God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me." I share this scripture lots, but this time, I could barely teach what I was trying to teach. Tears filled my eyes as I remembered all that the Lord had done for me. I want each of you to know that the reason I am out here, is because the atonement of Jesus Christ has transformed my life. I am a new creature. I have felt His love deeper and stronger than any other. I know this is His true church on the earth today. I know the Book of Mormon is true because I have had multiple testimonies from the Spirit that it is, including these that I have shared with you today. No matter how many times I read that sacred book, it touches me. It is the word of God. It has the power to change your life, if you will let it. I know this, because it has changed mine!

Well, I love and miss all of you! Thanks for your letters and e-mails! Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Deal

24 November 2008

2008-11-25T15:24:00.001-08:00

24 November 2008

Hello family and friends!

This week was a crazy one! Lots of unexpected things happened. Mostly it was a hard one. We'll start with the hardest thing that happened. John dropped himself. He called us Tuesday before his appointment and said that he no longer desired to investigate the church. We called him back and asked if we could help him understand his concerns. He said that would be fine. Then he told us about a concern he has. He believes that the soul sleeps from death to the resurrection. Then he gave us a list of scriptures. We told him we would study it and get back to him. Well, we called him back the next day, and left a message that we would love to meet with him again and discuss his questions. He called back to tell us we could talk about it over the phone, but that was it, and hasn't since returned our phone calls. It was way sad. But I think he will come around someday. A lot of the unique beliefs we have are unique beliefs that he has. So hopefully he will come around. We found out where he lives and are going to try and stop by this week, we shall see what happens.

We also had lots of other appointments cancel on us, and I have still been sick. I have been sick for 3 weeks now. I have gone to the doctor, but nothing seems to help. Somedays I wonder if I will just be sick all winter long. We shall see. But hopefully I will get better soon,

Don't worry, we had some fun and great things happen this week too, amidst hard stuff. First, I will start with the fun stuff. This week it snowed on 4 different days! It was so beautiful!I loved it so much. Sister Van Pelt and I took great pictures! The snowflakes were so big! And for a few days it would snow tons and then the sun would come out and melt it, then it would snow and cover everything again. It was so beautiful! I love the snow! I just can't believe that it could snow so much before Thanksgiving. So it is getting really cold. But I always say, if it's cold, it might as well be snowing! It just brings the biggest smile to my face!

Okay, so the next fun story is while we were tracting (knocking on doors). There was this cute kitten who followed us around as we tracted for an hour! It was so fun. She would just pop up out of nowhere and go to every door with us. Then she would get a little distrated and dissapear for a minute or two, and outo of nowhere, she would appear again! It was fun and she was so cute! So we just had to name her. We decided Abish was perfect. Abish is a sister missionary in the Book of Mormon. So we figured she could be a sister missionary with us, since she enjoyed tracting so much! It was fun times.

Okay, so now for real good news. A few of our less-actives made it out to church this week. The whole Giroux family was there, and so was Sister Turcotte. It was so nice to have them there. We were able to finally meet with Brother Gantt this week. It had been a few weeks, but we had fun meeting with him. The lesson went well. He had to work last week, but hopefully he will be at church next week.

The neatest thing that happened this week had to do with Katie Lord. Katie hasn't met with us for a few weeks, so we were getting concerned. Well, we called her this week and she said she had some medical stuff that happened. So she didn't want us to call her until Monday. So we didn't call to invite her to church. Then, Saturday morning, she called us and asked us if she could come with us to church and if we would give her a wake up call. Well, of course, we did! She came and stayed for all three hours of church. As you may remember, she is ADHD. She has a lot of energy. She asked tons of questions during the Gospel Principles class. The class ended up teaching her, rather than focusing on the lesson. It was pretty funny. But she actually listened a lot in Relief Society. But of course, she still added a lot of comments to the conversation. Well, she told us at the end of church that church helped her to realize how grateful she is for everything she has. And since she is a bit materialistic, it was neat to see her so grateful for what she has, and feeling like she doesn't need more. It was a tender mercy of the Lord and we were grateful to have her at church.

The Hippos weren't able to make it to church, due to Sister Hippo being called in to work early. But they are progressing. This week we taught them about how to keep the Sabbath Day holy. When we asked them what blessings they saw as they came to church, Sister Hippo said that her boys were listening to her more, and Matthew said that he didn't fight with his brothers as much. It was neat to see that they could recognize all the good that comes into our lives from going to church!

Well, my time is short, and that is about all I have to report. I am so grateful to be a missionary! It is a life changing experience. Even the rough weeks, are worth it. I am grateful to have each and every one of you in my life! I miss you so much! Thanks for all your letters, packages, prayers and support. It means the world to me. I would love to see each of you during this holiday season, but I know the Lord has more important work for me to do out here. I love you so much! You are in my thoughts and prayers! Thank you for blessing my life, and helping me grow, so that I could be here, and have all the knowledge that I gained from you! You are all so amazing! Don't ever forget that I love you! Keep building your faith in Jesus Christ. I know that he is aware of each of us and loves us so very much. He has made me who I am today, and I am eternally grateful for the sacrifice he made on my behalf, and on yours. He knows us and guides us, if we will let him. Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Deal

17 November 2008

2008-11-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends!

How are ya? I am doing great! This week was truly one of the best weeks ever! We were able to see so many miracles! The Lord truly is guiding and directing us. I am amazed at how much he helps us out each day. He truly is blessing us. Somedays I just can't believe how lucky I am to be here assisting in this work!

Okay, so the most exciting news, is John Sharpless. John, is the investigator that just showed up at church last week. Well, we were able to teach him two times this week, and even set him with a baptismal date for December 13! How exciting! He is the most prepared person I have ever met! When we asked him about his religious background, he said that his dad was a minister, but that his parents were divorced. And so he had attended several churches over the years. He said that he loved the bible, but as he studied it, he didn't quite see how some concepts were being taught in most Christian churches. He talked about how he didn't believe in the Trinity or that hell was a place of literal burning. When my companion, Sister Van Pelt, started sharing the section on prophets, and dispensations, she started to briefly talk about apostasy, and then he asked if we believed in "The Great Apostasy" and that after Christ and His apostles were killed we fell into darkness and the authority was lost. Amazing!?!?! Can you believe how prepared he is? Well, he asked a lot of questions, so it was great to have him be taught in the Bishop's home with the Bishop. Some questions he asked were really deep, so it was great to have the Bishop's wisdom to help us out. Anyway, that was our first lesson on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he called us to tell us that he had read the pamphlet and was doing the additional study questions and wanted to know if we had the other pamphlet mentioned in one of the study questions. He also read the chapter in the Book of Mormon that we left for him. We met with him again on Saturday. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. It went really well. And at the end, we invited him to be baptized. It took a lot of courage for me to ask him to be baptized on the 13th of December, but I felt we should. Well, he accepted! He said it would be an early Christmas present for himself! Isn't it amazing? I just feel so blessed that the Lord would bring someone so prepared to us! We are confident that he will keep his commitment to be baptized. He was at church again this week. He wanted to know if there were things going on during the week, so we are going to have Sarah Buynak hook him up with resources so he can go to Institute. She wants to bring him in a carpool when she goes to Harrisburg Institute (it is about 45 minutes away). Anyway, the ward is really embracing him, and stepping up to help him. And he is just eating up everything. He came to his first appointment with us and he was dressed super nice, and had his Bible and Gopsel Principles manual with him! After church yesterday, he requested the manual for Priesthood. He has also been on the church website lots, and is studying there too. It is amazing! As you can imagine we are so excited! Please keep him in your prayers!

As far as other investigators go, the Hippo Family is doing quite nicely as well. They were all at church again. They have started reading as a family. We are hoping we will be able to set them with a baptismal date this week. We shall see what happens. Tony, also came to church. He is the guy we met at Quiznos. He is great. He even brought his brother to church. We were able to bring an exchange with us, Sister Swank, that just happened to know him from Quiznos. When he came to church, he also saw many more familiar faces. I think he enjoyed it. He also said he enjoyed reading the chapter from the Book of Mormon that we left for him. We had a great lesson with Barbara this week. She really felt the Spirit. She is so sweet and so receptive to the spirit. But her husband has alzheimers and she has cancer. They are going through so much right now. Please keep Barbara Schreck in your prayers this week, as she goes in for Surgery. Yvette, hasn't been progressing as we would like her to, but hopefully that will change this week!

As for less-actives, the Giroux were all at church this week. It was great to see them there. It has been hard to contact a lot of our less-actives, but we are trying to work with them to the best of our abilities.

As for Shelly and Brandon, they bumped up their wedding date to January 3rd! They really want me to come to the wedding. I am going to see if I can. It would be nice to be there to support them. They are doing great and are so in love. It is cute to watch them be so in love.

So this week was amazing! We found six new investigators this week! That was fun! And we found a cute little family. Eric and Lisa and their three kids. We are excited to teach them this week. They were really sweet. They have a newborn that is only one week old, and she is so cute! It was great to have 5 investigators at church! That is the most I have ever seen at church. So that was fun! We taught 18 lessons too, and that was really nice. I have been struggling to get over a cold for the past two weeks, and it is still lingering, but the Lord is blessing me for working hard! Hopefully I will get better soon!

As for the weather, it is soooooooooooo cold! And I am such a baby about the cold. For all of you who don't remember, I lived in Florida until I was 14. I know it has been 10 years since I have lived there, but I don't know if I will ever adjust to the cold! Lately the highs are mid 40s with lows in the 20s. And it is supposed to get worse! I have been joking with my companion that I am going to die from the cold. But don't worry, I think I will live at least a week more! Everyone says that it is going to be a harsh winter this year. I am just grateful I am only spending one winter here!

Well, this letter has gotten long, as usual. Things are overall great. I love my companion, I love being a missionary, and excluding the cold, I love Pennsylvania! I hope all of you have a wonderful week! Write me soon!

Love ya!
~Sister Deal

10 November 2008

2008-11-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you guys? I miss each of you so very much! But I have to admit that I love joking with the mission president that I have signed up for an eternal mission, and won't ever go home. I always use the excuse that we don't have enough sister missionaries out here. Don't worry, Mom, they won't let me sign up for an eternal mission, so I will see you next October. I just love being a missionary. It is great. It is so much fun to knock on doors and share my testimony with everyone I meet. I am growing tons!

Okay, so let's talk about this week! It was an adventure! We'll start with some fun news. There is a guy that the Elders in our ward had been teaching. His name is Nelson Browne. Well, he is married to one of our ward members daughters. Anyway, he isn't technically in our ward, so our elders had to give them over to the zone leaders (the ward he is in). Well, he got baptized on Saturday. And he asked me (of all people) to speak at his baptism. I felt very honored that he would want me to speak at such a sacred and special event as his baptism, with all the other missionaries and members he had come to know. I had met and talked to him a few times as he first started attending our ward. And he was at Shelly's baptism. When he had come to her baptism, I took a few moments to talk to him. That was when I realized how amazing he was. He talked about how at home he felt at church, and how much love he felt from the members. He also thanked us for "letting" him come to the baptism (which is cute because anyone can come), and that being at the baptism helped him to realize that this is where he belongs. I bore my testimony to him there that baptism is amazing, and the decision can be hard, but it is completely worth it. Okay, so his baptism was on Saturday and it was so wonderful. I felt so grateful to speak at his baptism. I talked a little about my experiences joining the church, and mostly focused my comments on him. I shared lots of scriptures (as I am apt to do) and just felt like I was talking to him. I told him that he was right and that he does belong and that we were so excited to be there for him on this special day. It was great to see his big smile all day long. We also helped by making cookies, and the Elders asked us to make him a baptism book as I like to call it. We use cardstock, and have everyone write thoughts or testimonies that is at the baptism, and then we take pictures and his program and put it all into a book. So I am excited to finish assembling it for him. It was wonderful to be there. Nelson and his wife both thanked me a couple of times for speaking at his baptism and said that they feel the Spirit so strong, every time I speak. It was definetly one of the best compliments I have ever received. It was so neat to feel like the Lord had used me to help bless his life, and all along I didn't even know he really knew who I was. The Lord really does use each of us to bless the lives of others. It is amazing how he can use us even when we don't realize he is. That's why we are always told we can all be missionaries, just by our examples. It was a very humbling experience for me. I am just so amazed that the Lord is willing to use someone as imperfect as me to bless the lives of others. Be an example this week, and He will use you to bless the lives of many!

Okay, so some neat stories for you. You will have to have a good memory to get the impact of these stories. First, we will start with Sal. Sal is the guy Sister Axtell and I met at Quiznos a few months ago. It was a moment where I just felt like I wanted to stop for a sub. And as we left, I realized that it wasn't my stomach that drew me there, but a prompting of the Spirit. Because, he talked to us about how he met missionaries before. When we first met him, we thought he lived in the elders area, so we gave him a pass-along card, with our names and phone number and the church address. Well, it had been a few months, since we had seen him. But Sister McLean (the Relief Society President) had asked us where we wanted a gift card for food, since she wasn't able to take us out to lunch. So I told her Quiznos because it is yummy and I was hoping to see Sal again. Well, Sister Van Pelt and I had lunch at Quiznos this week, and guess what! He was there. So I got to talking to him again and asked if he called to order the dvd we left with him. He said he hadn't and he lost the card. So I filled out another for him. I couldn't seem to remember his name. So I asked if it was Carlos. He said it wasn't. That his name was Tony. That is when I remembered that he said it was Sal (like Elsalvador). Then I pinned him. And asked if he lied to me. All his coworkers started to laugh. And he did too. Then he said his name was really Tony. We invited him to church again and to call us. And...he did! He almost came to the baptism, but he had to work. We will meet with him this week. I am excited! It is amazing how the Lord leads us to places in just the right time.

Okay, next fun story. Do you remember Mariea? Well, she is the woman that Sister Axtell and I had tracted into. If you remember, I had just felt that we were supposed to go to that street in the middle of my studies that morning. As we walked and started tracting that day, there were no houses on the side of the street we were tracting for a long time. And then, people weren't really receptive. Then I jokingly said to Sister Axtell that maybe we are just going to find that one person we needed to on the street. Then we knocked on Mariea's door. Well, she was having a rough day. Her husband had just gotten back from rehab, and was already drinking again. She immediately opened her door to us. When we started teaching her the first principle of the first lesson, I asked her how prayer had blessed her life. That was when she broke in to tears and told us what was going on and that prayer is what was getting her through it. Well, we shared uplifting scriptures about trusting the Lord, sang to her, left her a Book of Mormon, and went on our way. I have been longing to visit her since that day. But due to Sister Axtell's health issues, it just wasn't feasable. So this week, Sister Van Pelt and I stopped by. She immediately let us in. We taught her the first lesson, adn she felt the Spirit. She was once again drawn to tears. She then looked at me and told me that she was doing much better, and the day we knocked on her door the first time, she had been praying all day, and that we really helped her out and she knew the Lord had sent us to her! I testified that I too knew we were sent to her for a reason. I explained that I rarely get streets in my mind that we need to go to that day, especially during studies. I explained that no one else would listen to us on that street, and after we left her house, I knew that is why we were there. It was great to meet with her agian. She is catholic, so she's aprehensive about praying about the things we were teaching. But she had read some of the Book of Mormon since the last time we visited with her. And we will see her again next Sunday. So we are way excited to see her progress!

Okay one more fun story! Yesterday, a man came to church. His name is John Sharpless. He went online, and discovered the church website. He then called the Bishop and asked if he could come to church. The Bishop got to talking to him and it turns out that he lives one street away from the Bishop! Well, John came and attended all the meetings. After Sunday School I asked him if he would be interested in learning more about what we believe. He said he would like to, but wasn't sure if his home would be the best place, because he is living with his parents. So we set up for us to meet with him this coming Tuesday at the Bishop's house! How exciting! Please pray for John. I really think the Lord has prepared him for this.

Okay, my time is up, but I want to tell you just a few more things, before I go. Transfers came, and Sister Van Pelt and I are staying together! I am so excited. This is her last transfer, so I will probably be in Litiiz for at least six months before I go to a new area. I am excited! I love the ward and there are great things happening here! We also were given a new car yesterday! They don't like us to drive around cars afrer fifty thousand miles, and ours was getting close. So we got a 2009 Chevy Malibu! It is so new and fun. Don't worry, we are responsible sister missionaries! It is just fun to get a new car, and ours was starting to have troubles. Okay one more funny story. One night this week, we were at a dinner appointment with an active family in the church. Well, the kids are super energetic, so I was having them play with this puzzle of Christ that I made that has scriptures about his life on the back. Then I had them pick one they wanted to read about. As I was searching for the scripture, I started to hum "If I Only Had a Brain" from the WIzard of Oz. Then I realized they could hear me! I was so embarassed. It is just so easy for random songs to pop in my head, and for me to start humming them. It was just funny that "If I Only Had a Brain" got into my head and I started humming it at that moment. I guess I am still human :)

Well, I must be going. I love you guys and miss you so much! Write me soon! I love hearing from you!

Love,
Sister Deal

3 November 2008

2008-11-04T06:39:00.000-08:00

3 November 2008

Hello family and friends!

This week was a great week! And it was so much fun celebrating Halloween! I just wanted to start by thanking all of you who sent me fun halloween packages! Thank you so much! You are wonderful! Each package I receive is like Christmas or my birthday! Thanks for all the letters and packages!

So first I should tell you about all the fun Halloween centered things that happened this week. One day we came home from a long day of tracting, and there was an anonymus pumpkin pie left on our doorstep! It was left with cute halloween paper plates and halloween napkins and tied with a pretty ribbon. I felt that it had Relief Society written all over it! So I cornered the Relief Society President the next day when we were riding with her to an appointment. I just told her if she was the person or knew the person who did it, she should tell them thank you for us and that it was a wonderful surprise. She had a guilty smile and said she would tell the person who did it, if she knew who it was! Anyway, it was so sweet. This week, we tracted a few fun streets (because of what they were called. We tracted South Heck Road and Sleepy Hollow Road. It was a good time. As we tracted Sleepy Hollow, I joked that the Headless Horseman had already been through, because there was no one home at the first several houses! For one of our meals this week we had "cooked hands" as the member called it, or Manacotti. He said that was the literal translation for it. I thought it made a great Halloween meal. And the best part of our Halloween adventures, was that Sister Van Pelt and I dressed up! We wanted to get into the Halloween Spirit, so we dressed like each other. She curled her hair to look like mine, and I straightened my hair to look like hers, and then we swapped name tags. It was all fun and games until we went tracting and forgot to switch our nametags back. When an old man looked at her nametag that I was wearing and asked my name, I had to say that I was Sister Van Pelt. The best thing that happened was he asked our first names too! So we had to tell him each others' first names. It was funny and we laughed about it later on. And that's about it for our halloween adventures!

As for the work, it was a stupendous week! This was one of the best weeks I have had in a long time! We were able to find 2 new investigators this week. We taught 20 lessons. And we tracted for 10 hours. We even had two intestigators at church! I love serving with Sister Van Pelt! We are such good friends and we work so hard together! It is great!

So, Katie Lord and Sister Hippo were at church this week! They are both progressing nicely. We have been having members come teaching to their appointments and we are able to see how much it is helping them. It was so exciting to have both of these wonderful investigators there! We also had Sister Battis (our less-active) at church too! It was a blessing to see her there. We had some great lessons this week too, and got the members more involved. We had 6 lessons with members present. So that is really good!

We also met some tough people this week and had some tough lessons. This week we had to drop Sister Troutman as an investigator. She just isn't willing to be baptized. It is so sad that she will come to church every week, and stay for all 3 hours, and her husband and daughter are baptized, but she won't be. It makes me sad. I would just love to see them all progress towards the temple, but she just won't let go of her pride. But we haven't given up on her. We are still meeting with the family. We hope she will come around someday soon! We just don't want to push her away. We also had to drop Tim this week. He just isn't open to praying about what we are teaching him. He just seems to want to debate. So we had to end it. He wouldn't even let us pray with him. It was sad. We do hope he will come around soon, we just don't think he is ready at this time. It was sad, but we are called to teach those who will recieve us and act on what we are teaching them.

We are truly blessed to have others who are progressing! And we were able to find two new investigators this week so that was exciting. We found both of our investigators by OYMing during tracting. For those of you who don't know what OYM stands for, it means Open Your Mouth. It is basically street contacting. We just try to open our mouths and talk to everyone we see every day. Well, we found both of our investigators that way this week. We found one guy raking his yard and he talked with us. His name is Dwyane. We are excited to go back and teach him more. We also met a neat woman named Donna. She was on a walk, and we had just knocked on our last door for the night. I saw her walking across the street and yelled out a "hi" and she invited us to go walking with her. She asked lots of questions and we saw her again this morning. It was a good lesson. So we are hoping she will be open and pray to receive answers.

Please continue to pray for me and our investigators. We really have high hopes for this transfer. Oh, I guess this week is technically the last week of the transfer. Sister Van Pelt and I are really hoping to stay together. But there is potential that I could leave a week from today. So we shall see. I am just hoping to stay so I can learn more from Sister Van Pelt. Everyone keep joking that I will train this coming transfer or the next one. I am voting on not training yet. If I stay with Sister Van Pelt another transfer, we can work hard and I can learn lots before I would have to train. We will see what happens! Well, my time is up! Know that I love and miss all of you! Write soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

27 October 2008

2008-11-04T06:38:00.001-08:00

27 October 2008

Hello family and friends!

How are you guys? I miss all of you so much, but I love being here! It was truly an amazing week! The Lord blessed us to see so many miracles! So let's start with the most exciting news, Shelly was baptized! It was an amazing baptism. The Elders in our ward have had a few baptisms lately, which we have been fortunate enough to attend, but Shelly's baptism was quite unique. The ward really supported her. She had so many people at her baptism that we had to keep adding rows of chairs! Brandon Adams (her boyfriend) baptized her, and his sisters gave talks. We even made time for people to bare their testimonies. The Spirit was so strong. Shelly was crying and smiling the whole time. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Everyone felt the Spirit so strong. It was beautiful. Shelly's family came too. Her Mom played the piano for the baptism. The family came early, so Sister Axtell and I were able to answer some of their questions. At the end of the baptism, Shelly's dad came up to us and thanked us for helping his daughter. He said that he could tell we were a "spirit filled church, that worshipped Jesus Christ." Her brother even got up and bore his testimony! It was wonderful. After the baptismal service we went over to the Adams home and they served dinner and refreshments. During the dinner, she announced that Brandon had proposed to her that morning! So Shelly is engaged to the returned missionary, who introduced the gospel to her, baptized her and confirmed her. It was so sweet. They are so excited and we are excited for them. So it looks like I'll have an excuse to come back in a year, for their temple wedding. Yay!!! How amazing! At her baptism, I too bore my testimony. I thanked Shelly for the opportunity we had to work with her. She reminds me so much of me and the process it took for me to join the church. She has a great network of support and will do just fine. Last night we taught her about the temple and eternal marriage. She ate it up and totally felt the Spirit, there were tears in her eyes. I love Shelly so much! It has been a blessing to be able to work with her.

Okay, so let's take a moment to talk about a few experiences we had with our other investigators. We'll start with Katie. Katie is so cute and wonderful. She is truly seeking. In fact, she even called me this morning to ask me a gospel question. Last week, we decided to review the first lesson with her, and showed her the Restoration DVD. It was so funny, because she's ADHD. I love her, but she is all over the place, all the time. She has so much energy, so many questions, and is easily distracted. Well, when someone would ask a question to another character in the movie, or even a rhetorical question, Katie would try to answer it out loud. She is so funny! Anyway, she loved the DVD and said that she felt it was true. She practically jumped for joy when we told her she could keep the DVD. She said she wants to show it to her son, Chad. We are excited to see her progress. Please keep her in your prayers.

We also met with Tim this week. If you'll remember, he is the one related to the prophet, Joseph Smith. His grandfather served a mission and then fell away from the church. He has this question about Moroni 10:32. He feels like it basically says that he has to be perfect or he can't dwell with God. We had tried to answer the question at our appointment a couple of weeks ago. It didn't go too well. So we took time since his last appointment to study up on it more. I devoted several hours to studying his questions. Then we met with Brother Boyack. Brother Boyack is amazing! He knows the gospel inside and out and is great at wording things. Well, we studied with him a couple of times, and then I basically made notecards for our lesson plan for me and my companion. She was really nervous about meeting with him, but it helped her to have the many scripture references and an idea of how the lesson would go. We prayed lots and did all we could to prepare. In the end, it was perfect. The Spirit was strong and we bore powerful testimonies. Brother and Sister Boyack came to the lesson with us. I have never seen Brother Boyack be so quiet! He just let us teach, and made an occasional comment or two. At the end of the lesson, we invited Tim to pray about the Book of Mormon. He was nervous about it. But then, with tear filled eyes, he looked at us and explained that he used to live in Utah and Idaho and that he has met with several sets of missionaries, and every time he asks this question, they seem to blow it off and not answer it. He went on to say how much he can tell that we respect him and his concerns and how much he appreciated all the effort we put into answering his question, and that he is going to think and pray about what we shared with him! It was a miracle! His heart is softening towards the gospel and I am so excited to meet with him again. Please keep Tim in your prayers.

We are still working with the Hippo family. We had a great lesson with them this week. Sister Garner came with us and it was great to have her there. Tina Hippo and her really seem to be forming a friendship. When I invited Sister Hippo to pray about baptism, she was a little nervous. She explained how she has been baptized before and how she never really felt much when it happened. Then Sister Garner and I both bore testimonies about how we understood what she meant and how different it felt when we were baptized into the Lord's church with someone holding that priesthood authority. The lesson was great and they came to church! She came and brought 3 out of her 4 sons with her! It was way exciting because she had never been to church. She told us that she had to work early in the morning but she would come, just a little late. She said that when she got home from work, the three boys were sitting on the couch dressed and ready and excited to go to church! Isn't that so cute? We are excited to see them progress. Please keep them in your prayers!

We have seen miracles with our less-actives this week. Sister Turcotte is really starting to grow. She came to church again this week and stayed for Relief Society! She is really beginning to love church. Brother Gantt also came to church this Sunday. He hasn't come since General Conference and it had been a few weeks since he had been to church before that. So it was a miracle to see him there. I wanted to cry when I entered the church building and saw him sitting there. We also had the opportunity to do more service this week. The Elders came over with us to help Sister Battis with her yard. The Elders mowed, while I raked leaves! It was fun, but lots of hard work. I loved it though! Afterwords, we convinced the Elders to sing with us and we sang "Because I have been given much" to her. She loved it and made us cookies, hot chocolate and sandwhiches. It was fun to serve her.

Okay, so now to report on our trip to Susquehanna. It was amazing! It was so wonderful to be able to go to the priesthood restoration site. We also got to have two nights of sleeepovers with the Hershey Sisters. It was way fun. Well, we left the Hershey apartment at 5:45 am to travel to the Harrisburg Stake Center. When we got there, we got on a bus, and then took off to Susquehanna. We didn't arrive until 10:30 am. Once we got there, President Pugh spoke to us for a few minutes. Then we went to see the area where Emma Smith's parents lived. After that, we got split up into groups. We were the first group to go down to the Susquehanna River. It was amazing. As we walked down, I was just so excited! When we got there, President started to speak to us. As he started to explain that we were looking at the spot that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey, I remembered that it was exactly three and a half years ago that I was baptized. I felt as if I could see Joseph and Oliver being baptized and then coming out of the river dripping wet. Then I started to reflect on my baptism and how wonderful it was, and how pure I felt. As I continued to listen and reflect I felt the words spoken to Moses come to mind, "Remove the shoes from off thy feet for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground." All I wanted to do was take off my shoes, and kneel in prayer at the bank of the river. It took everything in me to continue standing. Well, then a few elders sang us the hymn "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." As they sang the words, "I drank and never thirsted more" really stuck out to me. I remembered that on my baptism program I chose to have the picture of Jesus and the woman at the well. I then remembered how a few friends had given me this framed picture with a scripture talking about never thirsting relating to this story, at my baptism. It was yet another reminder of my baptism. It brought me great joy. It was amazing. After that, we were able to pray for a little while. I sat down, next to this tree, near the river. I felt the spirit whisper to me that I am pure, diligent and faithful. It was so wonderful by the river, and I didn't want to leave. I had some time to take pictures and then we were able to stand in the exact spot that John the Baptist came and restored the priesthood to Joseph and Oliver. As I looked into heaven, I could feel the reality of this experience. It was amazing. We also saw other monuments, and the grave site of Joseph and Emma's first child. We were able to each bear our testimonies at Zone Conference, and I felt the Spirit so strong as we each testified of our experiences.

Well, I really need to get off the computer. But I just wanted to let you know what is up with Sister Axtell. She just left to go home to Oregon today. And my new companion is....Sister Van Pelt! I am so excited! It will be fun to serve with her again. We went to Wendy's right after Sister Axtell left, in Harrisburg, and OYMed somone there. It was amazing. The ladies we talked to were so cute and so open. We got their info and the elders in this area are going to try to meet up and teach them. It was just so neat. We taught with such power as we talked to them. And they even had tears in their eyes after we prayed with them! It was amazing! I am excited to tear up Lititiz with Sister Van Pelt like we did Red Lion! Though I will miss constantly singing with Sister Axtell. Last night we sang at our dinner appointment, and another member came to visit in the middle of our singing. Brother Russell loved our singing and said we should go home and make a cd together. It was cute. I'll miss Sister Axtell, but I am glad she will get the medical attention and rest she needs. Well, gotta go! I love y'all! Write me soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

20 October 2008

2008-11-04T06:36:00.001-08:00

20 October 2008

Hello family and friends!

How are you? I am doing great. This week was a pretty good week. We were able to get more members to come help us teach lessons this week, so that was way exciting. Do what you can to go out with the missionaries in your area, they really appreciate it! The Relief Society and the Bishop in our ward were also a big help for us this week. They are great! They are constantly giving us referrals for less-active families to visit, and this week Sister McLean (the Relief Society President) even came out to visit a less-active sister with us. It was great to have her there. She is amazing!

Shelly is still on for baptism this coming Saturday (October 25)! We are so excited for her! Thanks for your prayers in her behalf! It looks like her family is coming to the baptism! When she told me they were coming, I had to fight back the tears, because I remember how much I wanted all my family there. It is so nice to know that they are becoming more accepting of her decision to be baptized. Her mom is even going to play the piano for her baptism. She is so cute and we are so excited for her!

Sister Turcotte (one of our less-active sisters) is really starting to make progress. She came to church again this week. She even stayed for Relief Society. That was a big step for her because she doesn't usually stay for Relief Society, and tends to complain about it. It was her birthday this week, so we made her a birthday card and sang to her. We surprised her with our visit and she seemed very grateful. She smiled so big!

Sister Troutman seems to be taking a few steps backwards. She hasn't been at church the last few weeks, and she has even missed appointments with us. So that is sad. We were able to meet with her this week, but she seemed really stressed. We were going to teach her the plan of salvation, but I kept feeling like the Spirit was telling me that this wasn't the time for it. So I decided to change the lesson up, right as we sat down. We talked about trusting in the Lord, and letting go of our worries. We shared Matthew 6, 2 Nephi 22, and 2 Nephi 4. It was a good lesson, and by the end, she was smiling and her mood had completely changed.

This week we started teaching a new family, the Hippos. Matthew Hippo had been baptized about a year and a half ago. He is 13 and less-active. His dad is a member as well and was baptized with him, but has since separated from his mom. So Matthew is the only member in the house right now. The bishop gave us Matthew as a referral. So we went over, and his mom and brothers sat in on the lesson too. We are excited for them and think that they all have great potential. So we shall see. Please keep the Hippo Family in your prayers.

So my favorite story this week has to do with service. Sister McLean was exicited to come visit Sister Battis with us this week, but requested that we stay with her for an hour or so at her house before we went over to Sister Battis's house, so she could get ready and do a few things at home, and not waste so much gas. Well, when we got there, I noticed that her back porch was covered with leaves. I have just been itching to be able to help someone out by raking their leaves. Unfortunately, my companion has been sick, so I haven't had the opportunity...until now! I offered to clean up her porch, and it was perfect because Sister Axtell could stay inside and relax and still see me (we have a rule about staying within sight and sound of our companions, for safety purposes). Anyway, I basically begged Sister McLean and she let me. So I worked hard and got all the leaves in a pile...and then I just had to jump in them (Sister Axtell got some great pictures), then I bagged up the six and a half bags of leaves. It was hard work, but lots of fun, and it was nice to be able to serve Sister McLean. Well, unfortunately, I am weak. When you don't go tracting, and are constantly inside, due to a sick companion, it is hard to be buff. So I ended up really hurting my back. The next day, every time I moved just the slightest bit, I got shooting pains up and down my back. It was a sad state of affairs. So I decided that night to ask for a priesthood blessing. We were having dinner with the Elders and the Fitzsimons. So I asked the Elders and Brother Fitzsimons to give me a blessing. The blessing was so sweet, and not only provided the physical healing that I was in need of, but was also a great reminder that Heavenly Father is proud of the work I am doing and that I am needed. The next morning I woke up, and my back was completely healed!!! I just love the priesthood! It was definetly a tender mercy from the Lord. So my service blessed Sister McLean...and me!

Well, Sister Axtell is still pretty sick. She seems to get worse with each passing day. The good news is that she will be able to go home...we think a week from today. So we shall see how it all turns out. I have been really trying to usse my time wisely while she is stuck inside, and the Lord is blessing us for all that we can do!

This upcoming week is probably going to be the best week of my mission thus far. We get to have two nights of sleepovers with the Hershey Sisters (something I've never done). We get to spend an entire day in Susquehanna (at the priesthood restoration site). And the elders and us have baptisms this weekend. It should be a great week and we are way excited for it!

Okay, I am out of time, but I wanted to share one last thought with you. So, sometimes, as a missionary, it can be hard to recognize the good you are doing. Last night, I really felt like a good missionary. One of the most knowledgeable members of our ward, Brother Boyack, met with us to prepare for Tim (a particullarly difficult investigator). While I was there, I explained to brother Boyack, Tim's concerns and showed him some scriptures I had found in my studies. Then I asked Brother Boyack what he thought. He gave us good advice and at the end, he looked at me and told me that I have all the answers, it's just a matter of whether or not Tim is really seeking. It was an amazing compliment to get from Brother Boyack, because he is always very careful with his words. It was nice to feel like he thought I had some good answers for Tim. It's amazing what you can find, when you pray for invesitgators and then study the scriptures. The Lord really is using me as a tool in His hands and giving me the answers to say. Another neat thing that happened last night was when Brother Gantt called. He was having a rough night. We talked for awhile and I shared testimony and scriptures. Before we hung up he said I was an amazing missionary, and that I taught so simply and clearly. It felt so nice. It can be hard to know if I really am helping Brother Gantt sometimes. So it was nice to feel that once again, the Lord had used me to help Him. It is amazing how much the Lord uses His missionaries to do His work. It is so humbling. It makes me feel so grateful that the Lord would use someone as imperfect as me to do His perfect work.

Well, I must go now. Have a fabulous week. I love y'all! Write me soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

13 October 2008

2008-11-04T06:33:00.001-08:00

13 October 2008

HELLO family and friends!!!

How are you doing? I am great! This week was an eventful one! So I have lots to report. As usual, I tend to be long winded, so hopefully you have a few minutes...or hours :)

First, we shall start with Sister Axtell. My companion, Sister Axtell, has been dealing with medical problems basically since I started serving with her in June. She has been off and on sick, but her sicknesses have magnified, since she arrived in Lititz. We had interviews with President Pugh this week after a Sisters Training Meeting. He had called and wanted to set up a special interview with us because of her health. So President Pugh and Sister Axtell met for a little while, and then he and I met. He told her that he wanted her to be able to stay through the next Zone Conference and the baptism, if she felt she could hold out for two more weeks. Of course, he asked her to pray about it. So she called him this morning and told him she would like to stay two more weeks. He is going to see if he can make that happen, but nothing is set in stone yet. So she will most-likely be gone by October 28. We shall see what happens though. We haven't been able to do tracting for a few weeks. It is sad. But luckily, we didn't have to cancel any appointments this week. It is tough when you want to work harder, but can't. President Pugh asked me if I would be okay staying with her for a few weeks more, so she could have the opportunity to stay for these other events. I told him that I have been with a sick companion this long, so what's two more weeks? His response, was that I had better be ready to work hard in a couple of weeks :) So, we shall see how it all pans out, but I am probably going to get a new companion in a few weeks.

Okay, so let's talk about some exciting news now! Our Zone Conference is going to be at the Priesthood Restoration site on the banks of the Susquehannah River!!!! Exciting! It should be a very memorable trip. It will take up most of our day because it is 4 hours north of where we are located now, but it should be fun. And the trees should be changing pretty colors, so hopefully I will get some great pictures! Now you see why President wants Sister Axtell to be able to stay for a couple more weeks.

We had a great time at the Sisters Training Meeting! Sister Pugh made us a great lunch and then we had lots of time to learn. It was a spirit-filled meeting and I learned lots. Sister Pugh even made us cute ghost candy jars and filled them with candy! How sweet of her! Of course, all the Elders in our district were jealous. Sister Pugh loves to spoil the sister missionaries. When we first come out, she makes us each a pillow. The elders don't get them though, so they already had a reason to be jealous. One of the elders in my old district said that "Sister Pugh just has an abnormally large part of her heart reserved for the sisters." We enjoy it though! And besides, it is so much easier to spoil 7 sisters than 120 elders. There was an interesting thing that happened during the time of teaching. President Pugh looked at us and asked us a scripture question. No one really knew the answer, and then two of the Sisters looked over at me to answer. It was a neat experience because it made me feel like they trusted my knowledge of the scriptures. It also helped me to recognize how much I have learned and grown. It was sweet to know that fellow missionaries thought that I would know this hard scripture question. In my mind I had part of the answer, but wasn't sure. Well, as president began to enlighten us, I realized I did know part of the answer! Then he wanted one of us to relate a story to him. Silence again. So I expounded on the story of the woman at the well and Jesus (one of my favorite stories). Afterwords, he said that it was a beautiful depiction of the story. It was a very humbling experience. I was grateful that the Lord had taught me what I needed, to be able to share. It was nice to feel like the mission president trusted me too. I really am learning and growing!

We had another good turn-out at church this week. Our less-active family, the Girouxs were there! Yvette and Shelly came to church again too! It truly is a miracle that Yvette was there. That is 3 times in one month. She has now come more times in the last month to church, than she has in the last few years. So we are excited to see her continue to progress. The ward is great too. They are always introducing themselves to her. We hope and pray she will progress towards baptism.

Shelly is making great progress! She is still on for baptism on the 25 October 2008. We are so excited for her! Yesterday we taught her the last lesson she needs to be taught before baptism. Of course, we will still continue teaching her before and after baptism. We also took her through a mock interview yesterday, so she could get a feel for what a baptismal interview consists of. It was nice to have her stay for all the meetings at church too. Yesterday was her first time at Relief Society, and she introduced herself and announced her baptism too! She is so excited. Her boyfriend, Brandon, will baptize and confirm her. They are so cute! Who knows, maybe they will be married in the temple in a year or so! I am excited for Shelly because you can tell she has really felt the Spirit and knows that this is the right decision. We have really only been teaching her for a month. It reminds me of how quickly I went through the process. Her life will be so blessed because of this one decision. Yesterday, I just couldn't stop smiling as I thought about Shelly's baptism. I am just so grateful that the Lord has allowed me to be here at this time, and that I will be able to witness her baptism. It is such a miracle! Thanks for all your prayers in Shelly's behalf! They are working!

Okay, so now time for a kind of crazy story! Sister Turcotte, is one of the recent converts that we visit with. Well, this week we talked about forgiveness and shared an old conference talk with her about forgiveness. We really felt like if she could learn to forgive others, she would find more joy. As we neared the end of the lesson, I started to talk about the atonement of Jesus Christ. I explained that as we reflect on all He has given us and all He has forgiven us, it makes it easier to forgive. I then bore my testimony on the atonement. Afterwords, I asked her how knowing that Christ payed the price for her sins makes her feel. There was a long silence. In Preach My Gospel, we are encouraged as missionaries not to be afraid of silence. So I just patiently waited for her response, as I remembered this concept. Finally, she looked at me and said that we needed to leave. I was so confused! I ask her how the atonement makes her feel and she wants us to leave?!? Well, then we asked her if she was okay. She said that her blood sugar had read low earlier that day. She is diabetic. So we asked her if she wanted us to go get her some juice or something. She said she had run out that morning, and then she started to complain about her breathing. I then asked if she wanted us to call someone. She proceded to dial 9-1-1 and then handed me the phone! So I asked them to send out an ambulence. As we waited we sang a hymn to hopefully calm her down. The ambulence was prompt though. So they came in and started asking her questions. Well, one of the paramedics, spoke with a louder voice. She looked at him and told him that she wasn't wearing a hearing aid, and would appreciate if he didn't yell at her. He explained that he naturally speaks loud and does it so he can be clear an consise and not misunderstood. She then proceded to to tell him that it was making her feel anxious, and if he continued she would have to "pop him one." Eventually they determined she was healthy enough to walk out to the ambulence, and he left. Then she was taken away in an ambulence. It was definetly an adventure! We called to check in on her a few days later, and then went shopping for her. She is doing fine now and her fridge is stocked with juice. So that is good.

We had an interesting experience last p-day. We had to run some errands, and were about to head home, and I decided I wanted to stop at Quiznos for lunch. Sister Axtell was taken off guard because I decided last minute. Anyway, we went in and ordered our food, and then we met Sal. He asked if we worked in the area, and of course, we explained that we were missionaries. We had a great chat with him and then left him with a pass-along card. We also invited him to church and left him with our phone number. It was neat because it felt more like a prompting from the spirit than a prompting of my stomach. We hope to run into him again! We both felt like we were there for him!

We had a crazy lesson this week with one of our investigators, Katie Lord. She has tons of questions, and knows very little about the bible. Our appointment turned into 3 hours of teaching! And when we got up to leave, she still wanted us to stay! It was crazy! We don't ever teach that long! She just had so many questions, and loved to see scriptures support what we are teaching (not that we don't usually use scriptures, but she loves to see a scripture to answer every question and she asked tons of questions). It was a good lesson though and I really felt like she felt the Spirit. We hope to meet with her again soon. Who knows, maybe she will progress towards baptism too!

Well, there were many exciting stories this week, as well as sad stories, and out of the ordinary stories, and interesting stories, and times where we could see Heavenly Father leading us and helping us. So, I could go on forever. But, time is running short. I thank you for all of your support, prayers and letters. Yesterday marked exactly one year until I come home. It is crazy how fast the time flies. I do love it here though. I am learning so much and growing more and more each day. My experiences are one of a kind. I know that I will remember the things I learn out here, and use those things throughout my entire life. I am grateful to be a missionary and grateful for all my experiences that help me to learn and grow. Have a great week! I miss and love you!

Love,
Sister Deal

29 September 2008

2008-10-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!!!

How are you? I miss y'all so much! Thanks for your letters and prayers! I definetly felt them this week! So, we'll start with the best news. Shelly Hornberger is getting baptized! We set her with a date last night. She will be baptized on October 25! We are so very very excited for her. We had encouraged her to fast about baptism on Sunday. My companion, her boyfriend Brandon and I joined her in the fast. We had a great third lesson with her, and you could tell she was feeling the Spirit. We decided to start the lesson off by singing a hymn. We sang "I Stand All Amazed." It was a great segway into the third lesson, since we start out talking about the Atonement. She started to tear up as we sang. The Spirit was definetly there! Anyway, we taught faith, and repentance. Then we got to baptism. I asked Brandon what he remembered about his baptism. Then my companion shared her memories of baptism. Then I shared mine. I then went on to explain that we want her to feel all the great things we felt at baptism, and we want her to make steps to return to her Heavenly Father. Then I asked her how her fasting went. She said she wanted to be baptized, and I was on the verge of tears. It is an amazing feeling when someone accepts that invitation. We invite people often, but somedays, when they say yes, I am so taken back. Needless to say, my companion were grinning ear to ear the rest of the night. In fact, I'm sure we slept with a big smile on our faces too! Shelly and Brandon accompanied us to the departing missionary fireside (a fireside for missionaries going home-they bear their testimonies one last time before they leave), after a dinner with Brandon's family. The Adams family (Brandon's family) are great! They make us laugh so much! When Shelly and Brandon got up to change for the fireside, Sister Adams asked us how things were going. We told her that we set Shelly with a date and everyone quietly cheered (Shelly hadn't told them yet). The whole family wants to come to the baptism. They have been a great support to Shelly. It was such an amazing experience. It reminded me of my conversion process. Shelly is so much like me! She has been introduced by a friend, she is in tune with the Spirit, and is making quick progress. We are so excited for her. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Okay, so next we'll move on to transfers. It was transfers this weekend...so...drumroll please.....me and my companion are still together! We kind of felt we would both stay since we have both only been in this area for one transfer, but we have served together for 3 transfers already, so we weren't sure. At the end of this transfer we will have served 6 months together. To be honest, she has been my most difficult companion, but I have grown lots serving with her. In fact, at the begining of last transfer I was nervous about serving with her still. But we have grown so much closer together that I was completely content with the idea of staying together. Marilyn, it kind of reminds me of that book you were reading about difficult people. I remember you saying how much we learn from difficult people and difficult circumstances. I have truly learned to love my companion, despite difficult situations, and OUR difficult personalities. I think one of the hardest issues is that she is constantly sick. We had to stay in for two full days this last week due to her illness, and tracted very little. I have been praying unceasingly for her to receive health and strength and for the Lord to help me to be patient with my companion, and to know how I can better serve her at this time. It has really been helping me a lot. I am concerned that she might get sent home. Her sicknesses have just been going on for so long and are interfering with the work. She just seems to be getting worse, not better. She has had lots of testing, but the doctor's can't seem to figure out what is wrong. The mission president's wife, Sister Pugh, pulled me aside last night to ask how Sister Axtell was doing. The way she was talking, it made us both nervous that she might go home. If you could keep Sister Jesica Axtell in your prayers, I would appreciate it. I have just been praying that the Lord's will will be done. We all have several types of missions to perform. Who knows where the Lord needs her at this time, I just hope His will will be done, and He will help us to understand it, whatever it may be. I have also been encouraging her to trust in the Lord, and to know that she is doing what she can. She wants to be here so bad, and doesn't want to go home early, but I think she is begining to trust in His will too, no matter what happens. So we shall see.

My scripture study has been really good this week! I have started reading the Book of Mormon over but reading all the footnotes with it. It takes awhile but it is so good! I am learning so much! It is great to read scriptures in the Bible that go along so well with the Book of Mormon. In some of my spare time, I am also reading the New Testament, and Doctrine and Covenants. They are all so great. I love the scriptures so much! They bring me such joy and help me to feel of the Spirit. They comfort me, guide me, and teach me lessons for myself and for those I am teaching. It is wonderful! Do all you can to spend as much time in the scriptures as possible! They are truly the word of God!

We had two less-actives at church that haven't been to church in a very long time. Sister Cynthia Turcotte and Sister Deloris Battis. It was amazing to have both of them there. It filled me with such joy. Sister Battis sat next to us and started to cry as soon as we sang the first hymn. It was so sweet. You could tell that she felt the Spirit very strongly during the meetings. The ward was also great and a few people introduced themselves to her. After the meeting she looked at me and my companion and said that we were breaking her heart. She said that she has attended church with her daughter on occasion, but that she always had a closed heart, and that we were breaking it in. She said that we were really helping her and that she would be at church next week. It was a sweet experience. We are meeting with her weekly and are fully confident that she will become active again. She is so open to the Spirit right now and is making great progress. We also meet with Sister Turcotte weekly and it was nice to see her come to church, for a moment last transfer it looked like she may never return. So it was nice to have her there.

Brother Gantt is also still making progress. He has been reading and praying every day. It is very exciting. We commited him to read one verse a day, and he has started reading several a day. It is wonderful. He also constantly tells us how much he appreciates all we do for him. This last week, when I called to check in on his scripture reading, he told me that I am helping him so much. He said that I was amazing and that I walk the walk. He said I have such a light and joy in my eyes and he wants that. He said that the reason he is reading and praying is because I asked him too, and because I believe it helped me (and it did). He is starting to see the blessings of reading and praying every day. It is fun working with him because he comes from a similar background as I do and is also a convert. So I can be really bold with him and he listens. Sometimes he says he can see in my eyes how much I believe in him and want him to grow. It is true. I do believe in him and want him to grow. Maybe it is because I see so much of the old me in him. I see moments where I felt lost or alone, and know how much I appreciate those who helped me to grow. I hope that the Lord is using me to help him. I really feel like He is using me. What a joy. What a blessing. What a miracle. Lives really can be changed when we are willing to help others.

Okay, I realize this letter has gotten super long. So before I close I want to share just a couple more things. First, some of you have been asking what I would like for Christmas...I know it is a little early..only 12 weeks away! But anyway, here are a few things I have thought of:
~A long brown skirt (size small or 6)
~The upcoming General Conference Cds (great for in the car)
~A mini primary hymns book (so I can carry it around and sing to kids)
~Stationary and stickers
~Webster's 1812 Dictionary (great for scripture study because it uses old english)
~An American Sign Language Dictionary (It would be nice if it had church type words in it too)
~I'm pretty good on clothes, but new ones can be fun. If you decide to go that route, skirts have to go to the middle of my calf or longer (size small or 6), shirts have to have sleeves and be professional looking (size juniors meduim, adult small).
~Cookies and candies are always yummy too!
Okay, so that's a decent list. If I think of anything else I am in need of, I will let you know.

Okay, last story. Last night, I was at the fireside. At the end of the firesides, all the missionaries go to the front and sing "Called to Serve" and "God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again." Well, as I was singing "Called To Serve," I had the biggest smile on my face. I remembered all the times I sang that song at home, longing to be a missionary. I remembered Alexa practicing the song on the piano for months, and me singing along, so she could play it after I received my call. And then, it dawned on me that I am a missionary. It was a sweet realization...yeah...I know I have been out for 6 months now...but it was nice to feel like a missionary. The Lord is helping and blessing me so much! I am so grateful to be serving Him in this area, with my companion, at this time in my life. I love and miss y'all! Write soon!

Love,
Sister Deal

6 October 2008

2008-10-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!

How are you? I miss you so much! This week was amazing though! This weekend we had General Conference. It is where the prophet and 12 apostles, and other church leaders speak to us. It was a great conference. I took tons of notes and learned lots. We had 2 investigators attend conference, Yvette and Shelly. It was so nice to have them there. Yvette has a baptismal date set out for a few months. She has investigated the church for a couple of years and only been to church 4 times in those two years. The beauty though, is that she has attended church 2 times in the last month. She is progressing nicely towards baptism.

We had an interesting experience with Shelly this week. She started to tell her family about desiring to be baptized, and it did not go over well. So Brandon, the returned-missionary, called us and asked us to keep her in all of our prayers. We started praying for her, and then I called her. I left a message and just told her that we were always here for her and that we were thinking of her and if she ever needs us she can just call and we will be there. She called back and we talked for awhile. I was able to relate to her challenges I experienced as I was making the decision to join the church and how it is worth it in the long run. It was really a neat experience. She told us she prayed and felt peace after talking to her parents. She also expressed her gratitiude for us being here for her. We had another lesson with her in-between sessions of conference. It was great and the Spirit was strong. She was even drawn to tears. She is still set for baptism on the 25 October 2008 and we are so excited for her. We constantly pray for her. Please keep her in your prayers, it is very hard to make this kind of decision without the support of your family.

So the most exciting news of this week is that they announced that they will be building a temple in Pennsylvania! I know EXCITING! As many of you know, when I realized there was no temple in Pennsylvania, I was heartbroken. The temple was always a great place for me to feel peace and find direction. Even before I went inside, I would feel the Spirit as I walked on the temple grounds outside. I know it is truly the House of the Lord and how much peace can be felt in His house. So I am way excited. I remember joking with Alexa that I would make the Elders build me a temple when I got here, and low and behold, we are getting our wish! I really am excited. I definetly didn't expect to hear them announce a temple in Pennsylvania on my mission. What a tender mercy of the Lord. I may not get to attend it while on my mission (becuase it takes so long to build) but it is amazing to know that the people of Pennsylvania will soon experience the same blessings I had back home. Since there is currently no temple in my mission, I miss the temple lots. I remember talking to my companion Saturday morning (before conference started) and telling her how much I missed the temple and wanted to go. We joked that we would just go to the DC temple, but then realized it was probably closed for conference. Anyway, it was amazing to hear the announcement of a temple, just an hour or so after my desires to go to the temple. I will definetly have to come back when it gets dedicated!

We visit this less-active woman, named Santa Diaz. She is in a nursing home, and so we usually sing to her and share a short message. Well, last week when we went to visit her, she said her nurse told her that she overheard our singing and it was "Celestial." How cool is that? I don't think we are that good, but it was nice to get such a sweet comment from someone who isn't even a member.

We had a great lesson with the Gilberts this week too. The Spirit was strong, and we were so excited to be teaching a family. But it turned out that we couldn't set up a return appointment with them, because the family wanted to talk it over. Taurus (the dad) said he was interested but wanted them to choose whatever they wanted to do and to respect their wishes. So we are hoping he will call soon. Pray that he calls!

Brother Gantt was at Conference this weekend. That was very exciting becuase he hasn't been to church in a few weeks. He is still reading too. He called us this morning and asked us a question about what he was reading. We are excited to see him continue to progress.

Well there is not too much more to report. I did some more thinking about Christmas gift ideas. So here are a few more ideas:
~Stamps
~Super Sticky Post-it notes (we use them to leave notes on people's doors when they aren't home...cute colors and shapes prefered :-D )
~Journals (I have already went through one 8 x 11 sized journal and am half way through the next one that size. So a new journal would be nice. I love ones that have pictures of Jesus on them, but any kind would do).
~Gift-cards for Fast food (McDonalds, Wendys, Arbys, Subway, Quiznos are all found in PA) or general shopping (Wal-Mart or CVS...we do lots of developing of pictures and it is nice to buy an occasional neccesity there too).
Anyway, those are a few more ideas.

Unfortunately, my companion is still sick. The Mission President wants to call and talk to her today. We are a little nervous about it. She kind of senses that she will be getting sent home. We shall see what happens. It is sad because some nights I wake up in the middle of the night to hear her crying because she is in so much pain. I wish I could help her, but hopefully things will get worked out soon. I just hate to see her in pain. Please keep Sister Axtell in your prayers.

Thanks for all your letters, prayers and support! I really do appreciate all you do for me!

Love ya!
Sister Deal

22 September 2008

2008-09-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

22 September 2008

Hi family and friends!

Wow! Can you believe it's almost October? I can't! Time is flying so fast. Last week I joked with my mission president in a letter I wrote to him that I am considering serving an eternal mission. I joked that there aren't enough sister missionaries in the mission (we still only have 7) and that I am willing to serve forever so we can have just one more missionary. For all of you who miss me lots, don't worry extentions rarely happen if ever. So I will see all of you in just over a year.

This week was pretty good. We saw many miracles. The Lord really did guide us by the hand of the Holy Spirit. There were many instances in which we were guided to the place we should go and the people we should speak to. I think my favorite example of this is with a woman we met just a couple of days ago. Her name is Maria. So here's how the story goes. Saturday morning we wanted to do lots of tracting. Well, as I was doing my studies in the morning a street popped into my head (Kissel Hill). When we got ready to leave, I asked my companion if she was okay with us tracting the other half of that street (we had tracted the first half prior to this). She agreed that it was fine. Well, we walked to this street, and for the first half of this long hilly street, there were no houses, just farmland and a library. So I started to question if this was the best use of our time. As we continued, we found many people who were kind, but not willing to listen to our message. After quite a few doors being slammed in our faces, I jokingly said, "Well, who knows. Maybe we are here for just that one person on this street. Maybe we'll even get to teach a lesson." The next house was Maria's house. She immediately opened her home and let us in. So we learned a little bit about her background, and then started sharing the first lesson with her. We explained that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that He loves to communicate with us through prayer. Knowing she had a religous background, I looked to her and asked how she has seen God answer her prayers. She immediately broke into tears. I couldn't help but rush over to her and hug her. Then she expressed that her husband is an alcoholic and just got back for rehab two days ago and has started drinking again. She said the only way she has been able to cope is because God is here for her. So then my companion and I started sharing scriptures that meant a lot to us. I shared 1 Nephi 21:14-16 and explained that He is always here for us and knows our needs. Then my companion shared 2 Nephi 22:2. And talked about trusting in the Lord. Then we shared Mosiah 24 and talked about how he can make our burdens light and free us from bondage. We never got through the first lesson. But we completely followed the Spirit and were able to help ease her pain. It was truly a miracle! I know we helped her that day. We are going to try and stop by again soon in hopes that we can help lift her spirits again.

Another example of us being led by the Spirit, is Deloris Battis. She is a less-active member who we met a few weeks ago. We both had been feeling like we really needed to visit her again. So on Monday, we decided to drop in and see her. When we came, she discussed the hardships at work. We let her vent about her troubles, and listened to her. Then we shared Mosiah 24, again emphasizing that He is aware of our trials and burdens, and can help us through it. Then, she told us that all day long she had talked to friends and family about her trials, but now with us in her home, she finally felt peace. It was really cool. Then I felt prompted to ask her if she still had scriptures. She said she wasn't sure where they were. So we left her with a copy of the Book of Mormon. Then I left her 2 Nephi 4 to read. I explained that it was one of my favorite chapters about trusting the Lord and how much it helped me in a time of need. Then Sister Axtell pulled out her hymnal and suggested we sing together. We sang her the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour." The Spirit just seemed to fill the room and she bagan to cry. When we finished singing she looked at us and said that as we sang, memories of how happy she felt as she was active filled her mind. It was truly a miracle! The power of music is amazing! The Lord really is guiding me and my companion! We will see Deloris again on Tuesday. We are excited to see her come back to church.

Speaking of church, we had three investigators at church this week! Shelly, Yvette and Sister Troutman! Very exciting. So I guess I should update you on their progress. Shelly is our most exciting. She has been to church for the last five weeks in a row and even came to Stake Conference. She is amazing and in tune with the Spirit. She has been reading and says she feels so at peace as she reads from the Book of Mormon. While teaching her the plan of slavation, I asked her how knowing that Christ paid the price for her sins has blessed her life. She began to share how it made her feel special that someone could love her that much. Then tears began to fill her eyes. It was really sweet. We invited her to fast about being baptized next Sunday, since it is Fast Sunday. We will also fast for her then, along with her boyfriend Brandon. Please continue to pray for Shelly. Your prayers are being answered!

As far as Yvette goes, she is really progressing. She is looking for a new job an has an interview on Tuesday. She is doing all she can to make church a priority. So that is very exciting!

Sister Troutman, is progressing in her knowledge of the gospel and the family is now reading and praying together daily. That is exciting. Unfortunately she declined the invitation to baptism that we extended to her this week. The good news is she always follows up a no with "not at this time." So we have the faith that she will come around. It has been really need seeing the corrilation of our lessons to the family with topics discussed in church. On Friday we talked about baptism, and on Sunday in Gospel Principles they talked about baptism by proper authority. The week before we talked about eternal families, and it was discussed in church during sacrament meeting. It truly is amazing how much the Spirit is guiding us in this work!

This week was Zone Conference and it was amazing! The talks were so uplifting. I just felt like I had been through General Conference it was that good. Elder Zwick (of the 70) came and was amazing. He and his wife even shook our hands before it started. They talked a lot about exact obedience and having pure hearts, as well as having a more charitable companionship. It was amazing! Then I had an opportunity to bear my testimony at the end of the meeting. I talked about how during one of the talks I was reflecting on how I too have often felt like Alma because of his conversion story, but at that moment I also felt like I was like him because I am a missionary boldly testifies of Christ and His love for each of us. I talked about how the gospel has changed my life and how I am nothing without Jesus Chirst and my Heavenly Father. I do know They are aware of us and love us! It was a sweet experience to bear my testimony, and tears filled my eyes as I felt overwhelmed by the Spirit. After my testimony, Sister Zwick gave me a big hug and thanked me for my testimony, sacrifices and service. That's a memory to hold on to!

Well, my time is up. Overall the week was amazing! Unfortunately, my companion is still suffering from much sickness. We had to stay in a lot this week. But the Lord is using us every moment we are out. It is amazing. And I am begining to truly love and cherish my companion. We are growing closer each day. I am learning to serve her and am hoping we stay together next transfer. Transfers are a week from today, so we shall see. Well, have a great week. I love and miss you guys!

Love,
Sister Deal
>

15 September 2008

2008-09-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hi family and friends!

I hope all is going well for each of you! Thanks for your letters and support. I really appreciate them! As for this week, things went pretty well. As far as my studies go, I finished the Book of Mormon! Yay!!! It was just as good this time as the 4 other times I read it. Read it! It is so amazing! I am constantly amazed at my increasing knowledge of the scriptures. I am growing more and more in my knowledge and testimony out here. It is amazing all the scripture references I am starting to be able to know off the top of my head. I also read "Our Search For Happiness" by M. Russell Ballard. It is an amazing book! I recommend it to everyone! Family and friends, please take the time to read this book. It is a book written for non-members and explains the gospel principles that I am out here teaching so perfectly. When you read it, you feel like you are sitting in the same room just talking to the author, who is an apostle of the Lord. Anyway. It is great! I loved it.

So missionary work isn't always easy. Some days are good and some days are tough. This week, I had a tough day. We went out tracting (and I wasn't feeling very good, but just wanted to get out there and work) and we tracted this small street. I have never received so much rejection in such a short amount of time. One lady told us she couldn't let us in because the bible said so. Another person told me they hope I come to know the real Jesus. Another person told us we were a cult. So for all of the people who think that a mission is just a bed of roses, and I never recieve rejection, well, there are good days and bad days. Just like any job! But the good news is that everytime someone rejects our message, I get time to reflect on why I am out here. Usually I don't let their comments get to me. But for some reason, it really hit me that day. Maybe it was because I was sick and it took everything I had just to knock on the doors. I'm not sure why, but their comments really got to me that day. I remember going home for dinner, and falling to my knees in prayer. I poured out my heart to my Heavenly Father, and my tears. I prayed and asked Him if there was something I was doing wrong, and how I could be a better example and witness of Him. This dinner break, was the best dinner break I have ever had. I felt the Spirit confirming to me that I am doing a good job, and that many of the prophets have been rejected. Some were stoned, spit upon, had rocks thrown at them, had arrows shot at them, were put into firey pits, or dungeons full of lions, and some were even killed for the gospel's sake. Despite all this, they remained true to their testimonies. And of course, the greatest example is our Savior, Jesus Christ. He suffered more than I ever will, and did it so that I could return to my Father in Heaven someday. It was a sweet experience to reflect on the fact that I am not the only one who deals with this rejection, and many have suffered much more than I do. After feeling the Spirit speak these sweet words of love and comfort to me, I felt prompted to journal my testimony and the things I know to be true. I will share just a few things I know to be true with you now. I know that Jesus Christ loves me and would have sacrificed everything, even if I was the only sinner on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and truly did see God the Father, and Jesus Christ. I know he was called of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true because it has changed my life. I know that as I am obedient, I draw closer to God and feel more of His love in my life. I know I am a daughter of God, with divine potential, and I know He loves me. As I reflected on some of these truths that I know, I realized that I know all of these things because the Spirit has testified that they are true, in ways that I cannot deny. It clicked just then, that if I want people to let me in their house, I must do all I can to invite the Spirit, so they can feel the Spirit and desire to know more. It was a great learning experience for me! And though I should have been wounded by the comments thrown at me, I was strengthened. And once again, I know this gospel is true!

Okay, that was a long tangent, but I wanted you each to know a moment of growth that I had this week. So, on to investigators. We met with Shelly this week. She is dating the RM (Brandon). And she accepted a Book of Mormon from us and seems excited aobut learning. We are hoping to set her with a date next week. The lesson went really well, she said she has been thinking about baptism. We encouraged her to pray about it. She said she would! We also asked Brandon how having the gospel has blessed his family and he said that it has brought them peace and understanding. Then he said that he wants it in his family, as he goes to start his family. That was a step of courage for him, because he was being bold. It seems like he has been bashful about what he shares with her. So it was exciting! I really felt like he wouldn't have said that if we weren't there. You could also tell that she felt the Spirit as we were there. So things are looking good.

Yvette (another investigator) is doing good too. She really seems to be gaining desires to change and wants to start sacrificing things to draw closer to God. YAY!!! Kathy Troutman is slowly progressing. It was really neat this week as we taught the family how to keep the Sabbath Day Holy (a request of Brother Troutman). They all commited to do things to keep the Sabbath holy. Sister Troutman is really starting to fight promptings of the Spirit less. She seems to be growing and changing. We have a few other investigators we are working with as well, but those are the most exciting. We had 2 investigators at Stake Conference this week so that was exciting!

Speaking of Stake Conference, it was great! We got to have it in the Hershey Theater and it was beautiful. Elder w. Craig Zwick (of the 70) came. The talks were all so great that at one moment, I thought I might be sitting in General Conference. The Spirit was so strong. The neatest thing about conference was that many of the lessons we had with people were manifested in talks, and some of our more unique scripture lessons that we will have with people, were used in conference. It really felt like we were supposed to be there.

Brother Gantt continues to grow and change. He has been reading scriptures every day. He hadn't read for over two weeks, but now he is reading every day! We follow up on him too! It is great. We are seeing lots of progress with our less-actives. We also have been trying to serve more. We had many opportunities to offer simple acts of service this week.

Well, I am out of time, but I just wanted to say one last thing before I go. I am truly grateful for this ward. They take care of us all the time! They feed us meals constantly. Today one of the members cut our hair for us. Last week a member who sells mary kay, ordered over $100 worth of product (the wholesale price) for me and my companion, and wouldn't let us pay for it. We even have a member who calls us every day with spiritual quotes from apostles! How sweet. So no worries! We are taken care of! Well, have a great week! I love you! I miss you! I know the church is true. I am changing and growing each day. This time out here is the best way I could be spending my life. Thanks for all your love and support!

Love,
Sister Deal