We Got To Teach Young Women's This Week -
Selfie's, Technology and Talking With People Face To Face
Ashley Irwin <ashley.irwin@myldsmail.net>
To
Denise Irwin
Sep 28 at 12:07 PM
Hey you guys! Hope
you have had an amazing week! I sure have! Here are some of the
things I did! :)
Experience #1
We got the opportunity
to go to the S's on Monday. They are one of my most favorite member
families in the ward. Their testimonies are just so strong. We
decided to share a message about missionary work. As soon as we opened
with a prayer, you could just feel the whole room flood with the spirit.
We shared one of my favorite videos on missionary work, "Your day for a
mission." It is one of my favorites because it talks about the
sacrifice that missionary work requires. And don't get me wrong, I am not
trying to say, "Wo is me." But let's be honest, it is a
sacrifice. We sacrifice time, family togetherness, education, marriage,
travel, etc to be out here. But what I have come to learn is something
the video also addresses. It really doesn't matter that much. The
opportunity that we have as members both to go on missions and to do missionary
work in our daily lives is irreplaceable. There is nothing more
satisfying. I have come to realize that I can bring my brothers and
sisters to the knowledge and happiness of the gospel because of my faith,
obedience, and diligence. And what could be more rewarding for me in my
life right now? The video also talks about the blessings we get from,
serving the Lord. Syd Goings is such an example to me of his dedication
to the Lord and to this gospel. So we shared that and talked about how we
can all share the gospel and committed them to share their testimonies about
Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father with someone else this week. It was a
fairly simple lesson, but had so much power behind it. :)
Experience #2
We were able to teach
Sister M at the church this week. This is the first time that we had met
her at the church building because it is so far away. But because of
miles, we were stuck in Huntersville all day and she agreed to drive up and
meet us there. So we decided that there was nothing more appropriate to
share with her than the message of the sacrament. You could really feel
the spirit there as well. (Despite the fact that her three-year old was
bouncing off the walls). It was amazing to talk about the promises we
made to Heavenly Father when we were baptized and, in return, the promises he
made us. I think with the promise that He has given us - what sticks out
to me is the promise He gave us that we "will always have His spirit to be
with us." What an amazing promise that is. How
remarkable. He doesn't just give us the Holy Ghost when we have a
decision to make or when we are going through a hard time, but we have Him
ALWAYS! And the Lord doesn't ever go back on his word and he cannot
lie. He has literally paved the way for us and given us every tool we could
possibly need before our lives are over to return home, should we choose to use
these things in righteousness. Let alone the symbolism behind the
sacrament. I remember, (but I can't remember if I told you guys), this
lesson I had while on exchange with Sister A in Alexandriana. There was a
special needs boy at a member's house when we went to go see them that started
talking about the symbolism of the savior on the sacrament table and the use of
the drapery and the bread and water. I cried because of the closeness to
the Savior I could feel emanating from this boy. It was
life-changing. So that was definitely a highlight of the week.
Experience #3
We also got to go see
our investigator, J this week and her father W who just recently joined the
church. Her mother is out of town, so we taught her the same lesson over
Facebook at an later time in the week. This girl though - She
amazes me. She is 11-years old. Her mother started having her read the
bible a couple of years ago, and she was showing us her study notebook.
Basically, what she does is she will read a verse, and then write down the
meaning of the verse in her own words for the entire chapter that she is
reading that day. And she is almost never wrong. Then she gives it
to her mom and has her read the chapter, then her interpretation, and checks it
off on correctness. My brain would have exploded. For Pete's Sake
the kid is reading Psalms and Isaiah. Like... What? ;) But
anyway, we taught the next lesson that she needed to learn in preparation for
her baptism on the 9th. We are so excited for that. We are going to
have to do a lot of cramming and planning, but I'm sure it will be fine.
:) Anyway, we taught the Plan of Salvation. She knew every
topic, every answer, and every detail in depth before she even started the
lesson. Her mom had her read the pamphlet when she took the discussions
originally, so she had remembered a good majority of it. I loved seeing
the perspective of an investigator versus a recently baptized member,
though. They weren't too different in opinion, however there were
differences. I think we are finally starting to understand what her mom
said when she told us that she had a "very inquisitive mind."
But she is so excited to keep learning and keep growing in order to
follow Jesus Christ's example as well as her parent’s example and be
baptized. We also briefly talked about how, because she will be getting
baptized soon, her family will be able to go to the temple in a little over a
year and be sealed for time and all eternity. She just lit up when we
told her that she would be able to spend all of eternity with her
parents. Because, let's be honest, if you have a loving and good
relationship with your family, why wouldn't you want to be with them forever?
:) I know I do and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I get
to be able to do so and for the opportunity I am getting right now to bring the
same blessing to others.
Experience #4
We got to go on
exchanges this week. I felt a little bad though. Here's why; the
sister training leaders have started asking us where we would like to go and
with who after we counsel with Heavenly Father in prayer about it. But
here is why I felt bad. I felt that I needed to go with Sister W in
Mooresville and that Sister L and Sister D needed to be in Mountain
Island. Sister L agreed. We called them and told them and they
seemed unsure and told us that they would get back to us. Right after
they hung up the phone, it occurred to me that Sister W had only gotten to
Mooresville that week and probably didn't know the area yet. But they
agreed that it would be fine and we exchanged on Thursday after weekly
planning. It was a really great exchange. We had to use the GPS the
whole time and got rerouted because of accidents and construction, but hey,
that isn't out of the ordinary for this directionally handicapped sister!
So it was good. We got up there and tried to go see a couple of
potentials in their area book. Not even thirty minutes into the exchange
and I had already learned something from Sister W. She and Sister D have
started this thing where if someone immediately tells them, "I am
______fill in religion here______" or "I am not interested",
they say that is fine, but instead of turning around to leave, they keep making
conversation with them until they can either bear testimony or leave them with
a couple of principles from the Restoration. They don't count it as a
lesson, but they just leave it with them. I was completely thrown off by
this because this is not what my trainer did, or any other sister training
leader up to this point. When I asked her about it, she just said,
"We figure it is more beneficial to leave them with a portion of what they
are turning down." That really stood out to me because, HELLO SISTER
IRWIN!!! THAT IS WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING ALL ALONG! It was
kind of a "Why didn't I think of that?" moment. They said that
they too, have only started doing this about a week ago. But that it is
something that they hope will catch on. After all, if I were in their
shoes, it would probably be more worth it to hear something that makes me feel
good and have a good view of the message and the church in my head than
otherwise. After dinner that night, we were able to bring a member and
his brother-in-law to an appointment with us with a Brazilian man and his son's
girlfriend who are investigating the church. It was a very spiritual lesson.
The brother-in-law speaks Portuguese and just got back from his mission.
So that helped a lot with the language barrier. But all in all, they
enjoyed the message and agreed to hear more about the Plan of Salvation later
in the week. They have lots of questions and I assume they will progress
swiftly. That night we also got to go to the church and teach a lesson to
another investigator of theirs. We were supposed to teach the whole
Gospel of Jesus Christ discussion, but we ran out of time so we awkwardly
stopped after the Holy Ghost. But it was okay because I got the
inspiration to invite him to be baptized during the lesson and he was very
excited! It was planned for the 17th and they moved it to the 18th
because of Stake Conference. October is proving to be difficult for
scheduling baptism dates. For example, we wanted J baptized on the 10th,
but because of the Fall Festival, we had to move it to the 9th. This
month we have Mission Conference, Zone Meeting, Interviews, General Conference,
the Fall Festival, Stake Conference, etc. We are going to be crazy busy,
but if people are hearing about and accepting the message about Jesus Christ,
our job here is done. (With the help of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ,
of course)! ;)
Experience #5
We got the
ever-so-fabulous opportunity to teach the Laurel's in young women's this
week. It was a really good lesson, actually. It was about "How
do the things I say affect me and those around me?" We showed two of
the three videos in had in the lesson plan. They were about a "no
cussing club" that this LDS kid started when he realized that as he and
his friends were getting older, the language was getting worse. The other
was about this group of friends that decided they were going to send each other
a huge group message full of conference quotes, scriptures, and uplifting
messages. I really like that one. We talked about how it has become
so easy to just type what you want to say to someone whether it be a good
message, or bad. We bore testimony about and encouraged them to use the
technology that we have been given to uplift others and strengthen them, rather
than tearing them down. Also, we encouraged them to try more face-to-face
contact. Even though it has kind of become a thing of the past, we still
all have faces and we can still all use them. Kind of a comical thought,
but true. Sister J, the Young Women's president then wrote up on the
board what she puts on her children's bedroom doors:
Think Before You
Speak! Is it...
T- True
H- Helpful
I- Inspiring
N- Necessary
K- Kind
I really liked
that. I think we have all become subject to the fact that it is really
easy to just type something and send it rather than saying or handling
something with respect. Then the girls were able to ask us a bunch of
questions about missionary work. They asked me what the hardest part
about going on a mission is. I said it was probably taking the rejection
we face and turning it into optimism. When someone says, "We are not
interested" and slams the door in our faces, President Alexander has
encouraged us to take that as a good thing. He says that amongst all the
"No's", there is bound to be a "Yes." So each
rejection we are encouraged to look at as one step closer to our yes. :)
Also, one of my favorite things I have learned on my mission is....
"Attitude determines Altitude." If we have a sad or discouraged
attitude all the time, we aren't going to accomplish nearly as much as we would
if we have happy, Christlike attitudes that make others want to change their
lives and bring them in harmony with Gospel Teachings. :)
Experience #6
Obviously I have to
write about what I thought about Women's Conference. Because HOLY
COW! It was simply amazing! Some of my favorite quotes were:
- "Our divine
nature has nothing to do with our personal accomplishments... Our divine nature
comes from God." - Rosemary M. Wixom
- "Divine nature
comes as a gift from Him with a love that only a parent can feel."
- Rosemary M.
Wixom
- "What will it
matter dear sisters, what we suffered here if, in the end, those trials are the
very things which qualify us for eternal life and exaltation in the kingdom of
God with them?" - Linda S. Reeves
- "We identify with
our divine nature as we feel, and give, the love of our Father in Heaven."
- Rosemary M. Wixom
- "Now is part of
eternity. Open your eyes to the joy of now." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- "There are two
important days in a woman's life: The day she was born and the day she finds
out why." - Rosemary Wixom
And obviously those were
only some. I really, really liked it. And yes, I cried. A
lot. It was sooooooo good. I thought it was also very interesting
and peculiar that President Uchtdorf only taught in one parable for his entire
talk. He just opened it, told the parable, and bore his testimony.
My jaw hit the floor and I was like... what? Don't get me wrong, I loved
it just as much as every other talk he has ever given, I was just a little
confused. But it was beautiful. I really liked the painting of the
pioneer girl as well. Soooooo good. What were your favorite
parts? I would love to hear about it? I know you either watched or
recorded it. So let's hear about it next week along with General
Conference. Which, by the way, I am so excited for. I am so excited
to see who they will call as new apostles. :)
Isn't it funny how that
works? Sometimes I feel like when I write you letters, it does more good
for me, too. Because it really makes me think about how much the Lord's
hand was with me and in the work in the past week. But it can happen in
prayers, lessons, blessings, etc. too! And has happened to me... it is
amazing to me that Heavenly Father helps us receive the guidance and counsel
that we need through the help of others.
I was sorry to see Elder
Scott pass away too. But I know that now he gets to be with his beautiful
wife and he is probably much happier there than he was here. And like I
said, I am really excited to see what happens this conference. It is
truly going to be a historic event. This hasn't happened in a very long time.
I really liked what you
said about the Pope and his mass. I feel the same way. In fact, I
was just thinking about our trip to the Vatican the other day. I loved
being there for the history, the art, and the architecture, but I didn't
necessarily feel the spirit there. I know it was a very sacred place for
them, but there was just something missing. That final puzzle piece, if
you will. I truly feel like when we go to the temple, there is just a
completion of feeling and love that we really can't get anywhere else in the
world. I almost feel like we leave the planet for a few hours, get a
glimpse of heaven, and come back. And in case you are wondering,
yes. I am very temple hungry right now. I can't wait to go when I
get back. :)
I am just so grateful
for the opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me to go on a mission and
help others find that puzzle piece that they need for their own completion.
:)
So how did Dad like
China this time? What did he do? What did he see? I am
excited to receive the treats that you are going to send in the package.
I do have to ask on that note though, did you ever send the post cards
from Alaska? Because if you did, they never got here. If not,
that is just fine. And I am so glad to hear that grandma and grandpa's are
doing well. Especially that grandma Irwin is feeling better after the
cruise. That couldn't have been fun to get sick after having such a good
time.
When you said dad has
been missing in action at church, I kind of laughed because the Mountain Island
bishop just got back from being gone from church for about a month, himself.
:)
How is the girls camp
preparation going? Are you having fun with it? You should be!
That calling would be great! :)
I wrote Beth a quick
email of encouragement. I do wish I could hear from her more, but I also
understand where she is coming from. It is hard. And it is nothing
like high school. It takes some getting used to. But I know that
she will get grades, sleep, and social balanced out soon and have a
splendiferous time! :D
I am glad Em and Cait
are still having so much fun as well. That always makes everything
better. So that is definitely good to hear.
The mission is going
great! I am having so much fun! Because honestly, I figure if you
aren't having fun - not only are you wasting the Lord's time, but your
own. And you want to do neither. So I make it fun!
:D Because you're right, it does go way to fast and before you
know it, I am going to blink and it will be gone. :( But I am going
to live up every second until they force me to leave this wonderful place.
:)
It is so weird to hear
that everyone I grew up with in church is moving on with their lives and we are
all growing up so dang fast! Some of my friends are married with kids...
what? WHAT!? Crazy!
The ward here is doing
great! We actually just had a boundary change meeting last night and
Mountain Island is now twice, if not three times as big. So we have a lot
of work to do. We also gained a third set of missionaries in the ward and
they are planning on soon putting in a fourth. We're excited. So
now, we have us, Elder C, Elder J, Elder R, and Elder R. It's
great! Some of the members are way more into the missionary work than
others, but we did just gain 133 new active members in the ward. So who
knows how the missionary work will grow? We are expecting big things,
very soon.
I still love President
Alexander and his wife. They are the sweetest and most supportive mission
president and his wife, EVER! I adore them! :D
This area is actually
kind of easier than the past areas because there is so many people in the
Charlotte area that haven't even heard of the church before. The
Huntersville area is kind of dead as far as the work goes, but that's
okay. Because we now have the inter-city area in our boundary as
well. If you want to see more of the boundary, it is on gncstake.org.
:) We now have more fun stuff to do. So We are actually going
to go to the Mall this week and next because we didn't have one before and
Sister L needs winter stuff. I am just going window shopping. I had
to get a prescription filled and go to the UrgentCare this week because I just
wasn't getting better. But they put me on a Z-Pack and I am improving A
TON! So I am happy! :) Thanks to Heavenly Father for the
blessings as well. :)
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE
WAS AN ECLIPSE LAST NIGHT! I wish we would have known. We would
have tried to see it. Oh well. We were beat from the last two
days. So who knows if we were even awake? But if you got any
pictures, send them my way.
But I think that is all
for now. I love you guys to the Eclipse and back!
Love you tons and
tons! Hope you have a great week as well!
Ash :)
