September 7, 2015

Monday Missionary Message

Hello!!

So, it has been a wonderful week in Calgary. Last Monday evening we were able to put another investigator on date to be baptized!!! AND we were out walking to an appointment when a car pulled over and a former investigator introduced himself and asked to start meeting with the missionaries again!! Random crazy miracles...

Anyway, short on time today, but have a good week!!


Love,
Sister Patterson

August 24, 2015

So, it's been a long week.  The stomach flu has been getting passed around, and it turns out we aren't immune, so we had to take it easy for a few days. But we are feeling much better now.

We had a fantastic Zone Conference on Wednesday, and I'm liking our new President and his wife more and more. Things seem to be picking up for the mission, especially because of walk-and-talk August. Miracles have come rolling in as people see us on the streets and stop to talk to us. We picked up two new investigators this week from it! Hooray for street contacting! For one of them, we were walking to an appointment and saw a lady sitting on a front step. We went up and talked to her, and were surprised when she responded that yeah, she would like to introduce her grandchildren to a church and wanted to come to ours. I was blown away because that kind of response almost never happens, but when it does, I can't help but look heavenward and thank Heavenly Father for yet another tender mercy and miracle.

Oh, and guess what?! As of tomorrow I will have officially been in Canada for 6 months!!!!!! 1/3 of the way there!!! I have no idea how that happened, it's totally flown by. Still feels like it's only been a couple of months... Strange to think I come home in one year. It seems like not that long, but at the same time, an eternity.

My greenie and I were talking about how every missionary has a "light switch," something that gets us excited to talk/teach/work. As she is working to figure out her own, I've been thinking a lot about mine. It's hard to put it into words, but I'd say my own spark has become the reason why I am still out here -- it's when you're talking to people and you can see it on their face when it finally clicks, when they finally see how the big picture works together and they recognize through the Spirit that it's all true, it's real. Their countenance changes, a light creeps in their eyes, and a smile of excitement fills their face. They are filled with hope and joy in finally knowing for themselves.

I love it out here, meeting new people and planting or harvesting gospel seeds. It's not until I've gotten a new sister's perspective to contrast my own that I've realized how much has changed in the last six months, and how much I love being a servant of the Lord. It is so ridiculously hard, and there are days that drag by, but it is totally 100% worth it.

As always, I love you all!!

Sister Patterson

August 17, 2015

Hello again!

I hope you are all doing well, and enjoying the end of summer!

So, life totally threw me a curve ball. Guess who got a call to be a trainer?! Yup, yours truly is now training her own little greenie missionary... Or, as we say up here, I officially have a "daughter" in the mission! *shiver* It's sooo weird! I still feel too new and way under qualified! So, a big warm welcome to the greatest mission on earth to ..... Sister Tolbert!!!

 

(Literally though, it was super warm this week, we hit 36! mosquito's everywhere...) I was super sad to say goodbye to my old companion Sister Creech, but am excited to start a new adventure. Sister Tolbert is from Spanish Fork, Utah, and is one of 27 missionaries that just came out to the field! So now I will be in Prairie Winds until early November (most likely). I pray we see a lot of success between now and then...

The theme for this week seems to be trusting in and relying on the Lord.

Often, we seem to forget what the Lord promises us when we are trying to do the best we can to do what's right and keep our commitments to follow the Savior. I take great comfort in the scripture that says, " ... I will go before your face, I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." (D&C 84:88) I know that that is true; we have His support and love, the Lord is at our side. And He is bound to bless us when we obey. I know our Father in Heaven loves each one of us and that he is mindful of our every desire and effort. I know that one of the greatest gifts he has given us is the gift of the Holy Ghost, as it comforts, guides, and testifies according to our needs. We are not left to walk through life alone; He is there, and countless loved ones on the other side cheer us on. Stay strong, and press forward exercising faith enough to act. I promise that as you do, you will witness blessings pour down from heaven.


Lots of Love,
Sister Patterson

August 3, 2015

Hey ya'll!

It's gonna be short today - and sorry for the inconsistency of emails. 
SO, life is crazy, but awesome! Thank you all for the birthday wishes!!! To celebrate we ended up going for sushi with some other missionaries and members. The best birthday present, though, came that evening when we were tracting and found a new investigator! :)

And I'm sure you heard about the "tornado" we had. We could see the spiral cloud forming, but luckily nothing really happened...

Our mission has an annual tradition of something called "Walk-And-Talk August," which is when we have to park our cars for the month (except for emergencies) and just walk, bike, bus, or hitchhike everywhere. :)  Great fun. we should change the words to the primary song to "missionaries sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked..." ;) Anyway, as the mission pulls together to increase street contacting and increase our numbers, we have seen miracles happen! Just the other day, another set of missionaries ran into someone downtown, passed them off to us, and in the first lesson that person not only agreed to be baptized, but referred us to some friends who were interested as well! Hooray!

To close, I just want to share something another missionary told me: "Obedience brings blessings, but strict obedience brings miracles." I can testify that that is very true; when we try to do good from day to day, we are able to receive those many blessings Heavenly Father rains down on us. But when we make a conscious dedicated effort to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and keeping those covenants we have made, we will see miracles come! He is aware of our every need and desire, he applauds even our small successes from day to  day, and He stands waiting to step in and help us.

According to President Uchtdorf: 

"Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. In reality, Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us.

"He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed—even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you.

"He loves you not only for who you are this very day, but also for the person of glory and light you have the potential and the desire to become." 

(General Women's Meeting September 2014)

I know that this is true, that He knows and loves each individual perfectly, and that we find greater hope and joy as we come closer to him.

I love you all!

Sister Patterson

July 13, 2015

Hey, hope you all had a good week!

Yesterday we had a huge freak thunderstorm all day, and the lightning got super duper close, with deafening thunder and pounding rain. There were power-outages all over the city, and unfortunately, flooding. Luckily, our place is on a second floor, but some other missionaries were not so fortunate, and got pretty wet. So now it's a matter of clean up ... 

This week I got to try a bunch of new experiences: I learned how to build a trampoline, how to make homemade tortillas, how to change a flat tire, and best of all, got to try some new foods! There's a Philipino family who fed us dinner this week, and made a whole bunch of authentic dishes for us to try. Panzit, Halo Halo, and ........ BALUTE! That's right, we got to try fertilized duck eggs! They weren't too old, but mine did have a hint of feathers. Turns out if you put a LOT of salt on it, and try not to look, it's not too bad. Just kidding - to be honest it was pretty gross. I would rate the experience a 10! and the texture a 1 . Needless to say, the family got a kick out of watching us missionaries squirm :)

Yay Balute! The elder in the background expressed the sentiment perfectly :)

Anyway, not much else to report. We are just working with a lot of less actives and our investigators are slowly but surely progressing! It super fun to proselyte in this area, especially tracting, because it is so international we have to be prepared with materials in a variety of languages. My companion has a natural ear for language, and so she is really good at getting by with a handful of phrases in a dozen different languages.

"For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding' for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding." (2 Nephi 31:3)

Anyway, I love you all! Next time you hear from me I will officially be 21 years old - HOORAY! Have a wonderful week :)


Lots of Love,
Sister Patterson

July 6, 2015 - Pictures

My new companion, Sister Creech, and me at the Sikh Temple! (you have to cover your head upon entering out of respect)

Sikh Temple

Canada Day!

July 6, 2015

Happy Independence / Canada Day !!!

I am so grateful to celebrate my freedom!  As we celebrate the freedoms of whatever country we live in, I suggest that we remember our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ, who provided the ultimate blessing of FREEDOM from sin!

For July 1st everyone rocked the red and white for Canada, but I gotta say, celebration is nothing like what we pull in the states. (It was weird singing "O Canada" in Sacrament instead of our own national anthem) Rather, everyone here gets super pumped for STAMPEDE (which begins on the 3rd and goes for 10 days). Cowboy hats and boots come out in abundance, and it kinda takes over everything. Unfortunately, we as missionaries are forbidden from going downtown during this time, so no stampede for us. We are however on equal grounds when it comes to the weather: in one day we experienced all 4 seasons. That's right, temperature dropped from the sunny 20's to thunderstorms to snow... FUN :)

For stampede, the big tradition is to do a pancake breakfast, and there are dozens all over the city. Calgarians love and make the most of it. Our ward threw its own, and we got to help out with game stations for the kids. (it was Saturday, so that was our 4th fun. But you will be happy to know I did rock a red white and blue outfit in recognition of home :) The best part though was that we ended up having 20+ investigators, less actives and other nonmembers show up! This area is the BEST - I love being a missionary!!!

Oh, this past Monday we also got a bunch of missionaries together to go to the Sikh Temple nearby. Anyone can walk in (although we definitely stood out), and we got to see and learn about their worship and beliefs. It was actually SUPER interesting, I loved it! Turns out they have a lot of practices and beliefs very similar to ours. And the most interesting thing happened, as we listened to the tour guide explain, I felt a strong reminder from the Spirit that God loves ALL His children, and that pieces of eternal truth and light can be found all over the world. Whenever a Truth was spoken (for example, that there is a path of righteousness we all must follow) I felt the Spirit testify of that specific Truth. It was remarkable. Going there and learning more has really helped as we have conversations with people of that faith. And I have discovered a great respect for their best efforts to come closer to God.

This past week we also got to meet our new mission president, President Miles! They are from Utah, and super young (early 50's), full of energy and enthusiasm, though when we met you could tell they were still a little shell shocked at being here. They took the time to shake each missionary's hand and say a personal hello - twice!! I am excited to see what kind of leadership they provide, and I know their call comes from God - it is what this mission needs here and now. It's going to be fun!
So long 'til next week!


Love,
Sister Patterson