3 New Investigators!

This has been an amazing week :). It started out awesome when we got to help stain a non-member's deck again and we got to have lunch with them afterwards. We didn't talk too much about the gospel, but we got to know them and they became comfortable with us. So, the next day we came back to say hi and we taught them about the Restoration. They seemed to really accept it and they supported a lot of what we said. It was so wonderful and they are so sweet! So, from that we got 2 new investigators!

Fun truck we saw while driving home  ;)

Then, on Sunday, we came to another investigator's house for an appointment and we found out that our investigator had invited someone to attend this lesson with her! So, we taught them both about the Restoration using the pamphlet as well and they both seemed to receive it well. And, the man that our investigator invited seemed really interested in what we were saying so we left him with a Book of Mormon and set up a return appointment for the both of them.

It's amazing how we find these people through means other than the traditional tracting that most people see missionaries doing. :)

Both are still alive and well!

Funny story, we taught an older less active member this week and she told us about her headstone that she has in the cemetery nearby. So, obviously we had to go check it out (see picture--->).

One other highlight this week was that an 8 year old boy in our ward got baptized on Saturday! We came to support him and his family and it was such a wonderful experience to be able to see him be baptized. I know that the spirit was felt very strongly by everyone in the room, and I know that it was important to the young boy's life and to his family's.

Not too many big things happened this week, but I am still so excited to continue in the work. The Lord has so much in store for this area!

Sincerely,

Sister Tyler

Plan of Salvation drawing done by the four awesome kids of the family we taught after dinner on Thursday – the father said the Plan of Salvation made so much more sense with the diagram! haha

Tender Mercies

I cannot believe I'm already past week 4 of my mission! It feels like I just got here a couple of days ago haha. But, it has been a wonderful experience so far with an amazing week this past week. We had to start our week without a car because there was a small dent in the back from some past missionaries getting hit by someone else, so we left the car at a body shop for a couple of day (Elder and Sister Poll, the senior couple that lives in our district, gave us a ride home from the shop, but before leaving Elder Poll told the owner that we needed that car back quickly, so he should try to get it done sooner than a week [which he had originally told us would be how long it would take], and because of that we got our car back on Wednesday! It was awesome, and we are so grateful for Elder and Sister Poll). Since we didn't have the car for a couple days, my companion and I thought we should figure out the bus system. So, we got a couple maps and tried it out! We walked over to a bus stop and we knew we had to talk to someone, but we didn't know how to start since we are both kinda new/rusty at street contacting (you can't street contact during the winter here, so every summer missionaries have to relearn how to do it haha >.<). But, after standing there for a second, we actually had a guy come up to us and look at our name tags before striking up a conversation about Christianity! Gotta love how the Lord looks out for us ;).

Later on in the week we had the opportunity to give a church tour to one of our investigators. We came a bit early to clean everything up and know what we wanted to say and where to go for it. It was easy to do until we found that we didn't have a key to the baptismal font! So, we thought we would just find a picture later to show her. Once she got there everything went really well. We went through the building and when we got to the baptismal font my companion had the idea of going through the side door from the bathroom to show her the font. Luckily the door was unlocked (tender mercy) and we got to show her the baptismal font. She said she really liked seeing it and it was nice to be able to clear up some questions that she had about baptism that we never even knew she had until then. After that we moved to the chapel, where we explained a bit about Sacrament meeting to her, where we again got the chance to clear up some confusion that she had never brought up before. It was such a wonderful experience to be able to explain everything and comfort her in any nervousness that she had about church. So, later this next week we will be inviting her to church for our Sunday services.

We ended the week with exchanges! I was really nervous because my companion was going to the sister training leader's area and the other sister training leader was coming to my area to spend the day with me! I still felt like I didn't know the area well enough to survive a day without my companion, but luckily we were able to do it. The sister that came here was Sister Waite. I was very grateful that we were exchanging on a Friday-Saturday because we had a bunch of meetings/activities that took up a lot of our time, so I felt more comfortable with knowing what to do when. It ended up being a wonderful learning experience and I loved being able to see what it is that I actually understood about the area by myself. I love exchanges now and can't wait to try them again in the future :).

Well, that has generally been my week :). The work truly is progressing here, and I am recognizing more and more ways to find those who are seeking for the truth brought through the gospel.

Sincerely, Sister Tyler

Sister Waite and I during the Ward building clean up (we helped to transplant a bush from one side of the building to another after trimming it and all that fancy stuff haha ;) )

Crazy Week!

Crazy week this week, and it probably won't get any calmer next week haha.

On Monday we had our district p-day where we got to hang out and play some sports as a district. It was tons of fun cause we got to play chair soccer and capture the flag. Chair soccer was tons of fun cause we just got to run around and relax for a bit in the gym, but then capture the flag was hard because we played using the entire building and my companion and I couldn't separate because we were the only sisters! So the other team won :P but that's okay we still had fun :).

Then, on Monday night, my companion and I started a long road-trip down to Manchester, New Hampshire for new missionary training. It was

fun getting about 3 hours each way to just relax and talk with my companion, and it was also fun because I got to see all of the girls in my MTC district again! So, we got to the mission home and slept there overnight before getting up and heading over to a church building to start off the day with some training. We didn't really learn any new information, but we got to review everything we've been doing and have a good time being with the other sisters for a few hours. After we finished up we dropped off some things at the mission office and headed home :).

The rest of the week wasn't too much crazier, but I did get to do some tracting for the first time :) It's about as scary as it sounds (to go door to door and just talk to strangers while introducing what we believe all within a few short minutes), but it is still fun because you meet some people that are very sweet and respectful. I think what I learned most from this is that our religion is actually very well known, so all we have to do is clarify what it is that we actually believe.

Speaking of what we believe, our mission president has challenged all the missionaries to try a new way of teaching where we use the pamphlets for our appointments and teaching opportunities, but even more we use only the pictures in the pamphlets with a "look at this, what do you see, discuss it" method. I didn't think it would actually work because it feels really awkward when you ask people what a bunch of pictures look like to them, but it is super effective in finding out what people understand/don't understand and just filling in the blanks to complete their knowledge :). So, I've found the system to be very useful and I look forward to finding more opportunities to teach with it.

My district in Vermont

To wrap up the week we had a special event going on through the weekend, where Friday-Sunday we had a media weekend. Basically we had a bunch of members go with us to different appointments and we took pictures wherever we go to share on social media sites to spread the word of the Lord through the use of technology and everything like that. It was a wonderful opportunity to both spread the gospel through social media, and to use the members more in our appointments and visits.

It has been a very good week and I look forward to what this week has to offer.

Sincerely, Sister Tyler

Time is flying!

I still can't believe that I have been here for 2 weeks! Better yet, every day I'm here I love it more.

The weather has been beautiful and I love everyone I meet. The people are so friendly here, too. If you get to know someone and you show mutual care and respect, they start treating you like family. It is wonderful. :)

This past week my companion and I have done a lot of walking. For our car, we are allotted a certain number of miles each month and the sisters that were in my area before me and my companion used up a ton of miles, so we had to make due without a car for the most part last week so we didn't go over our mile limit (it was hard, but we did it!). We really got to know the area of South Burlington by walking a lot, too (which will really help me with getting to know where everything is).

My area is progressing a ton since we've got here! We normally have one, maybe two, less actives come to church every week after we challenge them to come. But for the past two weeks we have had 4 investigators in sacrament meeting, and the majority staying for all three hours! It's amazing! My companion and I think it is because we are showing the members that we are excited to be here and we aren't going anywhere (this poor area has lost a lot of missionaries recently, it's a long story, but it is getting better don't worry). And honestly, we haven't challenged anyone to come to church yet, we have simply been teaching them about what it is that they are desiring to learn about and we teach with that about how God wants them to recognize His influence in their lives.

The work is wonderful and the area is blossoming. D&C 4:4

Sincerely, Sister Tyler

Burlington, VT